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Ultra HD : Recommended
Ranking:
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Release Date: September 27th, 2022 Movie Release Year: 2013

Evil Dead (2013) - 4K Ultra HD Blu-ray

Overview -

A relentless, ghastly, and jubilant phantasmagoria of nightmares, Fede Alvarez's reimagining reboot Evil Dead remains a gorily boisterous, blood-spattered outing that lives up to the cartoonish spirit of the Sam Raimi cult classic with buckets of graphic gruesomeness. Courtesy of Scream Factory, evil rips the soul out of Ultra HD with a satisfying 4K Dolby Vision video and features the same reference-quality lossless track and supplements as the previous Blu-ray release. Nevertheless, the overall UHD package makes for a Recommended addition to the 4K horror library. 

"Terrifying ... exhilarating and relentlessly entertaining" – Chris Tilly, IGN

A secluded cabin. An ancient curse. An unrelenting evil. The original producers of The Evil Dead reunite to present a genuinely terrifying re-imagining of their horror masterpiece. Five young friends have found the mysterious and fiercely powerful Book of the Dead. Unable to resist its temptation, they release a violent demon on a bloodthirsty quest to possess them all. Who will be left to fight for their survival and defeat this unearthly force of murderous carnage?

Bonus Features

  • NEW 4K Transfers By Sony (Both The Theatrical And Unrated Cuts)
  • In Dolby Vision (HDR 10 Compatible)
  • DTS-HD Master Audio 5.1, 2.0
  • Audio Commentary With Director/Co-writer Fede Alvarez, Co-writer Rodo Sayagues, And Cast Members Jane Levy, Lou Taylor Pucci, And Jessica Lucas (Theatrical Cut Only)
  • Directing The Dead Featurette
  • Evil Dead: The Reboot Featurette
  • Making Life Difficult Featurette
  • Unleashing The Evil Forces Featurette
  • Being Mia Featurette
  • Trailers
  • TV Spots

OVERALL:
Recommended
Rating Breakdown
STORY
VIDEO
AUDIO
SPECIAL FEATURES
Tech Specs & Release Details
Technical Specs:
Region Free
Video Resolution/Codec:
HDR10
Length:
97
Aspect Ratio(s):
2.39:1
Audio Formats:
English: DTS-HD MA 5.1
Subtitles/Captions:
English SDH
Release Date:
September 27th, 2022

Storyline: Our Reviewer's Take

Ranking:

A relentless, ghastly, and jubilant phantasmagoria of nightmares, the Evil Dead remake is a boisterous, outing that lives up to the cartoonish spirit of the Sam Raimi cult classic, bathing the screen in gory, graphic violence to such an elaborately silly scale that the shock of seeing the gruesome details is more likely to garner laughs than scares. Granted, a twisted and perverse sense of humor would be the required precondition for enjoying this brutally bloody version as an animated carnival ride. The story, which was written by Uruguayan filmmakers Fede Alvarez and Rodo Sayagues, takes place thirty years after the events of Raimi's original with another group of friends spending a weekend in the creepy cabin in the woods. And like before, the Sumerian "Book of the Dead," which is found in the basement along with a double-barreled shotgun, patiently waits for the next nincompoop stupid enough to read from it. 

Seeing as how the franchise is one that continuously and consciously breaks its own rules, which is part of the humor and enjoyment, Alvarez keeps to the tradition by going against genre conventions while also adhering to them. As with Evil Dead II, the evil demonic spirits conjured by the ancient text, bound in human flesh and written in human blood don't devise a wholly different plotline, but they are nonetheless ritualistically creative in their bloody methods of bodily torture. The cool, interesting twist here is that the group of friends don't arrive for a fun weekend of booze and naughty behavior but to help Mia (Jane Levy) finally kick her drug addiction cold turkey. Her brother David (Shiloh Fernandez) and his girlfriend (Elizabeth Blackmore) turn up late to assist Eric (Lou Taylor Pucci) and Olivia (Jessica Lucas), who is a registered nurse, during Mia's recovery. Personally, I love that the plot is essentially an ingeniously clever and imaginative allegory to the horror of drug withdrawals with a well-earned and satisfying conclusion about confronting your own worst enemy.

2022 Ultra HD

2013 Blu-ray 

Along with several horrifyingly shocking scenes of blood-splattered pandemonium and a strong story that flirts between original and imitative, Alvarez's Evil Dead ups the ante with one spine-chilling moment after another. Creepy, unidentified sounds haunt the cabin, and the voices of the possessed switch between normal and demonic like a light switch while the noise of flesh tearing apart makes you shiver at the thought of actually seeing it. The film generates some very well-deserved scares while paying tribute to a cherished horror franchise, like the 1973 Oldsmobile still sitting by some trees rusting away, and it also works as a reimagining reboot and continuation of the beloved original.

Vital Disc Stats: The Ultra HD Blu-ray
Scream! Factory brings Evil Dead (2013) to 4K Ultra HD as a single-disc Collector's Edition. The triple-layered UHD100 disc is housed inside a black, eco-elite case with a cardboard slipcover. At startup, viewers are taken to a static menu screen with the usual options and music playing in the background.

Video Review

Ranking:

Evil rips the soul out of Ultra HD with a great-looking and mostly satisfying HEVC H.265 encode, which was struck from a reportedly new remaster of the original digital elements handled by Sony. The 4K transfer shows sharper lines and better details of the cabin and the surrounding foliage, exposing the minor imperfections of the deteriorating wood, the cracks in the bark of trees and various other small objects decorating the background. It's not a dramatic difference from its Blu-ray predecessor, but the video nonetheless arrives with cleaner definition and clarity overall. It's worth noting that there are a couple of instances of very mild aliasing along the sharpest edges and some moderate posterization, but it's nothing too egregious or terribly distracting.

2022 Ultra HD

2013 Blu-ray 

The more notable improvement is a better, strong contrast and brightness balance, supplying the gory violence with intensely brilliant whites and richer, truer blacks. Shadow delineation remains strong with impressive visibility of the finer details within the darkest corners and the many poorly-lit sequences, providing the 2.39:1 image with some appreciable depth and dimensionality. Meanwhile, specular highlights furnish the graphic action with a crisp, radiant sparkle in the light reflecting off the watery or bloody surfaces and a tight, narrow glow in the hottest spots. The highly-stylized cinematography is intentionally subdued and restrained, an almost monochromatic palette that heavily favors a steely blue and metallic marigold orange tint, adding to the story's gloomy atmosphere while simultaneously limiting the color range. Nevertheless, primaries remain accurate but are also more full-bodied than their HD SDR counterpart, especially the darker, garnet reds of blood while the oranges and yellows appear a bit more distinct and diverse.

Overall, the Dolby Vision HDR presentation is a welcomed upgrade from the previous Blu-ray. (Dolby Vision HDR Video Rating: 80/100)

Audio Review

Ranking:

2022 Ultra HD

2013 Blu-ray 

For all intents and purposes, the DTS-HD Master Audio 5.1 soundtrack included on this UHD edition appears to be identical to its Blu-ray predecessor, and while an object-based audio option would have been a welcomed upgrade, the track remains a highly-entertaining, reference-quality mix that will have neighbors screaming bloody murder. The design is chockfull of all sorts of warped, gruesome sounds while maintaining an extensive, distinct mid-range and splendid acoustical details that reach the upper frequencies with impressive clarity. With outstanding vocals that are never drowned out by the rest of the gruesome mayhem, imaging continuously feels broad and spacious with excellent convincing movement across the entire soundstage, and a robust, commanding low-end supplies a powerful oomph to the many jump scares. When applying the receivers' Auro-3D up-mixing functionality, many of the ambient effects convincingly bleed into the height channels, awesomely expanding the soundfield and creating a more engaging soundstage. For a more in-depth take on the audio quality, you can read our review of the 2013 Blu-ray HERE. (Audio Rating: 96/100)

Special Features

Ranking:

2022 Ultra HD

2013 Blu-ray 

The same bonus features enjoyed on the previous Blu-ray release are ported over to this UHD edition. 

  • Audio Commentary 
  • Evil Dead the Reboot (HD, 10 min)
  • Being Mia (HD, 9 min)
  • Making Life Difficult (HD, 8 min)
  • Directing the Dead (HD, 7 min)
  • Unleashing the Evil Force (HD, 5 min)
  • Trailer (HD)

2022 Ultra HD

2013 Blu-ray 

A relentless, ghastly, and jubilant phantasmagoria of nightmares, the Evil Dead remake is a boisterous, outing that lives up to the cartoonish spirit of the Sam Raimi cult classic. From Uruguayan filmmaker Fede Alvarez, making his big-screen American debut, the film comes with a clever plot that feels fresh and new but doesn't shy away from being seen as a reimagining reboot and continuation of the beloved original while also drenching the whole affair with buckets of gory, blood-spattered gruesomeness. Courtesy of Scream Factory, evil rips the soul out of 4K Ultra HD with a satisfying Dolby Vision HDR presentation, delivering a welcomed upgrade over the previous Blu-ray release but features the same reference-quality lossless soundtrack. Supplements are disappointingly the same set as before, but overall, the UHD package makes for a recommended addition to the 4K horror library. 

All disc reviews at High-Def Digest are completed using the best consumer HD home theater products currently on the market. More about the gear used for this review.