The Evil Dead (2013) Vs The Evil Dead (1981)?

The Evil Dead (1981)










"I've learned our choices always matter to someone, somewhere."- Daud, Killer of the Empress

I like the remake better.

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The 2013 film was surprisingly pretty good, but I'd take any of the previous Evil Dead movies over it.

Insidious Review: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=WVauip2djLw

It really all depends on how old you are.

The original was cheap & satirical, intentionally cheesy & intentionally humorous, if darkly so.

Millennials statistically have a hard time understanding satire in film, don't appreciate intentionally cheesy movies, & value special effects over plot. Dark humor is largely lost to them as well.

The judgement on the younger generation will be based disproportionately on special effects, gore, & action. Making 2013 remake the clear favorite.

While Generation-X & older will lean towards the satire & intentional cheese & sense of humor as reasons for liking the film making the 1981 original the favorite.

I finally watched both the original The Evil Dead (1981) and the 2013 remake of Evil Dead back to back. Obviously I have seen them before, but my viewings of both of the films were always spaced out, so I couldn't properly compare the films. But you know what... 2013 is the better film. It may be blasphemy, but '81 is good in a comic-book way, but it has many more problems than the remake. '13, on the other hand, crafted its story better, with more emphasis placed on the characterization of its leads, a stronger emotional weight, and the drug addiction angle that worked as a useful plot device, giving all its characters dimension in how they react to it. '81 lacks all this. It's fun, but nothing more, and is more entertaining than scary. While '13 also amps up the video-nasty spirit of the original, when looking at '81 unbiasedly, it too depended much on its gore for gore sake, with a fun, EC comic-book vibe, that the remake mostly lacks, with the exception of some sarcastic humor by Lou Taylor Pucci. As '13 mostly goes solely for scares and is unflinchingly brutal; one of the most extreme films ever released in the mainstream. The scene-to-scene one-upmanship and its dead serious nature make it better than '81 as a horror film. '81 is a good film, but it's quite campy. To the originals credit, though, Raimi did better utilize his flamboyant style, especially evident in the last man standing, final 15 minutes of the film, with all those zany camera angles. However, '13 had a better last block on a conceptual and emotional level, as well.


I think people are too caught up in the original film's cult legacy to think about the films unbiasedly. This includes me, as I wasn't big on the remake on first viewing, before I watched it again and realized that it is the better horror film. As the original is a good film, but I think it's too campy to be scary-- although it certainly tries for horror-- and it isn't emotional enough as it could be due to its lack of characterization and story. The original also isn't as funny as some people say either, as the comedy of the series wasn't ripe until Evil Dead 2. The remake has better characterization and story, and nearly goes solely for fright instead of cheap-- and some unintentional-- humor, and while I admit it is a bit too polished for its own good, it did cause me to wince a few times, and certainly upped the ante when it came to scares. Both are flawed, if good films, and the original is a good camp film, while the remake is more of a good horror film.

1981 Grade: 7.0/10 or a B. 2013 grade: 8.0/10 or a B+.

PS. And for the record, since some people on here are claiming it's a generational thing, I am 31 years old, and I have been watching the original Evil Dead since the late 1990's.

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Really just depends on what I'm in the mood for. The original is more fun and campy, but I think the remake is a better film quality wise, and also better in the horror aspect. Original was always too silly to take seriously.