• Director: Fede Alvarez
• With: Jane Levy, Shiloh Fernandez, Jessica Lucas, Lou Taylor Pucci, Elizabeth Blackmore, Phoenix Connolly, Sian Davis
• Music by: Roque Baños
• Duration: 1h31
• Studio: Ghosthouse Pictures
• Rating: 8,5/10

Synopsis:

A long, challenging rehabilitation weekend awaits young opiate addict Mia, who has one last chance to kick the habit for good in the isolated family cabin in the thick woods. However, as Mia’s estranged brother David and his girlfriend Natalie meet up with David’s old friends, Olivia and Eric, a hair-raising discovery in the cellar will soon lead to a frantic night of demonic possession and madness. Now, an ancient malevolent force demands blood and the precious souls of the living. Who can stop the ever-growing evil of the encircling forest?

Review:

Welcome back in the in cabin the woods that holds a demonic secret, awaiting to be released.

This is the first Evil Dead instalment that doesn’t have Bruce Campbell playing Ash (although he does appear in a small post credit scene and I know of an unused but filmed scene where the survivor of this movie meets Ash along the road) and doesn’t have Sam Raimi in the director’s seat.

This is a whole new take on the Evil Dead franchise but with the known elements: a cabin in the woods, the Necronomicon and demonic possession in one of the most gruesome and gory instalment of them all! (But of course, this was topped by the latest Evil Dead Rise. More on that one in my next review!)

Due to the low self esteem and her drug addiction, Mia seems to be the perfect choice to have her being possessed by the demons released by one of the friends when reading from the ‘Book of the Dead’! This will start events leading up to the killing of all friends in the cabin and the waking up of an entity, called The Abomination.

This one is far more serious and more horror and less comedy than Evil Dead II and Army of Darkness and shows the true dark side of demons and possession and how chaos ensues when it is released.

I am glad they shied away from the comedy in this Evil Dead movie (and its successor) because this is the perfect kind of franchise to have a dark tone! This leans more towards The Exorcist and offers the right amount of gore, horror and bloody scenes!

Poor Eric… Poor Mia… poor Olivia… poor David… poor Natalie… poor Granddad…