When Sam Raimi first revealed that he was remaking his camp horror classic, Evil Dead, it was unsurprisingly met with skepticism. It would be one thing if Raimi himself was directing, but instead the reins were handed over to newcomer Fede Alvarez. With the promise of a new female Ash replacing the irreplaceable Bruce Campbell, the expectation was that this might fall in with all of the other horror remakes that crashed and burned.
And then the first footage of the film was shown at New York Comic-Con, and the response by the fans was so wildly enthusiastic that they used it in yesterday's trailer tease. After a leaked version of it appeared a few days ago(and was swiftly removed), the full red band trailer has been unveiled and it more than lives up to the hype.
Targeted squarely at the skeptics, immediately the ominous and gory tone is in effect as the blood flows freely and terror is amplified. The cheesiness of the original seems to be taking a back seat in favor a more disturbing experience, capped off by a chilling tongue-slicing. I've said it before that the original Evil Dead isn't a particular favorite, but the redo looks fantastic.
Starring Jane Levy, Shiloh Fernandez, Jessica Lucas, Bruce Campbell, Lou Taylor Pucci, and Elizabeth Blackmore, Evil Dead opens on April 12th 2013....
