In 1983, Sam Raimi’s cult horror classic, “The Evil Dead” was released. It has gone down as one of the most influential horror films of all time. 30 years later, a remake, “Evil Dead” was released by director Fede Alvarez. Like Raimi, “Evil Dead” serves as the directorial debut of Alvarez.

The plot of the film is similar to the original in many regards. Five twenty-somethings head to a remote cabin in the woods to stay together. In the original, it was to spend their break away from it all and relax. In this film however, it is a drug intervention for a college student named Mia (played by Jane Levy). She is there with her brother David (Shiloh Fernandez) who is now a mechanic, their friend Olivia (Jessica Lucas) who is a nurse, Eric (Lou Taylor Pucci) a schoolteacher, and David’s new girlfriend Natalie (Elizabeth Blackmore). They find that their cabin had been used as a site for black magic and find the “Naturon Demonto” the book of the dead. Despite warnings written in the book, Eric reads an incantation from it and summons demonic forces that stalk and possess Mia. Due to her going through drug withdrawals no one will believer her, until they too begin experiencing strange events. The first two acts of the film deal with the generic clichés of the horror genre, but the third act delivers an excellent and brilliant climax.

The film’s setup is similar to the original but they give much more backstory for the characters as well as more exposition and explanation of the events. The original “Naturon Demonto” did not specify rules on how the demonic possession worked. The characters in the first did not even read it; they stumbled across a tape recording of someone else reading it. This film also gives a better reason for why the characters do not take Mia’s warnings about the dangers seriously, they think she is going through withdrawals and wants to get back home to get a fix. It is revealed that Mia and David’s mother went insane and died in the hospital, which adds tension to their relationship and shows David’s fear that Mia is slipping into insanity as well.

These revelations about their backstories are important because the characters get little development apart from this. David and Mia get the expected development that reconciling siblings would get. Eric goes through an interesting character arc as well. Olivia and Natalie get little to no development. They also seem to suffer from impeded intelligence at times. David and Eric range from being quite intelligent to embarrassingly stupid. However, in the films defense, the original’s cast suffered the same problems.

The actors themselves gave mixed performances. Shiloh Fernandez was varied as David. His performance would range from competent with shades of quality to wooden and stiff. His best scenes were when his determination was showing through. Lou Taylor Pucci was actually pretty good as Eric. He is the guy from the trailers who looked like Nerdy Jesus. He seems wracked with guilt and facing conflicting emotions. He probably gave the second strongest performance from the cast.

The best performance in the film is without a doubt Jane Levy as Mia.

Levy is especially creepy as Mia’s possessed form. Her insane expressions and erratic movements make her quite unsettling.

Her performance is among the best of any horror film in the past decade. She did an amazing job depicting the fear and anxiety after her initial attack. Her terror was very palpable and made the audience uneasy. Once she becomes possessed, as seen in the trailer, she steals the show. She is twisted, mesmerizing and terrifying in the role. Her face can quickly switch from terror to a contorted crazy expression that is terror inducing in its own right. Her body language was very well done as well. She alternated from stiff and unnatural to fluid and lethal. Her performance alone is enough to compensate for other cast members underacting.

The film is certainly flawed but overall delivers a great thrill ride. It never pretends to be anything more than an entertaining horror film. It is obvious that the writers and director had a love of the original. The film is loaded with shout outs to the original. Some are obvious, such as the chainsaw in the shed, or a 1973 Oldsmobile sitting abandoned behind the cabin, while some, such as Mia wearing a Michigan State jacket like the characters of the original film, are more subtle references. The cabin itself looks nearly identical to that of the original film. The main aesthetic difference is that the “Naturon Demonto” still appears to be made from human flesh but no longer carries the contorted face on the cover. It also has much more detailed imagery and exposition within it.

The book in this one gives much more detail and exposition about what these beings are, though the term Deadite is never used.

This could be one of the most technically proficient horror films in years. The cinematography and special effects in the film were excellent. The camera work in this film is one thing that was certainly superior to the original. Most of the shots are perfectly placed building just the right amount of suspense and unease. The special effects all appear to be hard practical effects with CGI only being applied for touch ups. They look amazing. The practical effects combined with the films beautiful camera work and extraordinary lighting create some engaging and scary shots. The possessions are more realistic looking than the originals. The effects are mostly low-key until the film climaxes in an amazingly bloody spectacle that would make any gore lover happy. This scene is topped off by an excellent piece from the score. The score for the majority of the film is low key and eerie, fitting the tone perfectly.

This biggest difference between this film and the original is its sense of humor. One of the most memorable things about the original is that while a horror film, it was also funny. It had a creepy sense of humor that, while unsettling at times, was amusing. This film has a much darker tone, but still has a dark sense of humor. Its humor comes from a feeling of medium awareness. The obvious clichés are played straight or subverted in ways that are comical. The film also has obsession with doors suddenly or slowly closing behind people. It eventually becomes apparent that it is a running joke.

“Evil Dead” is an excellent debut for Alvarez. The film is of much better quality than the slew of horror remakes to come out in the past decade. While not perfect, it is an enjoyable ride that actually manages to keep you guessing and in suspense until the end. It is what it is and does not pretend to be anything more. The film merits a 7/10, a must see for horror fans.

Richard "Hawk" Hawkins, “Evil Dead” Review: Breathing Life Into a Classic Franchise

If you read Frank Cho’s Dynamite book Jungle Girl, you already have an idea of what to expect here.  It takes place in the Savage Land, and all hell breaks lose rather fast.  Cho hasn’t hidden his love of Shanna the She-Devil, and it shows in his writing.  She gets some good dialogue compared to the other characters in this book. Granted, most of her dialogue is explaining the trip that the reader just saw themselves.  Savage Wolverine #1 isn’t written well, but it shows a lot of potential.  It could be a fun and outlandish book.  Cho misses a great opportunity for humor, instead going for straight seriousness.  The recent Avenging Spider-Man arc in the Savage Land used the absurdity of the land rather well.  Wolverine can’t stay in the Savage Land forever, so Shanna will have to make a trip to the Jean Grey School sooner or later, which is a situation ripe with humor.

Wolverine doesn’t fare well in this issue.  It’s clear from the start that Cho wanted this book to be a Shanna ongoing, but Marvel thought it wouldn’t sell. So Cho threw Wolverine into it so that it would sell.  He barely speaks, and narrates every little thing he does.  The reader doesn’t need to be told he just killed someone when we saw the head flying across the panel.  The narrations go away once Wolverine bumps into Shanna, which betters the issue.  If the next few issues have the same problems, maybe Marvel should bring a cowriter aboard for a while.  Help Cho get his ideas out more effectively.  If I had any control over the books Marvel published, they would have turned this into a Shanna book instead.  Wolverine has enough books, and Marvel has been succeeding recently with B and C lister books.  If the book is good, it will sell.  Also, this would be a MAX book.  Cho could pencil the nudity that he terribly wants to pencil.

At this point in Frank Cho’s career, everyone knows what to expect from his books.  Lots of dinosaurs, cavemen, and scantly clad women.  Every other shot of Shanna has her standing in a provocative position with her boobs almost hanging out.  With the story being serious in nature, the amount of boobs sticks out that much more (no pun intended).  If Savage Wolverine had been more lighthearted and over the top, the boobs would have felt natural (I seriously didn’t mean that pun either).  Savage Wolverine is one great looking comic though. Every character is very expressive and detailed, and the lush jungles are beautiful.  The contrast of wide screen panels and small panels is used well to convey the fighting.  Cho’s amazing art is going to be the big draw on this book for some time.

Savage Wolverine is going to be a bubble book for some time.  If the writing can improve, and the tone can shift a little bit, we have ourselves a great book.  But if not, we have a dud.

Savage Wolverine #1 gets 3/5.

MrComicBook, Review: Savage Wolverine #1

Marvel is pleased to present your first look at the explosive first issue of Age Of Ultron #1! This March, enter the darkest days of the Marvel Universe as it’s heroes fight for from the blockbuster creative team of Brian Michael Bendis (All New X-Men, Avengers VS. X-Men) and Bryan Hitch (Ultimates, Fantastic Four). Evil has triumphed over good and leading this new age is none other than Ultron, the deadly sentient robot created by founding Avenger Hank Pym who turned on his creator to achieve his twisted objective…the utter destruction of humanity. Now, it’s up to the few remaining heroes to band together and find any way to topple their new monarch. Can Wolverine, Emma Frost, Invisible Woman, Taskmaster, Beast, She-Hulk, Luke Cage, Spider-Man, and Moon Knight turn the tide?

With the robotic revolution in full force, no fan can miss how Age of Ultron will ultimately change the Marvel Universe leaving no hero or villain unscathed! So what are you waiting for? Head on over to your local comic shop and reserve a copy of Age of Ultron #1, featuring a unique cover with foil treatment and design at no extra cost. Fans have been demanding to know more about Age of Ultron since Free Comic Book Day last year, and come March- some of those questions and more (including an ending nobody will see coming) will be answered in Age of Ultron!

Cody "The Thorverine" Ferrell, Blast From The Past: Marvel Bringing Back The Gold Foil Cover For Age Of Ultron

This series, a collision of comedy, sex, and violence, follows the misadventures of America’s most dysfunctional family as they go head-to-severed head with an Oprah-loving ax murderer, a cult-crazy soap opera star, and a neo-Nazi prison gang.
First issue: Todd wants desperately to make friends, but every kid he approaches winds up decapitated. Or worse. Meanwhile, Todd’s mother is on a mission to get even with her husband who she believes is having an affair.

Todd, The Ugliest Kid On Earth is a new four issue series with a story by M.K. Perker and Ken Kristensen. The issue is written by Kristensen with art and letters from Perker. Cemal Soyleyen joins the duo by providing colors. Todd is an odd new book, but is it worth checking out?

A new family is moving into their new home when Todd, the ugliest kid on Earth, comes over to try and make friends with the nice little Korean girl. Todd frightens most other children his age because he walks around with a giant paper bag covering his face. But Todd is a nice, sweet kid who just wants to make a friend. That’s hard to do when Mike, the neighborhood bully, and his gang roll up on the scene to harass Todd and cause him to get into trouble. Mike is the little devil that bullies everyone but uses his silver tongue to talk his way into the good graces of the adults. Back at home Todd has to deal with his drunken father and inattentive mother. While watching the news, the family learns of an axe murderer on the loose who targets children. While the news report tells parents to keep their children inside, Todd’s mom wants him to take out the trash…in the rain…with an axe murderer in the area. You might be able to guess what happens. That sets off the comedy of misunderstanding that ensues.

Perker and Kristensen have a truly unique story on their hands. This odd, politically incorrect, and wacky story features a cast of messed up characters and humor that should hook any reader. While it’s hard to say there’s anything quite like Todd, the nearest compression would be something along the lines of The Maxx and The Oblongs. The art is absolutely amazing. Perker along with Soyleyen’s colors make a beautiful book. I mean this as a huge compliment, but it looks similar to what you would see in a children’s book. You have some cartoony looking art with bright and vivid colors. The backgrounds are fantastic and the characters are slightly exaggerated in their face, size, and features.

Bottom Line: Todd, the Ugliest Kid on Earth is a fantastic book like no other. This oddball story features slightly risqué humor with fantastic art. Perker and Kristense have a lot to live up to with the remaining three issues. If it’s anything like the first issue, we’re in for a great ride 5/5

Cody "The Thorverine" Ferrell, Advance Review: Todd, The Ugliest Kid On Earth #1

What could be worse then regular zombies walking amongst us? How about Nazi zombies that aren’t the regualr zombies we’re used to seeing. These monsters can think, can move, and more then anything can love to kill. For day 14 of 31 in 31 I bring to you the movie “Dead Snow” from Norway, directed by Tommy Wirkola and written by Tommy Wirkola and Stig Frode Henriksen.

A group of friends go up to a remote cabin for a ski trip and to just basically party and have a good time, but little did they know that they would ru into a group of Nazi zombies, and these living dead creatures want everyone dead. A movie that is more funny then frightening and gory merely for the sake of being gory I recommend grabbing a group of friends together and having a great time with this movie.

Michael Worthan, 31 in 31: Day 14 “Dead Snow”