OK, I know what you're thinking. "Phil, you already saw this film last night, and you didn't like it." Yes, that may be true, but I wanted to see it again. Reason being was that when I saw it the first time, all I thought about was the original. In all fairness, I believed that I didn't give the movie a fair shot. Also my good friend Laura wanted to see it as well. So for film number four, I headed back over to the Camera 12 to rewatch EVIL DEAD.
So Laura and I entered the theater and found some sweet seats. The lights dimmed and the movie begin. I cleared my mind of the original and I proceeded to watch the film with an open mind. As I was watching the movie, I could hear the audience scream in fear, laugh at the gross out blood shed, whimpered at the ghastly sights that the characters had to endure. Then the lights came on, and the people left the theater. I turned to Laura ans asked her what she thought of it. She replied, "It wasn't scary."
Holy crap!! So I wasn't the only one?!? There was someone else who thought the very same thing!! As I said, I wanted to watch the film again and judge it on its own merits. And unfortunately, I came to the same conclusion that I had from last night. It wasn't scary. There was no build ups, no real character development, no nothing. Sorry to say this folks, but EVIL DEAD is a horror movie that didn't scare me. Wow, am I that desensitized?!? No, I still get scared when I get my taxes done. OK I'm fine folks.
EVIL DEAD is currently playing in theaters nationwide, including at the Camera
Cinemas here in the Bay Area. To view showtimes, visit their website at www.cameracinemas.com.
So the day has finally come. After months of watching the trailer online, after months reading about it in horror magazines and websites, after months of anticipation, the remake of EVIL DEAD has finally hit theaters. And yours truly was very excited about seeing it! So I made my way over to the Camera 12 in Downtown San Jose to witness this new re-imaging of the iconic horror classic. Was it worth it? Did it live up to all the hype? Is it worthy entry in this beloved and legendary horror series? Yes and no.
The premise of the EVIL DEAD is this: young Mia (Jane Levy), a recovering drug addict, heads to the old remote family cabin
in the woods with her brother David (Shiloh Fernandez) and their friends Olivia (Jessica Lucas), Eric (Lou Taylor Pucci) and David's girlfriend Natalie (Elizabeth Blackmore). While trying to help Mia with her sobriety, they discover the Book of
the Dead in the basement. Eric reads some of the passages from the book that summons the dormant demons that live in the woods. One by one the kids are picked off until there's only Mia left to fight off the evil dead spirits.
So let's begin with the positives that I found in the film. The production values are incredible! The cabin itself looks fantastic, set design looks great, and so is the cinematography. Another interesting fact is that director Fede Alvarez has stated that they didn't use any of CGI in the film. This statement was also said by the film's producers: writer/director of the original EVIL DEAD Sam Raimi, original producer Robert Tapert, and original star Bruce Campbell. In fact, Alvarez said in an online article by Bloody-Disgusting that, "We didn't do any CGI in the movie [...] Everything that you will see is
real, which was really demanding. This was a very long shoot, 70 days of
shooting at night. There's a reason people use CGI; it's cheaper and
faster, I hate that. We researched a lot of magic tricks and illusion
tricks." So this I applaud feverishly! Very rarely in this day of age where every single special effect is done with CGI, I was extremely blown away but their technical use of traditional special effects, which by the way, look freaking amazing!
As a special treat to longtime EVIL DEAD fans, there are several references to the original trilogy that are sprinkled throughout this film. First off, Sam Raimi's 1973 Oldsmobile Delta 88 can be seen in the opening scene with Mia and David arrive at the cabin. Mia wears a Michigan State sweatshirt, just like Betsy Baker's character Cheryl did in the original. Mia gets buck wild with a chainsaw like Campbell's Ash did in EVIL DEAD 2 and ARMY OF DARKNESS. There's also a tree rape scene, just like in the original, only less graphic. These are just some of the observations I made.
So the film is gory as hell! It's sickening as hell! The blood just pours out of the screen! There's body parts being sawed off, nails piercing flesh, carving of a tongue with a box cutter! Yup, there's so much blood in the film that it would make Dracula jealous with envy. But there was one major problem that I had with this film: it wasn't scary.
Yes my friends, it wasn't scary. It was very gory and graphic, but it wasn't scary. Now call me old fashioned, but I remember when horror films use to scare the hell outta me. When I first saw the original EVIL DEAD, it was scary! Raimi's POV shots of the evil spirits that roamed the forest were mesmerizing as well as haunting. It's the POV that made the original so scary. It would stalk each person in the cabin before it possessed them. Raimi used this technique to build up tension as well as scares. We were scared, then it was quiet. Then scared, then quiet. It was this roller coaster ride that made the original film so much fun to watch. With this remake, there's no build ups to the scares. It's all just gore, which look good like I said. But with without the build ups leading to the gore, you have nothing. And unfortunately, this film is NOT scary.
Another problem I had with the film was that I felt all the characters were too flat and interchangeable. Plus Jane Levy's Mia didn't look like a drug addict. She looked way too pretty to be one. But I will give her credit on this though: when she becomes possessed, she goes all out! So basically I'm saying that she plays a better possessed girl than a junkie.
When the film premiered at the ever popular South by Southwest Film Festival in Austin, TX on March 8, Alvarez announced that he was working on a sequel to the film. Then a couple of weeks later at the WonderCon Convention, during the EVIL DEAD panel, both Campbell and Alvarez said that their ultimate plan was for Alvarez's EVIL DEAD 2 and Raimi's ARMY OF DARKNESS 2 (which he will write with his brother Ivan Raimi) to be followed by a seventh EVIL DEAD film which would merge both Ash and Mia's worlds. So look at this film not as a remake, but as the next chapter in the EVIL DEAD universe. Also on a side note, stay after the credits for a special bonus scene.
So EVIL DEAD is a fun-filled gorefest ride of death, but it's not "The most terrifying film you will ever experience." The audience I saw it with were scared out of their minds, but unfortunately, it didn't have the same affect on me. But it's worth seeing for all the cool special effects. 3 out of 5 stars. It's worth a peak, but stick to the original.
EVIL DEAD is currently playing in theaters nationwide, including at the Camera
Cinemas here in the Bay Area. To view showtimes, visit their website at www.cameracinemas.com.
It's interesting to trace the career of director Sam Raimi. Here is a man that has directed some truly amazing and horrifying films. After all, we are talking about the man who directed the EVIL DEAD TRILOGY (THE EVIL DEAD, EVIL DEAD 2: DEAD BY DAWN and ARMY OF DARKNESS). After making some other films like DARKMAN, THE QUICK AND THE DEAD, and THE GIFT, he went on to helm THE SPIDER-MAN TRILOGY, which garnered him world wide acclaim. After the series ended, he returned to his horror roots with DRAG ME TO HELL. Now Raimi has returned to the big screen with his latest cinematic endeavour OZ THE GREAT AND POWERFUL, a prequel to the Hollywood classic THE WIZARD OF OZ.
Multi-award winning actor James Franco portrays Oscar Diggs (his nickname is Oz), a shifty, shady, circus magician (a con artist if you will). After having am illicit affair with one of the carny girls, he's chased by the girl's Strongman husband. He escapes in a hot-air balloon, only to get swept up in a devastating tornado. When he awakens he discovers he's been transported to the wonderful, magical world of Oz. Upon arriving he meets the beautiful Theodora (the stunning Milla Kunas), who takes him to the emerald City where he meets her sister Evanora (the gorgeous Rachel Weisz). The two believe him to be a wizard prophesied to overthrow the Wicked Witch who killed the king of Oz. He's sent off on a mission to prove that he is the chosen one. He finds not the Wicked Witch, but the good witch Glinda (the beautiful Michelle Williams). Oz finally realizes that he's in way over his head, and confesses to Glenda that he's not the powerful wizard, but her faith in him propels him into become not only the great and powerful Wizard of Oz, but becoming a better person as a whole. But first, he must defeat both of the Wicked Witches.
The film is based on L. Frank Baum's Oz novels, as well as the 1939 Hollywood film, but with slight differences. Remember that THE WIZARD OF OZ is a MGM film and this film comes courtesy of Walt Disney, so they couldn't have things too similar. The cowardly lion is just that; a lion. A real looking lion, not a man in a costume like previously portrayed by the great Bert Lahr. Glenda's costume is different than in the previous incarnation, but her means of travel, the cool bubble, is left intact. Oh, and don't bother looking for the famous ruby slippers in the film, for those are not in the book, but rather created for the 1939 film. The Emerald City looks almost the same, and the famed yellow brick road is there as well, just slightly different. However it does of the traditional black and white 4x3 formant intro.
Like the Hollywood classic, it's filled with cool characters that people will recognize, like the Munchkins in Munchkin Land. Plus there's new characters like China Girl (voiced by Joey King), and for the record, she's called that because she's made out of China, not the actual country of China. We also see Miss King early in the film as the crippled girl who asks Oz to heal her legs. Another new character is the winged monkey
Finley (Zach Braff). Now Finely isn't like the evil winged monkeys from THE WIZARD OF OZ. He's more like Oz's faithful servant. Braff also portrays Oz's assistant Frank in Kansas. Both of these characters were my favorite because they brought both a breathe of fresh air to the film as well as humor and pathos.
Now as for the film itself.....well....OK hear me out. So about twenty minutes into the film, after Oz meets Theodora and Evanora and they mistake him as the prophesied wizard who would save the Land of Oz, I suddenly realized that this was a remake of ARMY OF DARKNESS! For those of you who may have never heard of or seen the film (shame on you if you haven't) ARMY OF DARKNESS was the third installment of Raimi's EVIL DEAD TRILOGY, which came out back in January of 1993. So let me tell you the plot of ARMY: When a man named Ash (Bruce Campbell) is time-warped to medieval times, he is soon revealed to be the prophesied savior
who can quest for the Necronomicon, a book which can dispel the evil, so he can return home.Yeah, noticed the similarities yet people?!? We have a prophesied hero who comes from the sky, lands in a different world, forced to go on a quest that will save the land from evil. Whoa!! Is your mind blown yet?!? All that was missing from this movie was the catchphrases that Campbell spouted in ARMY! I was ready to hear James Franco say, "Groovy" or "Yo, she bitch!" or "Hail to the king baby!" If Franco would've said "Boomstick," I would have totally lost it! So this begs the question: did Sam Raimi realize that he was remaking his own film while making this film?!? Like they say in the Tootsie Roll commercials, "The world may never know."
So in the end, I liked OZ THE GREAT AND POWERFUL when it was called ARMY OF DARKNESS. The film relays on way too much CGI, had a weak story with uninteresting characters. It's nothing more of a pale remake of a cult classic. The only saving graces was Joey King and Zach Braff. Not even the beauty of Milla Kunas, Rachel Weisz, and Michelle Williams could've saved this film from sucking. 2 out of 5 stars. This film is a rental at best.
OZ THE GREAT AND POWERFUL is currently playing in both 2-D and 3-D in theaters nationwide,
including at the Cinelux Theaters here in the Bay Area. To view
showtimes, visit their website at www.cineluxtheatres.com.
Welcome to Day Eighteen of Phil's Halloween Horrors Marathon and welcome to Month Nine of the Cult Movie Series here at the Camera 3 in Downtown San Jose! So for tonight's cult film we screened Sam Raimi's 1987 cult classic EVIL DEAD II. Once again yours truly was the host for tonight's screening. Prizes were donated by Streetlight Records and by Time Tunnel Toys, both located here in San Jose. There were also yummy donuts to eat, courtesy of Psycho Donuts located in the lobby.
Theatrical Move Poster (1987)
Directed by Sam Raimi, the film's about a young man named Ash (cult movie icon Bruce Campbell) who takes his girlfriend Linda (Denise Bixler) to a remote cabin in the woods for a romantic getaway. Once there, Ash finds and plays back a professor's tape recorded recitation of passages from the Book of the Dead, which gives the evil spirits in the woods the power to posses the living. Linda becomes possessed and Ash is forced to "kill" her. Soon the professor's daughter Annie (Sarah Berry), his assistant Ed Gentley (Richard Domeier), and two locals named Jake (Dan Hicks) and Bobby Jo (Kassie Wesley) shows up and they, along with Ash, must survive the night or else they will all be "Dead by Dawn!"
The film was made in Wadesboro, North Carolina in the summer of 1986. Most of the film was shot in the woods near that farmhouse, or J.R. Faison Junior High School, which is where the interior cabin set was located. Most of the film was shot in the woods near that farmhouse, or at J.R. Faison Junior High School, which is where the interior cabin set was located. Producer Dino De Laurentiis and his production company DEG (De Laurentiis Entertainment Group) financed the film.
The film's beginning was a recap of the first film; actually more of a reimagining. The reason they did this was because Raimi and his crew couldn't get the rights to use screnes from the first film. The original EVIL DEAD was released by New Line Cinema and they used a scene from the film in Wes Craven's A NIGHTMARE ON ELM STREET. Look for it towards the end of the film; it's in the scene with Nancy trying to stay awake. In response to this and not being able to use footage of the first film, in the scene when Ash first walks into the toolshed to remove Linda's head from his hand, if you look above the door, you'll see Freddy Kruger's infamous glove.
There are numerous stories that are now folklore. From Sam breaking Bruce's jaw when he crashed into him with a bicycle to Ted Raimi sweating in his Possessed Henrietta, the Linda Chainsaw sequence, to Bruce getting his teeth punched out by Dan Hicks, the stories are endless. Also known as EVIL DEAD 2: DEAD BY DAWN, the film was released to theaters on March 13, 1987 and within its first month it grossed over $5 million dollars and earned a cult status among horror fans.
What a great crowd we had! Over 50 people came out to see the film! Now there is still one more showing of EVIL DEAD II this Saturday, October 20th at midnight. Then next moth's cult film will be the Sam Raimi's 1993 film ARMY OF DARKNESS (the final chapter of the EVIL DEAD Trilogy) on Thursday, December 15th at 9:30pm and again on Saturday, November 17th at midnight! So mark these days on your calender and come out and have some cult movie fun! To view the rest of the Cult Movie Series schedule, visit the Camera Cinemas website at www.cameracinemas.com.
INTRUDER
Starring: Renée Estevez, Elizabeth Cox, Dan Hicks, David Byrnes, Sam Raimi, Eugene Glazer, Billy Marti, Burr Steers, Craig Stark, Ted Raimi, Bruce Campbell
Screenplay by Scott Spiegel
Written by Scott Spiegel and Lawrence Bender
Based on the short film Night Crew by Scott Spiegel
Produced by Lawrence Bender
Directed by Scott Spiegel
Released by Synapsis Films
Here we are folks, Day Fifteen of Phil's Halloween Horrors Marathon! Now there was a plethora of horror film being released in the 1980's. Some were amazing while some were out-right god awful. And then there were those that fell through the cracks that some horror fans may have missed or didn't even knew that it excited. Some of these overlooked gems were discovered on VHS at their local mom & pop video store (because the evil mega-conglomerate Blockbuster refused to carry these fright flicks. Now they're closing stores all over. See, stocking horror films is good business). Now in the 21st century, new technology has given these films the love and attention they truly deserve. Once again, Synapse Films has given us another unsung classic with the release of director Scott Spiegel's 1988 horror film INTRUDER.
The film's premise is quite simple: The employees of Michigan's Walnut Lake Supermarket has just been informed that the store is closing next month and the crew begins to price down the store's inventory. Things are already bad for cashier Jennifer (Elizabeth Cox) as she is being harassed by her psycho ex-boyfriend Craig (Danny Byrnes), has just been released from prison for manslaughter. Just when things couldn't get any worse, it does. Soon all the night crew employees are being murdered viciously by a mysterious killer, who plans on saving Jennifer for last. All evidence points to Craig, but is he the real killer, or is it someone else?
Now for those who may not know, Spiegel grew up with both Sam and Ted Raimi and Bruce Campbell back home in Michigan and they all use to make 8mm horror films back in high school. Years later Spiegel would help write 1987's EVIL DEAD 2 with Raimi as well as be one of his "fake shemps" in the film. The following year, Spiegel meet producer Lawrence Bender who helped find financing for his new horror film, which was based on an old 8mm short film he made with Campbell and the Raimi brothers. The film also showcases the extreme gore and mayhem courtesy of the pre-KNB EFX Group (Greg Nicotero, Howard Berger, and Robert Kurtzman) who agreed to do the film if they'd get their names in the opening credits.
Original Poster w/Original Title (198
The film's casts were largely unknowns but you might recognize some of these actors and actresses. The first being both Sam and Ted having bit parts in the film and at the very end you'll see Bruce Campbell playing a cop (he'd again play a cop the following year in MANIAC COP). Linda was played by Renee Estevez (younger sister of Charlie Sheen and Emilo Estevez) who also appeared in other horror and low budget films like 1987's SLEEPAWAY CAMP 2: UNHAPPY CAMPERS and 1993's GOOD GIRLS DON'T and is now appearing on TV's The West Wing. Dan Hicks was seen in EVIL DEAD 2 as Jake and also had bit parts in MANIAC COP, DARKMAN, SPIDER-MAN 2 and MY NAME IS BRUCE. Bender has gone on to produce Quentin Tarentino's films such as PULP FICTION and INGLORIOUSBASTERDS. Spiegel's latest film is HOSTEL: PART III was just released on DVD in rated and unrated versions.
Also coming to their aid during production was Charles Band, who at that time had Empire Pictures (which was the company he had before he launched Full Moon Entertainment in 1988). Band agreed to help finance the film and distribute it. Unfortunately Empire Pictures was in dire straits and soon collapsed. Band rebounded with Full Moon Entertainment and secured a distribution deal with Paramount Pictures. Band was only allowed to take a handful of films from his old company and one of them was INTRUDER. The film was originally entitled "The Night Crew: The Final Checkout" but was changed by Paramount to give it a more marketable name (but the trailer for the VHS release has it as The Night Crew title). However, it would be a short victory for Spiegel and his film, as the MPAA literally ruined the film with their required cuts for it to be released on VHS. Bootleg copies and imports of the unedited film has surfaced for years, but the folks at Synapse Films have returned its original, unedited director's cut.
The Blu-Ray version looks incredible and is amazing to witness. The film boats an all-new 2K digital restoration and as a result the picture quality is unbelievable. The colors are vibrant and add that it's the director's cut, the blood and gore are just insane to see. The Blu-Ray contains a number of special features: Commentary by Siegel and Bender, which is very funny, informative and entertaining, Slashed Prices: The Making of Intruder featurette which most of the cast and crew members get together for, Extended Murder Sequences from the Original Workprint, Outtakes from the now-lost short film, Night Crew: the short film Spiegel made when he was a teenager, The Slashing of Intruder with Filmmaker Vincent Pereira, Behind-the-Scenes Stills Gallery, Original Cast Audition Footage, a DVD copy, as well as trailers.
Overall, this is an incredible combo release! INTRUDER is one of the best slasher films to come out of the 80's and thanks again to Synapse Films, you can enjoy this film once again in the unrated director's cut complete with all the bells and whistles that fans have been clamoring for! Folks, it doesn't get any better than this! 5 out of 5 stars!! Highly recommended!!
INTRUDER Blu-Ray+DVD Combo Pack is currently available on the Synapse Films website. To purchase a copy, visit their website at http://synapse-films.com/
The final days of my movie marathon are coming close to an end, so let's get right into Day 26! So for tonight's pick, I chose a film that was one of my top ten films of 2009, and it herald the return of a iconic horror director to his roots. Sam Raimi's DRAG ME TO HELL contained everything that we love about his films, plus some new elements to his arsenal.
Theatrical Movie Poster (2009)
Alison Lohman portrays Christine Brown, a loan officer in a bank. She tries to impress her boss (she' looking to be promoted to assistant manager) by refusing to grant an extended loan to an old gypsy woman named Mrs Ganush (Lorna Raver). In an act of revenge, Ganush places a curse on young Christine, that in three days, she would be dragged of to hell to burn for an eternity. Christine's boyfriend Clay (Justin Long) tries to console her, but when supernatural occurrences begin to happen, she must find a way to break the gypsy's curse.
The film marked the return of Sam Raimi to the horror genre, and the horror fans welcomed him back with open arms. For those of you who don't know who Sam Raimi is, he is responsible for directing THE EVIL DEAD trilogy as well as the SPIDERMAN trilogy. With the first EVIL DEAD, Raimi created a horror film classic, and made his lead actor Bruce Campbell into a cult icon (he stars in the television show BURN NOTICE). Raimi was only nineteen years old when he made the film, but what made him stand out was his style of directing, which is totally his own and has become his signature. This unique style would serve him well when he was tapped to direct the SPIDERMAN films. Combining unique camera set ups, panning and pacing, Raimi is like a kid in a toy store, playing with everything there and figuring out how to make it all come together. With DRAG ME TO HELL, Raimi used the experience he gained from the SPIDERMAN trilogy and applied it to this film. Much like his famous horror film trilogy, he was able to get great scares, bodily fluids spewing, and his trademark sense of humor. The only difference is that he got to have a bigger budget ($30 million budget to be exact) and he made the most of this.
The film was released to theaters on May 29, 2009. It was so well received by both fans and critics, and soon topped several horror lists later in the year. The film grossed over $90 million worldwide! Fans of Raimi were so excited that there has been talk of future horror films. Maybe with that Bruce Campbell guy again, but it's all rumors at this time. However, it's a helluva cool rumor!
DRAG ME TO HELL is a great horror films that will gross you out, make you laugh a bit, then scare the hell out of you! Find out what you're missing and go check out the film, but be careful to to cross any old gypsy ladies out there!
DRAG ME TO HELL is currently available on both Blu-Ray and DVD. To purchase a copy, visit your local retailer or visit Amazon's website at www.amazon.com
