Rating summary

Movie		5.0
Video		4.5
Audio		4.5
Extras		0.5
Overall		4.5

The Evil Dead 4K Blu-ray Movie Review

Reviewed by Jeffrey Kauffman October 9, 2018

On the recently reviewed release of Schlock, a film which is perhaps a lesser known John Landis outing (his first big screen effort, in fact), there’s a really fascinating analysis by the typically ebullient Kim Newman. Newman suggests that a whole host of “kids” (as he terms them) around the same age were in their own way as influenced by Forrest J. Ackerman’s Famous Monsters of Filmland as certain French auteurs were by the magazine that of course helped to popularize that term, Cahiers du Cinema. Now, that’s kind of a goofy thesis on its face, one which even Newman seems to offer with a twinkle in his eye, but Newman goes on to discuss a number of American born and bred horror films that he sees as “handmade” and which he kind of (hopefully) jokingly states are “a step or two above amateur filmmaking”. Newman sees this subgenre as beginning with 1970’s Equinox and ending with Sam Raimi’s The Evil Dead from just over a decade later. You can argue if you want to with Newman’s way of looking at things, or even his judgment about the relative finesse (or lack thereof) that some of these “handmade” films offer, but there is a kind of (to paraphrase and kind of warp the ethos in a bunch of hokey old musicals) “hey, we’ve got a cabin in the woods, let’s put on a horror show” aspect to The Evil Dead which is instantly appealing to a certain sector of the fanbase, this fan included. Lionsgate is presenting The Evil Dead on 4K UHD, in its original aspect ratio of 1.33:1 only (as is discussed in the review link below, the 1080p Blu-ray version offers two aspect ratios). Since the original 1080p Blu-ray release also included a DVD with most of the special features (aside from a commentary), that means that this 4K UHD release has only the commentary as a supplement.

For those not acquainted with the film and who would like a plot summary, I refer you to my colleague Martin Liebman's The Evil Dead Blu-ray review of the Blu-ray release.

The Evil Dead 4K Blu-ray Movie, Video Quality 

Note: Screenshots are sourced from the 1080p Blu-ray.

The Evil Dead is presented on 4K UHD courtesy of Lionsgate Films with a 2160p transfer in 1.33:1. With an understanding of the lo-fi 16mm roots of the production, and a further contextualizing of what Marty called a "no budget" approach, this is a generally very nice 4K upgrade in both detail levels and perhaps especially in palette nuances. The biggest issue for me personally, one which may frankly not bother others as much, is the pretty huge variability in grain resolution. There's certainly a splotchy, almost noisy, yellowish quality to some of the grain in the 1080p Blu-ray iteration of this film, and those proclivities are only increased with the "new, improved" resolution of the 4K UHD disc. Therefore, the grain during the opening credits sequences, or later at places like circa 2:46 or 4:40, or much later a 1:07:42 see a grain field that almost swarms against lighter backgrounds and which can clump pretty dramatically. That is contrasted with some other moments where it would seem logically like similar issues might intrude, especially in some of the mist strewn sequences (both inside and outside, funnily enough), but actually scenes like the first interior shot of the cabin resolve beautifully, with no compression woes and with both grain and mist looking very natural. Detail levels enjoy at least a modest uptick in medium shots, but Raimi loves close-ups in this film, and some of those really offer fairly dramatic improvements in fine detail, especially with regard to some of the lunatic makeup on various performers. The palette is really nicely suffused throughout this presentation, with even potentially dowdy looking tones like the browns and siennas surrounding the cabin popping very well most of the time. Other more vivid hues, like Bruce Campbell's blue shirt, or some of the reds in the gruesome wounds that accrue, really pop nicely, even in some dark moments. Black levels are deep and solid throughout the presentation, helping sequences like some of the cellar scenes. Dolby Vision helps improve the range of tones rather surprisingly well even in some of the film's darkest moments. One kind of odd thing is the Lionsgate logo looks anamorphically squeezed to me.

The Evil Dead 4K Blu-ray Movie, Audio Quality 

Marty gave a great rundown of the Dolby TrueHD 5.1 track in his The Evil Dead Blu-ray review.

The Evil Dead 4K Blu-ray Movie, Special Features and Extras 

The 4K UHD disc ports over the sole supplement from the 1080p Blu-ray, namely the Commentary detailed by Marty in his original The Evil Dead Blu-ray review. Since this set does not have the secondary DVD which contained a lot of other supplements, those bonus elements are missing in action on this release.

The Evil Dead 4K Blu-ray Movie, Overall Score and Recommendation 

Whether or not Kim Newman's statement that The Evil Dead marked the end of the line for "homemade horror films" is actually accurate I'll leave to other, wiser, sorts, but there's no doubt that this film is a fun and often funny enterprise that succeeds in part because of its lo-fi approach, not in spite of that approach. There's a certain "not quite ready for prime time quality" to some of the film, but that only adds to its weird charms in my personal estimation. This 4K presentation is solid, but the lack of new audio and a dearth of previously available supplements may rankle some fans.