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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: A HORROR REMAKE THAT DOESN’T SUCK?!

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OK, based on newer knowledge we know Alvarez’s Evil Dead is actually a reboot leading to a franchise of its own, but still, he did something so many directors have failed to do by rehashing already successful source material beloved by hoards of fans, and still creating a kick-ass movie that lives up to the original hype. I mean, we all know the cult following behind Raimi’s Evil Dead franchise, probably one of the most cult-worshiped horror franchises in history, and we know how remakes have been disgracing the horror films of yesteryear we all know and love – so history and trends were not on Fede’s side.

But f*ck history and f*ck trends, because Alvarez confidently attacked one of the most iconic cult horror franchises and spun his own take on “cabin in the woods” type horror to create a film that not only lives up to current horror expectations, but standards set by Raimi himself. The atmosphere, tension, ridiculousness, horror – Fede grabs so much inspiration from Raimi, yet absolutely gives Evil Dead his own unique touch. He defied the odds by taking risks, learning lessons from Raimi’s original material on what works and what doesn’t work, absolutely owning classic material some deemed sacrilegious to alter.

I stand by a claim in my review of Alvarez’s Evil Dead which states the following: “Alvarez made the film Sam Raimi intended to make, only Fede was given the appropriate budget.”

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