Battle of the Deadites Revisited
In case youâre wondering, this is not a case of deja vĂş! Last week I did a full on comparison of The Evil Dead (1981) and Evil Dead (2013) but it was, like some of the film flops out there, a bit too wordy. So, in case youâd rather not page through words upon words upon words, hereâs an updated version to help to vividly capture the soul of the films!
Here are some fun facts about the films: The Evil Dead (1981) was directed by Sam Raimi and became one of the bloodiest cult classics of itâs time with the word âdeaditeâ even being a fan-made term that applies to both the demons and the fans themselves. The remake, Evil Dead (2013) by Fede Alvarez, was well received by fans old and new and even had a similar reputation for the gallons of fake blood used on set.
However, upon close analysis, the differences between the two films are arguably more numerous than the number of times the movies will make you cringe. Letâs start with the characters. The characters of the original film include Ash, his sister Cheryl, his girlfriend Linda, and their friends Scotty and Shelly. Their 2013 counterparts are respectively David, Mia (who ends up taking over the lead role partway through), Natalie, Eric, and Olivia (except in this version Eric and Olivia arenât obviously dating).
(Cast of The Evil Dead (1981) from left to right: Ash, Linda, Cheryl, Scotty, and Shelly)
(Cast of Evil Dead (2013) from left to right: Eric, David, Mia, Olivia, and Natalie)
These new characters arenât the âoblivious, good-hearted young adultsâ that just wanted to âparty downâ for a weekend. In the remake there is a considerable amount of angst. Modern films LOVE angst. In my opinion, the worst offense against the original film is the lack of an âAshâ character. Yes, in spirit, you could say that David or Mia fit the bill, but thatâs an insult to the character! Ash is sincere brave and merciful. Heâs not unreliable like David or as problem-ridden as Mia. And come on, who doesnât love Bruce Campbell?
Anyway, Iâm getting off-topic. I want to go back to angst, but first, we have to talk about the white elephant in the room (or branch, as it were). The Evil Dead would not be the strange and taboo film it is without a fairly long rape scene. Now, this is no ordinary rape scene (so donât worry, no I Spit on Your Grave (1978) flashbacks here), instead the rape in both the 1981 and 2013 films is committed by a tree. While the scenes convey the same thing, the actual assaults are extremely different from film to film. In the original, Cheryl is pulled to the ground, exposed, and penetrated by various branches of the surrounding trees. She then breaks free and escapes. In the remake, however, Mia is held upright by thorn-covered branches, confronted by the vision of a deadite, and is penetrated by a snake-like branch that slithers from the deaditeâs mouth and completely into Mia, without apparently ever coming back out. These differences are actually very important. The rape of Cheryl was abrupt and committed completely by the trees themselves. However, with Mia it was more ritualistic and actually showed visions of the deadite before they began their massacre.
This difference basically sets the tone for each film: the curse of modern angst, i.e. the need for a backstory. The appearance of the deadites before they begin to posses the cabin-goers, is a massive difference from the original film. Part of the horror used to be that you never knew what was coming for you. The remake steals this mystery from us in more way than one. It gives the characters more ways to kill the deadites. While that is good for the plot, itâs not nearly as threatening. The remake also shows us the horrible acts of rape, scalding, and self-mutilation that occur through the book instead of just having them be surprising and evil for evils sake.
I also think that the remake destroyed a huge part of the charm of The Evil Dead (1981): the makeup. Yes, most of the effects of the original film can be recreated in your kitchen; deadites vomit milk and dissolve into clay when they die. However, the makeup is unarguably grotesque. You have to admit that a pair of contacts, some fake burns, and a split tongue really just doesnât scream âevilâ like a full-facial makeup appliance, wig, and some gross stop-motion gore.
However, I cannot fault the remake for its various nods to the original. The necklace given to Davidâs sister instead of his girlfriend (a marked difference between him and Ash), is a nice touch, as is the clock on the wall that signifies the one from the original (though it was featured much more heavily in the 1981 film).
On a bit of a tangent, I swear, this franchise is almost as bad as Star Wars with all the lost limbs! The original film shows Shelly gnawing off her own arm after Scotty began to cut it (after she turned). In the remake, Natalie raises Shelly an arm by cutting off her own before turning (a trick borrowed from Ash in The Evil Dead 2) and losing the other to Davidâs shotgun after her change. However, none of these are close to Miaâs sacrifice near the end of the film. She forcefully rips off the bottom half of her left arm (which is caught under a Jeep) and uses it to steady a chainsaw and destroy the final demon. This is the ultimate nod to The Evil Dead 2 where Ash basically has a chainsaw for an arm after the first film confronts him with another demon before it cuts to black.
Who doesnât love a good chainsaw hand? Admittedly, though, Miaâs fight is much more brutal than the struggle Ash goes through in the original, but it doesnât leave the audience scared at all. The end of Evil Dead (2013) shows that evil can always be beaten back if your will is strong enough. The ending of The Evil Dead (1981) tells us that evil is always present and can always attack, even when everything else is gone.
Overall, I find Evil Dead (2013) to be an admirable remake. It captures the imaginations of what could have been for the fans of the original and gives them the gore-fest they expect of modern special effects. However, I do not believe it is scarier than the original. I believe that The Evil Dead (1981) leaves out the backstory and rules of the deadites for a reason. It tells us that evil is not constrained by the pages of a book and that it will never stop hunting.
That is why I believe that Evil Dead (2013) earns my rating of 6 out of 10 screams. It captured our nostalgia, but not our fear.
