The Evil Dead Rise Again

With permission from Sam Raimi and Rob Tapert, writer Mark Verheiden set out to do what seemed like the impossible, and recreate the celebrated 80s cult film hit Evil Dead as a comic book. But the final product of artist John Bolton and letterer Steve Dutro is not what most would expect it to be--just a tired rehashing of the film on paper. Verheiden makes it clear in the comic that to do so would be a disservice to Raimi's original vision.

Instead, Verheiden decided to "expand the movie, meeting our characters back in their pre-deadite lives and opening up the story to see what happened between the events seen on screen" The result is a well crafted comic and while the action of the plot might seem familiar to horror buffs, Verheiden skillfully seeks out and portrays the events found at the screen's edge, the stuff we don't get to see in the original film.

There is more back story about the relationship between Linda and Ash, including how they fell in love and his fond memories of her before she became possessed. The extra info makes Ash's tortured indecision about hacking up Linda's body with a chainsaw that much more difficult for the audience. But whereas the film ends with Bruce Campbell's screams as the unseen Kandarian demons rush upon him in a rapid camera shot, the comic adds another scene to the ending. Ash wakes up in the car parked outside the cabin and whispers to himself "Was it only a dream?" , an ending that felt forced and artificial compared to the original.

Either way, Mark Verheiden's The Evil Dead is a nostalgic tribute to Evil Dead and should satisfy fans hungry for more of Raimi's classic.