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Nato And Remy’s Last Stand: Why Fede Alvarez’s Evil Dead Bitch-Slapped Horror

With gasps and shudders and clenched fists curled up tight in the pockets of my hoody, the Evil Dead remake reminded me in one blinding flash why I adore the horror genre. It's down right scary, unsettling, relentless, and brutal. It's also engaging, interesting, incredibly well shot, and perfectly executed (I'll take "poor word play" for 100, Alex). Alvarez's film was a painstakingly crafted love letter to the original and fans of the original, and it also did something most people might have missed if they left early: it bridged the original series with the new series in an attempt to combine them both further down the road. How f*cking awesome is that? So now, for your reading pleasure, Matt and I will discuss some of the things that really stood out to us regarding this awesome reboot. Awesome and reboot are two words we never use next to each other, so you should be aware how big a moment this is for horror.

Nato: THE IMPLICATIONS OF GORY WIDE RELEASES

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For those with a weak stomach, just know you’ll probably have a hard time making it through Alvarez’s Evil Dead. It’s not just gory, it’s downright revolting and sadistically violent, dismembering cast members while forcing us to watch in all of the gory glory. If you think Ash cutting his hand off in Evil Dead II was tough to watch, there’s a 95% Elizabeth Blackmore’s character Natalie’s appendage removing scene that will make you vomit. Some of the gore was so gruesome and lifelike, people walked out of my showing to wait outside the theater for their friends – which only makes the practical effects mastery by Alvarez’s crew all the more epic.

But what does this mean for mainstream horror? Maybe studios will stop playing it so damn safe with their powder-puff PG-13 snoozefests and give horror fans what they really want – buckets and buckets of gore. Gross us out! It’s a challenge we love facing! By stealing 1st place at the box office its opening weekend with a $26 million dollar gross (already making the film profitable), Alvarez proved audiences will still turn out for a blood-soaked masterpiece even if it makes them squirm with distaste.

Don’t get me wrong, gore still needs to be supplemented by proper storytelling and everything else that makes a good horror movie, but hell, maybe now studios will nut up and start taking risks again – it’s about damn time.