Jul 14 2011
If Sam Raimi isn’t doing the ‘Evil Dead’ remake, who is?
For a brief moment yesterday, it seemed like the unthinkable would happen. Might we get an Evil Dead 4, some 18 years after the last film? Bruce Campbell was confirming a new Evil Dead on via his twitter account. And then, Sam Raimi’s Ghost House Pictures issued a press release revealing what was happening.
The long rumored–er, threatened–remake of The Evil Dead, Raimi’s 1981 horror classic, is finally happening. The director and writer is Fede Alvarez, who was chosen by Tapert and Raimi based upon his short film’Panic Attack!’. I’ve put the shot below so you can see it, but I’ll warn you–while, it’s impressive, it’s not a short film. It’s just a demo FX reel. There’s nothing in that to suggest Alvarez could direct actors, or create suspenseful scenes,or build atmosphere. I’m sure the Brothers Strausse (those guys behind Skyline) had ‘short films’ this impressive laying around before they got their big movie gigs.
In the end though, this just doesn’t seem like a well thought-out idea. Evil Deads 1 and 2 and Army of Darkness were cult hits, fun because they were counter-culture at the time, and felt edgy, cheap and imaginative. Bruce Campbell’s daffyAsh was a breath of fresh air for the horror genre. Every thing that makes the originals unique or special, will be , by default, destroyed here. The fact Cody is coming in to polish up the screenplay isn’t good news either.
Sure, maybe Alvarez is going a different direction with the film, and maybe there won’t be a corresponding Ash character, but if that’s the case, and Raimi and company actually believe in this guy’s ability to turn out a horror movie, why not make it something original?
I’ll play the waiting game here, but this, more than most recent remake news, seems truly destined for failure.
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GHOST HOUSE PICTURES WILL RESURRECT THE DEAD
Original Producing Team – Sam Raimi, Rob Tapert & Bruce Campbell –
Remaking Horror Classic ‘The Evil Dead’
To be Written and Directed by Fede Alvarez
Los Angeles (July 13, 2011) – Sam Raimi and original producing partners Rob Tapert and Bruce Campbell (who also starred in the original franchise) are gearing up to remake their cult sensation THE EVIL DEAD through their long standing Ghost House Pictures partnership. Raimi and Tapert were such instant fans of Fede Alvarez’s short film “Panic Attack” that they set up a blind deal with the filmmaker and through that process have attached Fede Alvarez to write and direct the film. Alvarez wrote the script with Rodo Sayagues. Academy Award® winning screenwriter Diablo Cody is currently doing revisions on the draft. Ghost House is committed to renewing the franchise and has the film on the fast track.
Raimi, Tapert and Campbell will serve as producers. Ghost House Pictures partners Joe Drake and Nathan Kahane will executive produce. Nicole Brown and J.R. Young will oversee the project for Ghost House. Lionsgate will handle international sales on the film.
The three producing partners commented, “We are committed to making this movie and are inspired by the enduring popularity and enthusiasm for the ‘Evil Dead’ series. We can’t wait to scare a new generation of moviegoers using filmmaking techniques that were not available to us thirty years ago as well as Fede bringing a fresh eye to the film’s original elements.”
Raimi wrote, directed and, along with Tapert and Campbell, produced the original horror classic THE EVIL DEAD that tells the story of five twenty-something friends who become holed up in a remote cabin where they discover a Book Of The Dead. An archaeologist’s tape recording reveals that the ancient text was discovered among the Khandarian ruins of a Sumerian civilization. Playing the taped incantations, the youths unwittingly summon up dormant demons living in the nearby woods, which possess the youngsters in succession until only one is left intact to fight for survival. THE EVIL DEAD spawned a franchise with the equally successful installments EVIL DEAD II and ARMY OF DARKNESS.
Fede Alvarez is represented by CAA, Anonymous Content and attorney Karl Austen. Diablo Cody is represented by Sarah Self at WME, Mason Novick, and attorney Jeff Frankel of McKuin Frankel Whitehead LLP.
Jul 14, 2011 @ 17:58:21
This is a dumb idea, the original worked because they captured lighting in the bottle and benefited from the time it came out. I know because I remember it. The follow up movies again were great due to the Chin putting it all out there and Raimi not playing it safe.
Trying to take a, beloved(I feel dirty writing that), franchise like Evil Dead and update it has the words colossal mistake stamped all over it. I guess I’ll have to reserve judgement until i see some product but man this is a dumb idea.
Jul 14, 2011 @ 18:06:16
yea, Xiphos. I agree. And as you know, I don’t automatically hate the idea of remakes, particularly in the horror genre. Last year, two of my fave horror movies were remakes: The Crazies and Let Me In.
I’m even optimistic about the Fright Night and Don’t Be Afraid of the Dark remakes.
But here, like you said, it was lightning in a bottle, and moreover, there’s no way to recapture the charm and surprise of the original. Raimi’s goofy style and Campbell’s oddball charm made Evil Dead–it’s not a great story or a particularly original concept. If they even try to ape Raimi or get an actor to ‘Chin it up’, it will be an atrocity.
I suppose there’s a way for it to work, and I hope this guy finds a way, but not based off that ‘short film’. I just don’t see it.
Jul 14, 2011 @ 22:29:51
I’m not automatically against remakes either. As you know I enjoyed both movies you mentioned quite a bit.