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Evil Dead (2013) Review

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The most terrifying film you will ever experience? Clearly, SOMEONE has never experienced Batman and Robin before….

Hello everyone! It’s your resident comic book nerd, Richard, here! Today, I present to you my first written movie review! Exciting stuff, right? I bet you’ve never seen a review about a movie on this site before? So, in case you don’t remember, last October I attended the New York Comic Con. I had the time of my life there. Bought some amazing merch, met/saw some of the most brilliant comic creators and film makers, and I got to do press work for two big horror remakes coming out this year. One of those very flicks just released last Friday, and that flick was Evil Dead. And so, I figured since I covered the movie at NYCC…I might as well review it too.

Anyways, as mentioned, Evil Dead is a remake of the cult classic horror movie The Evil Dead from 1981. The plot of both Evil Dead films is pretty easy to summarize. A couple of people hit up a cabin in the woods, and eventually they find an evil book that starts possessing and killing the people in harsh ways. Actually, harsh is too soft a word to describe what happens to these people. Correction: The book starts possessing and killing the people in incredibly f*%ked up ways. Yea, that works much better. Now, there are a few differences between the original and the remake, plot wise. In the remake, The people go to this cabin they own to help their friend kick a drug addiction. In the original, kids were just looking to party for the weekend in a rented cabin.

Now, when it comes to remakes of horror movies, It’s hard to even think of one that’s been done well. Seriously, before I even started this review, I was trying to even think of one that I actually thought was at least okay. Eventually, I thought of 3 movies: The Crazies, Dawn of the Dead, and Fright Night. That’s only 3 of about 70 some horror movies that have been remade. Not a great track record. At least, not with me. So, the question is, does Evil Dead belong with the good remakes? or the bad ones? Thankfully, I left my theater with a big smile on my face. I really enjoyed my time with this remake.

I think the thing I enjoyed most was that the remake retained the B-movie nature of the original. I was truly worried the film would end up being another annoying big budget torture porn style horror movie. I guess I should have just taken Bruce Campbell at his word when he said the remake didn’t have a single frame of torture porn in it. Damn me for doubting the great and groovy one! Sure, the movie is pretty gory at times, but everything has a reason for why it happens. Plus, just like the original, some of the gory moments were kind of funny. I mean, it’s not a B-movie if there isn’t some cheesy humor in the gory scenes. Hell, it wouldn’t be Evil Dead if there wasn’t some cheesy humor in the gory scenes.

I also enjoyed this movie because I kind of related to it. Mainly to the making of it. One of the things that makes this remake stand out from others is that the original film makers were heavily involved. Sam Raimi, with the help of director/co-writer Fede Alvarez, wanted to bring back the original vision of Evil Dead with the remake. In a some what similar fashion, I had made a horror/comedy short film called Spectre Quest that wasn’t good in any way.

There were a lot of on set problems, plus we had a really poor script. In fact, the original wasn’t even a horror/comedy, in the end. So, I decided to remake the movie I wanted to do. I wrote the script myself, shot it over the summer, and now I’m proud to say I made a movie called Specter Quest. Sound some what familar? Anyways, at the end of the day, Evil Dead was fun time at the movies. It’s gory, It’s funny, but most of all….it’s groovy!

I’m going to give Evil Dead a 4/5!

PS: Stay till after the credits. Especially if your a big Evil Dead fan!

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Evil Dead (2013) Trailer Review!

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Wait….This has nothing to do with comic books? Why am I writing this?

So, when folks hear the word remake these days, the words “not again” is groaned in reply. It’s true that we’ve had an insane amount of remakes these past few years, and we’ve got more to come. Plus, the majority of these remakes released are based upon some of the biggest horror films ever made. You name it, it’s probably been remade. Friday the 13th, A Nightmare on Elm Street, Halloween, Dracula, Frankenstein, Last House on the Left, Psycho, Texas Chainsaw Massacre, the list goes on and on. Now, we have a new horror classic to add to the remake list: Evil Dead.

However, the horror remake list is slightly divided. Some horror remakes are actually not that bad. While others do nothing but give the middle finger to the original film and it’s many fans. I’m looking at you, Halloween! Yes…I’m looking straight at you, fother mucker! So, all that being said, where will Evil Dead end up? Well, based on this trailer, the film might actually end up on the good list! Yes, I actually liked this trailer a lot! I’m surprised as all hell that I liked it, but I did! I mean, It’s got the feel of Evil Dead, and It has the look of Evil Dead. Also, the original film makers (Sam Raimi, Bruce Campbell, and Robert Tapert) are heavily involved in this new movie! So, That makes me very excited!

It reminds me of when I made a crappy short called Specter Quest. Eventually, I made a better version that captured my original vision perfectly! That seems to be the reason Raimi and company, along with director and co-writer of this remake, Fede Alvarez, want to make this version. Well, that’s what Bruce Campbell said when He told me, and a few other press peeps, about the remake during the New York Comic Con. When they made the original, Raimi and Campbell looked to make a scary film. However, It ended up being more comedic and cheesy because of the low budget effects, and “melodramatic dialog delivered by bad actors” as Bruce Campbell said. ha-ha!

Fun fact, by the way, I’d never seen the original Evil Dead film until after I did the press round table for the remake. When I arrived back in Ohio, I immediately drove to Best Buy, purchased the original on Blu-Ray, and loved every second of it. It was such a fun film, but I didn’t really find it funny. It was pretty bloody, and cheesy, but I didn’t really find it all that funny. I mean, how can you find raping trees funny? I guess this world is full of sick sick people.

Anyways, so even though I liked the trailer, there were some stuff that bugged me. First of all, and this might just be me, but I loved the fact the original film didn’t feature crazy bad language. Not a single f-bomb was dropped. A few hells and damns sure, but no ships or trucks at all. This new film has an f-bomb dropped in the trailer! I just hope it’s not over used, like most horror remakes.

Second, the original’s crazy violence was fun because of the low budget effects. With this new version and it’s bigger budget, I fear the violence might come off as torture porn. Bruce Campbell spoke a bit on torture porn at NYCC, and how he felt it was just bad film making. I couldn’t agree with him more. I’ve always been incredibly against torture porn because it is just bad film making. He also said this new film doesn’t feature a single frame of torture porn in it.

Which would imply that the film cares about the story, and the violence is just icing on the cake. So, I hope that is the case with this version of Evil Dead. In the end, I was rather impressed with this trailer, and I am excited to see the final product. I just hope that I’m as impressed with the actual film when it’s released next year. If you haven’t seen the trailer yet, click on the picture above! I should warn you, though…It’s not for the faint of heart!

Comics! With Richard and Carter

New York Comic Con ’12: The Video! (Days 1-3)

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Sometimes, all you need is a picture of Bruce Campbell to make people click on your article!

HELLO HELLO YELLOW JELLO! It’s Richard here coming to you STRAIGHT….from New York Comic Con 2012! Well, I was coming from NYCC a few days ago. Now, I’m home in Ohio feeling the common Comic Con side effects. Exhaustion, depression, and a pissed off wallet are among the side effects I’m suffering currently! Anyshway, I wrote an article over the weekend describing my first day at NYCC. Now, I had planned to pen a second article covering day two. However, I figured it’d be easier to just make a video for you to watch! So, if you’d like to watch the 12 and a half minute piece of greatness made by myself, Please click on the amazing picture above! Also, don’t forget to subscribe to Channel23hahaha for more episodes of COMICS!