Tag Archives: sam raimi

General

Evil Dead (2013) Review

Leave a comment

evildeadtrailer

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!

Comics! With Richard and Carter, General

Joe The Barbarian Review (COMICS!)

Leave a comment

Joe

Nothing better then a little escapism!

Hello everyone! I am Richard! The Awkward and Hilarious! Today I present to you a comic review. So sit back, relax, and read on! Anyways, one of the biggest movies that came out this week was Oz the Great and Powerful. As a Sam Raimi fan, I was really pumped to return to that magical dream land. Thankfully, when I saw the movie, I left the theater with a smile on my face. Unlike Tim Burton’s Alice in Wonderland, a film I’m 100% sure this movie will be compared to a lot, Oz is a movie I’m not afraid to say I enjoyed without being made fun of. It wasn’t necessarily Great or Powerful, but it was just a fun time at the movies. Also, after I left the theater, I began thinking of some of my favorite tales with a similar premise. Someone from our world, in need of change, being transported to a brave new land of fantasy and impossibility.

Now, normal people would probably think of more traditional examples. Me, I thought of an awesome 3 year old comic called Joe The Barbarian. The story of Joe is penned by comic book legend, Grant Morrison, and is drawn by a favorite of mine, Sean Murphy. Joe The Barbarian follows a boy named Joe Manson. Joe, a creative and diabetic young lad whom tends to escape the harshness of his real life, fails to receive his daily needed dose of glucose. Once this happens, Joe begins to hallucinate a fantasy world inhabited by mystical monsters, as well as his action figures. Upon arrival, Joe learns he is the prophesied Dying Boy come to destroy King Death, and save the land for all!

In 2010, when this story was being told, I was only reading Batman related series. Later in the year, I began to explore other areas of the comic world. Specifically comics written by people I really love. One of my favorite writers of all time is Grant Morrison. At the time, the only Morrison book I was reading was his amazing Batman and Robin series. One day, I had a conversation with a fellow Morrison fan, chit-chatting about the latest adventure of Batman and Robin, and he told me about this awesome book called Joe the Barbarian.

It was a limited series, written by Morrison, being done over at Vertigo, which is an imprint of DC Comics. Once he gave me a short summary of the story, I became incredibly excited to read it. So, I patiently waited for the hardcover to be released. Once it hit the store shelves, I raced to the nearest shop, grabbed myself a copy, threw about thirty some dollars at the cashier, and raced back home! I didn’t leave my room at all that evening. I was so into what I was reading.

One of the aspects I loved most was the character of Joe. I related to him in so many ways. Minus the diabetes, the kid was basically me. I’ve always been someone who kind of lives inside their own head. Trying to escape reality because it’s too much for them to handle. Admittedly, I related so much that it was kind of hard to read this book. It reminded me of similar struggles I’m going through currently that I’ve tried to avoid through escapism. That being said, It was good to be reminded of those things, strangely. It made me even more invested and sucked into this comic.

Another interesting aspect was the way it was written. While this comic features the usual Grant Morrison writing style, it didn’t feel like a typical comic from him. The story was much more straight forward, and less metaphorical. It’s always nice to see writers challenge themselves and/or try something new. All that being sad, the greatest thing to come out of me reading this comic was discovering Sean Murphy. Murphy’s art work in Joe was so amazing that it became difficult to even turn the page. I’d literally just be sitting on my bed, gazing upon a brilliant castle, witnessing an epic battle, or marveling at the forest lands of this beautifully drawn world.

After I read this book, I fell in love with the work of Sean Murphy. Since then, If I ever find anything sporting his name, I instantly have to purchase it. Even the freaking cover of the hardcover, depicted above, is amazing! Just look at it! It’s all kinds of spectacular! Anyways, if you haven’t been able to tell, I really loved this comic. It’s not my favorite tale from Morrison, but I consider it one of his best!

I give Joe The Barbarian a 5 outta 5!

General

Evil Dead (2013) Trailer Review!

Leave a comment

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!