EVIL DEAD

Evil Dead is the 2013 reboot of the classic 1981 horror movie starring the one & only Bruce Campbell (who is not in the reboot although he did help produce it). Evil Dead the reboot follows pretty much the same storyline as the original: a group of friends travel to this secluded cabin in the woods where they find this "book of the dead" and, in spite of the dire warnings scribbled all over the book (which is wrapped in human skin, by the way) NOT to open the damn thing, they open it up and therefore unleash this horrible--you guessed it!--evil that--of course!--wreaks all kinds of havoc on said cabin dwellers and ends up possessing and/or killing all but one of them (since, of course, you need to keep at least ONE cast member alive for the sequels!). So how does Evil Dead the reboot compare to Evil Dead the original? Well, for starters, it looked like they had way more to spend on the special effects in the reboot than the original which seemingly gives new meaning to the phrase shoestring budget. The presence of Bruce Campbell is also sorely missed in the reboot since, let's face it, Bruce was the MAIN reason to watch the Evil Dead films (the original plus the two sequels). It probably goes without saying that the violence looks more "realistic" in the reboot than in the original (but then, that's also probably due to the reboot's budget which was undoubtedly larger than the budge they had for the original). Not that there wasn't any truly scary and/or horrific moments in the original (especially the infamous "tree" scene of which diehard ED fans will no doubt know what I'm talking about!) but there were some truly cringe-inducing moments in the reboot; like, for instance, when the lead girl gets her hand trapped underneath the car while trying to fight off the "evil" demon at the same time and she has to literally rip it off in order to escape. Ouch! Anyway, speaking strictly for myself, I would have to say I prefer the original Evil Dead to the reboot primarily due to Bruce Campbell, although I will say the reboot actually does rise above the standard "slasher" horror flick fare (which, as anyone who regularly reads this blog will no doubt know, I also have no issue with). And, for the record, my all-time favorite Evil Dead flick is the third sequel Army Of Darkness. Just thought you'd like to know!