Mia, a young woman struggling with sobriety, heads to a remote cabin with a group of friends where the discovery of a Book of the Dead unwittingly summon up dormant demons which possess the youngsters one-by-one.
Though it never channels the raw DIY energy of the original Evil Dead series -- what big-budget version could? -- this polished, clever remake remains true to the spirit of the original, which was at once viscerally terrifying and weirdly lighthearted.
– Dana Stevens,
Slate,
5 Apr 2013
fresh:
A stylish and worthy homage: inventive even as it is derivative, never quite jokey but never taking itself too seriously, and clocking in at an entirely appropriate 91 minutes. Any longer would be unmerciful; any shorter, ungenerous.
– Christopher Orr,
The Atlantic,
5 Apr 2013
rotten:
Five years from now, will you want to watch this bloody $14 million extravaganza or Raimi's shoestring original, which was Amateur Hour elevated to pop art? Evil Dead just bleeds money.
– David Edelstein,
New York Magazine/Vulture,
8 Apr 2013
fresh:
An effectively relentless gore-fest.
– Bruce Diones,
New Yorker,
15 Apr 2013
rotten:
Despite much old-school splatter, it's seldom frightening and oddly unfunny.