One to Watch - Evil Dead

Yet another remake in the pipes, but it looks like fans needn't worry about the sacred cow of Sam Raimi's original being desecrated. While the original trilogy is best known for the slapstick of Evil Dead II and the iconography of Bruce Campbell's character Ash, the early look at this April 2013 release at New York Comic Con seemed to be incredibly stripped back and grimy - a full-blown horror with lashings of extreme violence amongst homages to the original films.

You're sure you don't want to come in?

Young Uruguayan director Fede Álvarez was chosen by Sam Raimi (who's producing the remake) off the strength of his short 2009 film Ataque de Pánico! (which can be found on YouTube: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=-dadPWhEhVk - made for only $300!). Early reports say that he's managed to make the film very much his own while maintaining some of the visual cues of the 1981 film e.g. the kinetic rush through the woods surrounding the cabin, so his selection seems positive. With the script developed by Álvarez and revised by Diablo Cody (Juno), we can expect a very authentic mix of teen dialogue and a hopefully cliché free film, especially given how recent films like The Cabin in the Woods have so successfully warped said clichés. The cast is a list of several young up and comers, including Jane Levy from TV's Suburgatory, Lou Taylor Pucci, Elizabeth Blackmore and Jessica Lucas, who I have no doubt will benefit from Álvarez's proximity to their ages and the seasoned production team of Raimi, Bruce Campbell and Rob Tapert.

Anyway, always the optimist, I have a strong belief that this will be a good one. As The Evil Dead trilogy really sparked my current passion for binging on horror films, it may be blind hope that's firing my faith for this remake, but only time will tell. Evil Dead is scheduled to hit the US on April 12, 2013, and will likely drop in Australia a month or two after that.