Tristar recently released the first trailer for its upcoming horror remake.
Evil Dead is an upcoming “re-imagining” of Sam Rami’s script for The Evil Dead – the remake has dropped “The” from its title. Both Raimi, who also directed the original, and Bruce Campbell, who starred in it, are involved this time as producers.
Until now, it’s been unclear just what direction the remake would take, as the original script for Rami’s film was very dark, but the voice of the now-classic film became very campy over the course of the production. Now that we have this trailer, we can see that there will be some references tothe original, but the vision for this film has gone in a much darker direction, explaining why the filmmakers, including director Fede Alvarez, are calling the film a “re-imagining,” rather than a reboot or a remake. The core plot is intact, but the characters have been switched around – even changing the gender of the protagonist – and the tone of the film is nowhere near The Evil Dead.
Be warned: The trailer is red-banded for a copious delivery of blood and dismemberment. If you’re squeemish, you might want to atleast watch it in low-definition.
The synopsis for the remake is thus:
Five twenty-something friends become holed up in a remote cabin where they discover a Book Of The Dead and 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.
Despite this huge change, Both Rami and the original star, Bruce Campbell, have put their own funds behind this film and have been frequently coming out in the press about how great it’s going to be, but I’d be worried about the fan reaction to this huge change. It’s so dramatic that it really shouldn’t even be called a re-imagining. It’s just a new film.
That’s the thing about poor fan reactions to the remaking of films. People don’t like when a brand they love gets altered, even if the original is left intact, and they can still enjoy it, the change leaves ire in their hearts. They could do so much for the fan reaction by simply changing the name of the film.
They could just call it something else – like just Necronomicon – and let people know that it’s being financed by and inspired by the work of Sam Rami and Bruce Campbell. Fans would still see it in droves, and they would allow themselves the capacity to judge the film on its own merits, something that will be impossible when it shares a title with a cult classic.
As it stands, every review, and every blog will spend most of their precious energy looking directly at how the film compares to The Evil Dead, and the film will be worse off for it.
Evil Dead will be summoned to theaters on April 12, 2013.
