Creeptober Day 21: Evil Dead (2013)

Evil Dead is one of the most consistently great film franchises in all of horror. It might be the greatest. So what would a Halloween-season movie marathon be without an Evil Dead movie? It would be a lot less fun. So, for day twenty-one of Creeptober, we’ve picked Evil Dead (2013).

Read on for our thoughts on Evil Dead (2013) as well as a recap of the movie, and join the conversation on our Facebook, TikTok, and Instagram!

Reacting to Evil Dead

If I had to pick one horror franchise as my very favorite, it would probably be Evil Dead. I’ve seen the original The Evil Dead (1981) more times than I can count, and after that, Evil Dead (2013) has likely become my second-most watched. Why do I love Evil Dead (2013) so much? Let me count the ways.

First, this movie is an amazing homage to the original two Evil Dead movies. It’s littered with references, but none of them are distracting. My favorite nod to the original is when Mia picks up the magnifying glass necklace towards the end of the movie, the chain is laid out in the shape of a skull just like Linda’s necklace in the 1981 film. I also enjoy the update to the tree assault scene, which, before I saw the 2013 movie, I wasn’t sure if it would even make it into the story. There are plenty of other callbacks, some more obvious than others. But if you don’t get them, it doesn’t matter. This movie stands on its own, but it can be considered a sequel if you want it to be (director Fede Álvarez seems to consider it a sequel).

Secondly, I’m a big fan of splatter movies, and Evil Dead doesn’t shy away from the blood (and other fluids). But it’s not just the blood. It’s the relentless nature of the violence creating that gore. The character Eric is particularly brutalized, suffering many stab wounds from various implements, being shot repeatedly by a nail gun, and being beaten with a crowbar. Natalie, too, suffers a horrifically brutal fate, becoming a nail-faced Venus de Milo before she finally stops moving. Nobody gets away unscathed.

Third, I adore how Evil Dead manages to feel brutal while still leaning into the camp which was also present in the 1981 movie. Evil Dead II (1987) goes for very clear comedy with its horror, but the original The Evil Dead goes for scary first, and anything humorous comes from how exaggerated the violence can be (and a few obvious jokes between the characters). So, to me, Evil Dead feels like the original in terms of tone more than other sequel in the franchise. This movie is mean, but the violence is so violent that it becomes darkly funny at times. Like Eric getting shot over and over with a nail gun. Or Mia pulling her hand off when her wrist is trapped under the jeep. Moments like those hover in a space between absurd and grotesque, and I love it.

Fourth, I just think Evil Dead looks fantastic. Like seeing Mia in the cellar, popping her head up against the hatch, or half-hidden in shadows when at the bottom of the stairs. She looks amazing. Or Olivia when she’s showing off her carving skills on her own face or crawling across the floor towards Eric. She also looks amazing. Natalie’s hand is disgusting. The book is a wonderful update to the original’s Necronomicon. Even just the way the scenes are framed and lit. It’s all superb, and it gives the movie a classic, 1980s horror feel to it while being modern at the same time.

I could continue listing everything I love about this movie, but I’ll stop there for now. I’ll end by expressing how happy I am that the Evil Dead franchise appears to be alive and well as I write this. Evil Dead Rise was really good, and I’m excited for what’s to come. The latest news is that there are two new movies in the works and an animated series. I can’t wait. Evil Dead has never missed as far as its movies and TV go.

Evil Dead – A Recap

Evil Dead begins with a scared, bloodied young woman being pursued by two men in the woods. They catch her, put a bag over her head, and knock her out. When she wakes, she is secured to a post in a filthy cellar. An old woman hangs dead animals from the rafters and reads from a mysterious book. A man approaches the young woman. She asks him, her father, where her mother is. He says she killed her mother. He pours liquid over her, and when she says she’ll rip his soul out, he sets his daughter on fire and blows her head off with a shotgun.

Later, a young woman named Mia is at a cabin in the woods with her friends Eric and Olivia. Mia’s brother David and his girlfriend Natalie arrive. David is there to support Mia as she tries to get over her drug addiction by going cold turkey. The cabin is owned by Mia and David’s family, but when they go inside they find that it’s been broken into. Mia also smells something awful. Mia and David discuss their mother’s death, and it is apparent that Mia has resentment for David leaving her alone while she cared for their mentally ill mother in her final days.

Away from Mia, Olivia and Eric tell David that Mia tried giving up drugs like this before. She also overdosed and legally died before being defibrillated. Olivia and Eric want David to agree to not let Mia give up, and to not let her leave the cabin. David says he’ll have to take Mia home if she asks. In the evening, David and Mia’s family dog, named Grandpa, paws at the cabin’s cellar hatch. There is blood leading to the hatch, and in the cellar are the dead animals hanging from the rafters from the movie’s opening scene. David and Eric also find a shotgun and a book wrapped in barbed wire.

While Mia is outside suffering from withdrawal, Eric reads from the book he found in the cellar. When he reads, an unseen force travels through the woods and hits Mia. She throws up, sees someone in the woods, and decides it’s time to leave. No one will drive Mia, so she takes Eric’s car and speeds away. While driving, she once again sees someone, this time in the middle of the road. Mia crashes the car into a ravine, and when she exits she is grabbed and held by vines and trees. A being that looks like Mia stands in front of her. Something made up of vines and black slime falls out of the doppelganger’s mouth and enters Mia.

Mia is taken back to the cabin. She is terrified of something she says in her room with her, but David doesn’t believe her. Outside, David finds the dog—Grandpa—dying, apparently beaten with a hammer by Mia. David tries to confront his sister, but he finds her in the shower severely scalding herself with hot water. David attempts to take Mia to a hospital, but the road is washed out. Everyone is trapped.

Back at the cabin, Mia, possessed, attacks everyone. She is thrown into the cellar, but not before puking on Olivia. Olivia is soon possessed, and Eric finds her cutting off her own face. Eric kills Olivia when she attacks him. Shortly after, Mia bites Natalie’s hand, prompting David to chain the cellar hatch shut so Mia can’t get out. Eric reads more of the book, and he tells David that the only way to save Mia is to kill her. Meanwhile, Natlie’s hand goes bad, so she lops her arm off with an electric knife.

Natalie, possessed, attacks Eric and David with a nail gun. David stops Natalie by shooting her remaining arm off, killing her. David plans to burn the cabin down with Mia in the cellar, but at the last second he has an idea. He goes into the cellar where he knocks Mia out with Eric’s help, but Eric dies in the process. Outside, David puts a plastic bag over Mia’s head and buries her. After waiting a short time, David digs Mia back up. She’s dead, but he is able to revive her, which should theoretically free her from possession. As they prepare to leave, Eric, now possessed, stabs David in the neck. With Mia outside, David sets the cabin on fire, burning himself, Eric, and the bodies of Natalie and Olivia.

Outside, blood rains from the sky. David’s death was the last soul needed for an evil abomination to rise. The abomination comes up out of the ground and chases Mia. She loses a hand when the abomination pushes David’s jeep onto her, but Mia manages to chainsaw its head in two. Dead, the abomination sinks into the ground as the blood rain stops. The sun comes out as Mia walks away, alone.

Keep Up with Creeptober!

• The entire list of 31 movies is here: Join Us for Creeptober: 31 Horror Movies in 31 Days
• Discuss on Facebook
• Even more on TikTok and Instagram