By Nick Rasmussen– Last year, I witnessed a film that would shake the foundation of my soul. It is an experience I will never forget. At the time, I was busy preparing for and trying to decide what I would do after leaving college. I had papers up to my eyeballs and felt the sizzle of my brain, fried from the endless work I had finished and had yet to do. When I went out to get some fresh air, Jason R. Lees, a friend and fellow local filmmaker, told me that tonight was the last showing of Evil Dead, a film I had wanted to see, but hadn’t the time for. Despite the work I had to finish, I got in my car and drove over the Promenade for a mental break from reality. As I made my way to my seat, I realized that there weren’t very many people at the theater.
To be clear, the 2013 version of Evil Dead is not a remake, but more of a re-envisioning. The protagonist from the previous Evil Dead films “Ash” (Bruce Campbell) didn’t exist in this film. I found this to be both bad, since I am a fan that was looking forward to some classic Evil Dead, and awesome because I didn’t really know who, if anyone, was going to survive. Like the previous films, our story begins with a group of friends in their twenties who meet at an old cabin in the woods they would stay at during their childhood for the weekend. Following the traditional horror film structure, the characters are isolated from any outside help or escape from the terror that awaits them.
In the cellar lays a book, the Necronomicon, (roughly translated as the book of the dead) bound in human flesh and inked in human blood. As you could guess, curiosity kills the cat.
Evil Dead is rated R and has a running time of one hour and thirty-two minutes. This film falls in the thriller/horror category and overall is given three stars by the masses. Evil Dead (2013) is the fourth installment of the Evil Dead franchise. That Evil Dead franchise includes The Evil Dead (1981), Evil Dead 2 (1987) and Army of Darkness (1992). This American horror film was co-written and directed by Fede Alvarez. The three previous films where written and directed by Sam Raimi. Here are some fun facts: The Evil Dead was rated NC-17, Evil Dead 2 was rated X and Army of Darkness is rated R. The Necronomicon is a fictional book that first appears in the The Hound a 1924 short story by horror writer H. P. Lovecraft. This book was a detailed record of evil spirits, how to summon them and how to destroy them. If you’re thinking “Well then it shouldn’t be too difficult them to stop the problem,” you’re wrong; the rules of destroying the evil spirit are that it has to be dismembered, burnt alive or buried alive. These rules do have loopholes, but the chances escape are slim.
From the beginning to the end of the credits, the film had me so captivated that I did not even know if I was breathing. Even after the credits were done rolling and the house lights dimmed on, I was frozen in my seat. My body shook uncontrollably as if my very core was ice. The only word I could force out into the silence was “wow”. As I made my way out of the room, I realized that I had been alone through the entire movie. Down the dark hallway, I walked, increasing the level of tension. It wasn’t until I reached the lobby that I knew something wasn’t right.
The theater was a ghost town. No one was anywhere to be found, no customers and no employees. It was so unsettling that I waited to see if anyone would come passing by. Not only did no one pass through, but the building itself was unnaturally quiet. There was no sound coming from the lights or machines from behind the counter.
“Did something bad happen while I was watching the movie?” I thought to myself. I made my way outside and it only got worse. There were no birds, no cars, not even sounds of the city that were always around no matter how quiet it was. I raced to my car expecting something was going to chase after me. “This isn’t right. This isn’t happening”, I thought to myself. I didn’t hear or see a soul for another six blocks away from the theater. I can only describe such an uncommon event like that as fear, an emotion that is lost to those who desensitize themselves to horror movies. Though afraid, as a horror fan I felt strangely satisfied.
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