The verdict is in from SXSW, and all of you horror nerds can breathe a sigh of relief, because the remake of The Evil Dead is damned awesome, as reviewed by THR. They’re kinda spoiler heavy with their review but it’s pretty glowing and a good indication that every whiny little jerk who thought this was “raping” the franchise is a pedantic little baby who refuses to embrace change. While I won’t quote the THR review due to said spoilers, I can say it certainly does spell out the major touchstones of the film, showing that it’s very faithful to the original. While I know it’s a bit silly to go on saying that a remake of a cult classic could be “spoiled” by a review, the case is still so with the THR review, so be warned if you do check it out you’ll know plot details. Suffice to say the plot details are pretty much the same from the original, but the details and whatnot are there and could ruin some of the experience for fans looking to be surprised by what’s new or the same, or newbies who aren’t familiar with the classic Evil Dead experience.
The other fascinating, brilliant bit of good news, is that along with the amazing reception the film received, an announcement that this film was the first in a planned trilogy of NEW Evil Dead films!
[THR]
Producer Bruce Campbell tells a packed Paramount Theatre at the world premiere that the graphic remake is the first in a planned trilogy — and “Evil Dead 2” is already being written
That detail alone is worth getting up in a frenzy for, simply because of what it means for the future of the Evil Dead franchise. I’m hoping this means that along with a renewed interest in the classic trilogy, we’ll get a new trilogy that’ll reinvent the old ones in new and exciting ways. Originally I thought the other two couldn’t be remade, and they can’t really, at least not in the direct way this one was. You’d have a hard time trying to duplicate the “Ash” character, but you wouldn’t need to. A “new” Evil Dead 2 would simply continue the story of The Woods and The Cabin itself, rather than follow any main protagonist. At this point everything is speculation, but there are so many interesting paths to go down with a new trilogy. Perhaps even spell out some of the ancient Sumerian back story that is only barely referenced briefly in the original film, or even go into the origins and details of the Necronomicon itself!
Everyone is getting so hung up on what the remake and now its potential sequels won’t be, that they’re forgetting about what they could be. What they could turn out to be, is something really new and special. At the very least, it looks like Evil Dead will get its due in remake form, and if all goes well, we’ll see more of the franchise soon. Jaded horror cynics, eat your heart out. This is a franchise that’ll require total bodily dismemberment to kill.
In the immortal words of Depeche Mode, I just can’t get enough!
Grizzly Bomb 