Bad Vs. Evil

Twenty-two years ago, a new kind of movie experience was born. For the horror genre, it was an era of popular characters, and monsters like Leatherface (The Texas Chainsaw Massacre), Michael  Myers (Halloween) and the monstrous Aliens (Alien) were ruling the box office. But young director Sam Raimi wanted to make something different. An amateur filmmaker from Royal Oak, Michigan, Raimi wanted to create the scariest movie ever, in the vein of renowned author H.P. Lovecraft, “The gorier the merrier.” After struggles in securing funding and a location, Raimi – alongside his cohorts, producer Rob Tappert and actor Bruce Campbell – descended upon Morristown, Tennessee to create their film, eventually known as The Evil Dead. The cringingly bloody film became a rallying point of sorts, easily becoming the basis for every “cabin in the woods” style horror flick that followed (a trend parodied by last year’s excellent Cabin in the Woods). Though it garnered some very positive word-of-mouth (and even received a shout-out from master of horror Stephen King), its success at the box office at the time can only be described as “sufficient.” But while instant gratification was not forthcoming, The Evil Dead eventually translated into a popular cult film, supporting two sequels (Evil Dead 2 is oftentimes more applauded than the original and Army of Darkness introduced several catchphrases that are still fondly repeated today) and the seemingly limitless popularity for Ashley “Ash” Williams (Campbell), whose character has gone on to adventures in video games and comic books in the years since his “retirement” from feature films.

Sure, this place looks FINE.

Now, Raimi faces a new challenge. In producing a remake of his beloved classic, he’s not only attempting to start a new Evil Dead franchise, but also trying to prove that a remake can be just as beloved as its progenitor. A lot of fans were against this, if for no other reason than the 1981 classic’s level of camp was so popular and the 2013 version appeared far more serious. For the new Evil Dead, Urunguyan director Fede Alvarez was tapped to take the helm, making his feature film debut after almost a decade of short films. But even with the holy trinity of Raimi, Campbell and Tappert producing, and an excellent response from the crowds at this year’s South By Southwest film festival, was this new Evil Dead really worth watching?

This movie would have been shorter if young people ever followed instructions.

The answer to that is a resounding “Yes”, for a good number of reasons. One is Alvarez’ and his crew’s determination to make Evil Dead almost completely with practical effects. In a world where Hollywood uses computer generated imagery to create not just the impossible, but what they’re too lazy to do themselves (look at the average episode of The Walking Dead, for instance), the filmmakers’ use of real fake blood and gore is a refreshing (if occasionally nauseating) change. And when the story is that of a bunch of teens trapped in a cabin with a vengeful spirit, CGI would just make the whole experience corny and sad. Practical effects have grown in quality and variety in the past two decades to the point where they are more realistic than ever, making each skull-crushing, limb-disfiguring, soul-swallowing moment is a thousand times more engrossing than it was in the original. Some scenes are particularly difficult to watch, and while that might affect some people’s enjoyment, horror fans ought to be on the edge of their seat at any given moment. And the things they put poor Lou Taylor Pucci through!

This will not end well.

Speaking of the actors, the cast is definitely stronger than it was back in the day. Especially strong is Jane Levy, who some people are familiar with from ABC’s Suburgatory or last year's Nickelodeon comedy Fun Size. In her first horror role, Levy not only proves her Scream Queen chops, she also is an excellent central focus around which the movie can revolve. Her transition between drug-addled youngster and possessed half-demon is frightening in its volatility. She's definitely a stand-out, with a real chance for a future in Hollywood. The rest of the cast is quite good, full of young if not necessarily unknown actors. Shiloh Fernandez and Pucci help Levy in providing much-needed emotion and intelligence to make the story flow. Though their characters are perhaps a little cliched (which has to be intentional at this point), they don’t let the script hamper their natural talents. Only the tertiary ladies, played by Jessica Lucas and Elizabeth Blackmore, bring little more to the table than raw emotion, which again is mostly script injustice. Overall this is a talented group of young actors, with Levy definitely deserving to be front and center.

Ah, chainsaws. S-Mart, aisle 6.

But while those are excellent reasons for horror fans to plunk down their money and purchase tickets, there’s one very valid reason NOT to… and that’s a small-budget picture from 1981 called Evil Dead. Raimi’s original was a classic, and try as Alvarez might to pay homage to his mentor's art, there’s absolutely nothing new here to justify seeing the remake over what came before. The movie is chock full of references for fans to enjoy, but the director isn’t brave enough to add his own spin, or perhaps he was dissuaded from doing so by Raimi and company. And while this might be a decent start to a whole new franchise (a sequel is already in the works), there is no standout character to match the charm and cult heroism of an Ash Williams, and so no reason to watch a sequel. Combine that with some unexplained plot holes (No mention of cell phones or calling for help, and apparently the rickety old cabin is so soundproof you can't hear what's happening in the next room), and this is a still-great, but not particularly necessary motion picture.

You aren't quite so lovely anymore...

While making it big as a director of major motion pictures, Sam Raimi has been a bit disappointing of late. Nobody liked Spider-Man 3, and Oz the Great and Powerful was all self-indulgence and special effects. Meanwhile, he drags his early projects out of the ground and give them a heavy layer of shoe polish, just to validate his own career. Not that it was ever needed; Evil Dead was his earliest success, and one for which he is still both well-known and cheered. While his effort here is scary, gory and more than a little successful, I can’t help but feel a little cheated. I can get largely the same experience sitting at home with a DVD, and while the new Evil Dead is well-acted, well-directed and well-produced, it just isn’t well-imagined. Horror fans have seen all this before, and only those most fondly nostalgic will get anything new out of seeing this in the theater.

Open Letters Monthly: Oz the Great and Powerful

Just in case you thought that there were still some sacred things out there, Disney popped out a prequel to the 1939 classic (and perennial top 100 movie) The Wizard of Oz this past weekend. While Oz the Great and Powerful is questionable to overtake the popularity of the film and book series that inspired it, I have to admit a certain fascination with the world and wonders of Oz, and even if you're a movie purist you have to admit some of your own. The real question is whether it makes James Franco worth watching.

Carnival magician Oscar Diggs wants to achieve greatness, to be one of the greatest men of all time. Unfortunately, he's a two-bit philanderer and actor, with his true self nowhere near the surface. When a twister violently whisks him to the world of Oz, he is immediately assumed to be a wizard of great power, tasked with ridding the land of the mysterious and evil Wicked Witch. But while he at first is only interested in riches, he quickly learns the benefits of his abilities, and strives to be the great and powerful wizard the people of Oz imagine need him to be.

Oz the Great and Powerful is directed by Sam Raimi and stars James Franco, Mila Kunis, Rachel Weisz, Michelle Williams, Zach Braff and Joey King.

Click here for the full review at Open Letters Monthly.

Scary Good

If at first you don't succeed, try, try, try again.

This was a perfectly reasonable piece of advice when William Edward Hickson penned it in the 1800's, and it remains so today. This is one of the reasons why, after sitting through one of the worst horror films this decade in The Apparition, Todd and I were willing to give the genre another shot, this time with a familiar face behind the scenes. Sure, co-producer Sam Raimi (He of Xena and Spider-Man fame) might not have been creatively behind the filming of The Possession, which was led by Danish director Ole Bornedal; anyone expecting this movie to be the next Evil Dead deserves whatever disappointment they feel. But while it's been a few years since Raimi has made anything of note (I'll reserve judgment of the upcoming Wizard of Oz prequel), he's done enough over the past couple of decades to earn some goodwill from his audiences. Besides, Todd still had a hankering for horror, and as The Apparition proved itself nowhere close to scary, we thought a mulligan was in order. But could this Jewish horror title do what its predecessor could not?

She just watched The Apparition, too...

Clyde (Jeffrey Dean Morgan) and Stephanie Brenek (Kyra Sedgwick) are a couple going through separation. Clyde is having a hard enough time being away from his life, and is hurt that she has begun seeing others. Meanwhile, he dotes on his two daughters, whom he takes on during weekends. When the youngest, Em (Natasha Calis) buys a strange box on a yard sale trip, she begins to obsess over opening the seemingly sealed box to discover what is inside. Soon, she begins to change, and Clyde notices mysterious events transpiring around her. It's soon evident that Em has been possessed by a Dybbuk, a Jewish demon that had been trapped in the box she found. Now despite Clyde being in well over his head, he will do anything in his power to protect his daughter from the unknown creature that has claimed her body for itself.

The Thriller flash-mob was a little under-staffed...

Now, if you're saying "Hey, that just sounds like a Jewish clone of The Exorcist," congratulations! You've come across the one major flaw of the whole entire movie! It's absolutely true that in essence the whole tale is built from the debris of older titles. In fact, with the exception of the Dybbuk box and the demon trapped within (and even a demon trapped in a box is a familiar fable), and any and all references to Judaism, there's nothing here you haven't seen in just about every movie concerning demonic possession ever released. Every scene has at least one reference to lore that seems intimately familiar, and all the familiar horror tropes are there: locusts, a cursed ring, the black person dies first, the campiest music, false endings, "This isn't right!", lots and LOTS of insects, a professor unnaturally amused by the whole backstory, and a creepy kid. While the Catholic church has held the monopoly on exorcism films since their inception, the Jewish seem to want to make up for lost time by including every minor detail from other movies in making their own. Bad things even happen to the Priest brought in to perform the proper ceremony (though it's a Rabbi, here).

See, now that? That just isn't right...

Of course, if there was ever a movie that proves that being a UNIQUE film and being a GOOD film are two completely different things, it's The Possession. Like this year's The Amazing Spider-Man, The Possession is grounded in what we as audiences have covered before (and not all that long in the past), but the overall quality of the film is so good that such doesn't matter much at all. There are several reasons for this. The first is that The Possession doesn't take itself all that seriously. While the characters act as though everything happening is the worst thing in the world, the complete familiarity of the situation means that the audience can focus on the unexpected humor, campy acting and situations, and cliched music that feel fun and fresh with the complete lack of high expectations.

The movie's lesson to parents? Avoid yard sales!

But The Possession is hardly all fun and no scares; the creature effects are actually really effective for a low-budget film. Sure, it's no Insidious, but very few movies can be. Scenes drip with creepy atmosphere, and the few moments we see the demon itself manifest in its host are among the most hair-raising of 2012. This is all accented by the unnatural talents of young actress Natasha Calis, who makes this film with her out-of-this-world performance. Where she finds the ability to go from cute, normal kid to harbinger of the apocalypse I don't know, but I certainly hope that this isn't the last time we witness her in action. Wherever Bornedal found her, he lucked out in perfectly casting a role that was in danger of being a cheap Linda Blair copy with anybody else in the role.

Holy men rarely see the end of exorcism flicks.

The rest of the cast is more than adequate, and part of that reason might be the casting of Jeffrey Dean Morgan in the lead role. Known for effective support roles in Grey's Anatomy, Supernatural and Watchmen,. Morgan does a great job playing the everyman, for which this part definitely qualifies. While he plays the effective lead Sedgwick, Grant Show and Jewish reggae musician Matisyahu do effective work in backing him up. Each character feels organic, and though their fates are as predictable as the sunrise, each brings something to the table to make sure they are more than fodder for the machine. Also, not to be forgotten is Madison Davinport as Clyde and Stephanie's elder daughter Hannah. She's mainly a scream queen, but plays well enough off of her fictional sister and parents that her relatively small contribution is much respected.

Filming in a wind tunnel might not have been the best idea...

Sure, you know what's coming at all times. Yes, the whole thing is one Catholic priest away from a full-blown case of plagiarism. Yeah, it's campy and just a little silly. But it's because - and not in spite of - these things that I ended up enjoying The Possession. The film is acutely aware of how much it borrows from other sources, and plays with that honesty for all it's worth, which turns out to be quite a bit. It doesn't hurt that it's also a creepy, fun, and at times gross-out horror flick that could be well worth a re-watch when it becomes available on DVD. Raimi might not have been the master storyteller behind the scenes, but Bornedal proves himself a capable director whose future efforts will definitely garner a look. If you're a fan of scary movies, this is one that will be well worth your time.