What? An unofficial Evil Dead sequel? Not groovy!
Chalk this up under bizarre news of the week.
Apparently a company named “Award Pictures” is claiming to have the rights to The Evil Dead franchise after Sam Raimi’s rights expired. This is quite strange, especially since Raimi is actively involved in the remake.
The proposed sequel, titled Evil Dead: Genesis Of The Necronomicon would take place in 1912 and center on a character called “Dr. Ashley” who is an archaeologist, and would focus on the origin of the book that was created when the oceans ran red with blood.
Raimi’s case is that them making it would confuse film fans into believing that Raimi and his Renaissance Pictures are behind the product, when in reality they have nothing at all to do with the film.
Here’s hoping that he succeeds, because even if the proposed Evil Dead remake turns out to be worthless, I’d rather have a Raimi authorized film than something that just wants to cash in on the name.
I can just see this film as an Asylum*-esque production that has really crappy production values and just gets everything about the franchise wrong, while people rent it because they think Raimi has finally done another Evil Dead film and it came in under the radar.
For the record, I haven’t seen Day Of The Dead 2: Contagium, but I’ve seen Creepshow 3, and that one was pretty smelly. Too bad we never got another Romero sequel, and from what I’ve read he really wanted to do a third one, but that eventually morphed into Tales From The Darkside: The Movie, which is actually pretty damn good.
*I’ve only seen 2 Asylum films I’ve liked. MILF, which was actually pretty funny, and 2012: Zombie Apocalypse, with Ving Rhames and Crab Man from My Name Is Earl. Quite liked that one. Didn’t look like the standard Asylum zero budget production.
source: the wrap
9 comments
For crying out loud, Sam, just make EVIL DEAD 4 already. Doesn’t the fact that random companies are desperate enough to try to steal the rights to the franchise tell you anything at all?
“…but i’ve seen Creepshow 3, and that one was pretty smelly”
HAHA
I’m pretty sure I’ve seen some Asian horror movie DVDs around with “Evil Dead” worked into the title somewhere. But rights-wise I think the recent Blue Ray edition should cover their bases in terms of an on-going venture, particularly if the saga of Dick Tracy’s rights is any indication. But yeah, in general, if you don’t police it you can lose it also.
I’d have totally been on board with an interpretation that by-passed the book and made a case that the whole thing was down to an evil tape recorder.
Yeah, there’s a Japanese series called Evil Dead Trap, which is more akin to Zombi 2, in that it is more a rip off/cash in than unofficial sequel.
Amen…That said, Drag Me To Hell was basically a fourth Evil Dead film.
The big difference between Zombi 2 and the Evil Dead Trap is that Zombi 2 had actual zombies, while Evil Dead Trap was more like a precursor to the Saw series, in that it had traps. At, least that’s the way I remember it. Evil Dead Trap 1 was pretty intense, though.
I rented the first Evil Dead Trap film from Netflix last summer, and I have to agree about it being pretty intense. The last half hour just starts ramping up the craziness. Especially with the reveal of the true villain.
It’s really just cashing-in on the name either way. If Raimi got hold of a neat horror concept he can just, you know, make an original film. Like when he did EVIL DEAD. DRAG ME… stank up the box office (’cause it was largely shitcakes) and his beating his DEAD horse is a fund-raiser by any other name.
Let’s not get cute.
Raimi has been teasing ED4 for years. He doesn’t know what to do with it, obviously. Bruce is too old and Raimi never liked horror, to begin with. It’s dead and done. I think Drag Me To Hell is the last we will get from him, horror-wise.
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