'Evil Dead': Prepare to be punished with an extreme visit to the set of the 'hard R' remake
HitFix travels to New Zealand for a gore-soaked look behind the scenes
"We're gonna get you...not another peep...time to go to sleep." Yes, that's the red-haired chick from "Suburgatory."
Credit: Sony Pictures
Interestingly, it was just that approach that won over Campbell – a producer on the franchise since the very first film – who was originally one of the remake's most vocal detractors.
“It was interesting that it was Sam [Raimi] who was most for it, I was relatively indifferent, and Bruce was kind of dead-set against it,” says Tapert. “But the beauty of [Fede’s] pitch and what got Bruce aboard was there was no Ash character. And up until that time, that was the tripping point. Everyone else we spoke to had talked about…‘oh, let’s make Ash into this or do that’…none of those were the right thing that were gonna get it made. It was Fede that actually…brought that linchpin to getting the project made and of saying, ‘We’re not gonna deal with that, we’re gonna go in a different direction.’”
But will fans of the original series at least be given the satisfaction of a Bruce Campbell cameo?
“If Fede had his druthers, there’s a gag that they wanna do,” says Tapert, not sounding convinced of the idea. “[But] I don’t see it as having…it won’t sell another ticket, I say.”
Perhaps he’s right. Nevertheless, Campbell (unfortunately not on set during our brief visit) has been an active presence throughout the process of the remake’s development.
“Bruce...[sent] us an email that was just kind of like, ‘Don't worry about trying to copy anything that we did, or trying to make it anything like what we did, because what we did worked for a totally different reason than what you guys are trying to do,’” says cast member Lou Taylor Pucci, who sits down to chat with us in full “Deadite” makeup. “So I thought that was kind of cool. Everybody is on the same page about us making our own characters that [have] nothing to do with the original characters.”
Pucci, who counts himself as a major fan of the original film, predicts that old-school “Evil Dead” aficionados will be more or less evenly split in their reaction to the remake, with the deciding factor being their willingness to embrace a new spin on Raimi’s original.
“I think half of them are gonna love it and half of them are gonna hate it,” says the actor. “Because I mean really, it takes some of the best things from the old one, but it also gives some totally new ideas on it. I mean, you don’t care anything about those original characters at all. Some people love that you don't though, and some people would rather follow an actual story. And that’s what this is.”
*****
On the monitor, we watch as David (Fernandez) pushes Mia (Levy) out of the cabin, shutting and locking the door behind her.
“No! No! No!” she screams frantically.
“Get outta here,” he says almost calmly through the door, as blood flows from a wound in his neck.
Several takes of this. And then a different scene, inside the cabin. Shaky handheld camerawork. Deadite Eric (Pucci) advances on David, blood streaming down the front of his shirt. Says the now-undead young man: “He’s coming for you."
Still inside the cabin. Different setup, same scene. David holds a shotgun on Deadite Eric - "get away," he warns. And then something else happens that I won’t spoil, but which is immediately preceded by the following line from Deadite Eric: “Join us…one more soul to rise.”
In the space of a few seconds Eric has fallen to his knees, a position he remains in for a moment before finally crumpling to the floor.
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Red-band 'Evil Dead' trailer promises red meat and spilled blood galore
It looks like the remake is no-holds-barred, which could be a good thing
A former contributor to sites including Bloody-Disgusting and AfterElton, Eggertsen enjoys rock music, rainy days and smelling the pages of old books. You should read all of his articles and follow him on Twitter because it's the right thing to do.
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January 7, 2013 at 10:00PM EST Reply to CommentHigh hopes for this one. From what I seen so far it looks like it'll do its best to challenge the viewer. I don't get very squimish with films but that kissing scene from the latest later was just.....gross.
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January 8, 2013 at 4:45AM EST Reply to CommentIf Mr. Alvarez is such a huge fan of the Evil Dead, why can't he distinguish Cheryl from Shelly? Unless his VHS copy came from Japan, he's talking about Deadite Cheryl.
ceggertsen Most likely just a transcribing mistake and not a reflection on Alvarez's knowledge of the series. Name has been fixed.
January 8, 2013 at 7:28PM EST