Blood flows freely; limbs tear from torso; glass, nails, needles puncture young flesh. Evil Dead, Fede Alvarez’s remake of the Sam Raimi classic, more than lives up to its predecessor’s quota for gore. There’s a new charm to this flick. Gone is the original’s shaggy, dirty, almost dangerous feel. This new entry is slicker, more composed, somehow safer. It’s strange to describe a film where a girl cuts off her own arm as ‘feel good’ – but the violence is so pronounced, so gruesome it transcends horror into something akin to catharsis. The story is ostensibly the same: a group of twentysomethings (here played by Shiloh Fernandez, Jane Levy, Lou Taylor Pucci, Jessica Lucas and Elizabeth Blackmore) take refuge in a cabin, only to accidentally unleash the malicious possessing demons in the surrounding woods. One by one, they are possessed and mutilated. It’s a simple yet perfect setup – and the film makes ample use of finding new and increasingly unseemly ways to off these poor kids. As the body count rises and literal buckets of blood rain onto the remnant survivors, it’s impossible not to smile at the sheer audacity of grue on display.

At the film’s press day, director Fede Alvarez and star Jane Levy discussed the process of  creating a prosthetic/gory moment, recreating moments from the original film and what tone a hypothetical sequel would take. For the full interview, hit the jump.

[This is a re-post of my review from SXSW 2013.  Evil Dead opens today.]

If your goal is to give the people exactly what they want, then you better give them the best you’ve got otherwise it’s obvious pandering. Fede Alvarez‘ remake of Evil Dead does not pander. It fiercely grabs the audience by the throat, and vomits as much blood and viscera as we can stomach it, and not everyone will be able to stomach what the horror flick has to offer. Alvarez and cinematographer Aaron Morton set a creepy vibe, but their primary interest is in gleefully laying out the implements of destruction. “We know what you came for,” the film says with a devilish smile. And then it lets loose violence beyond all reason. The fear eventually fades, the emotions recede into the background, but Evil Dead delivers on the bloody mayhem that needs far more than an MPAA rating. It needs a warning label.

Today at WonderCon, Sony Pictures’ panel featured a presentation from Fede Alvarez’s Evil Dead remake.  After repeated announcements intended to clear the room of any minors or people who became squeamish at the sight of blood, a brand new trailer cut just for WonderCon was screened for the enthusiastic audience.  The cast and director then took the stage for a Q&A along with producer and fan-favorite actor, Bruce Campbell.

Evil Dead, opening April 5th, stars Jane Levy, Shiloh Fernandez, Jessica Lucas, Lou Taylor Pucci and Elizabeth Blackmore.  Hit the jump for our panel recap.

Sony has released eight new images from Fede Alvarez‘ Evil Dead.  For those unfamiliar with the film, the story centers on five friends who go to a remote cabin in the woods, and stumble upon a demonic evil that begins possessing them one by one, which causes horrific scenes of gore and mutilation.  As expected some, of these photos are particularly gruesome, so if you’ve just eaten breakfast, maybe wait 30 minutes until looking.  Otherwise you’re going to cramp up.

Hit the jump to check out the images, and click here for my review of the film.  Also, Atlanta readers should click here to find out how they can see the flick early and for free.  The movie stars Jane Levy, Shiloh Fernandez, Elizabeth Blackmore, Lou Taylor Pucci, and Jessica Lucas.  Evil Dead opens April 5th.

A new clip and poster from Fede Alvarez’s Evil Dead remake are now available.  The clip takes place inside the infamous cabin in the woods in which all of the vacationers appear to be safe and sound, except for Mia (Jane Levy) who is not quite herself it seems.  It’s a bit spoilery, but for fans of the original, it also features a rather recognizable camera sequence.

Check out Matt’s review of Evil Dead here.  The film also stars Shiloh Fernandez, Elizabeth Blackmore, Lou Taylor Pucci, and Jessica Lucas.  Evil Dead opens on April 5th.  Hit the jump to watch the clip and check out the new poster.

A couple weeks ago, Fede Alvarez‘ remake of Evil Dead premiered at SXSW to an ecstatic crowd (click here to read my review).  For those unfamiliar with the film, the story centers on five friends who go to a remote cabin in the woods, and stumble upon a demonic evil that begins possessing them one by one, which causes horrific scenes of gore and mutilation.

I got the chance to interview Alvarez at SXSW, and we talked getting down to an R-rating from an NC-17 rating, the appeal of the film’s extreme violence, working with Sam Raimi, developing a sequel to the remake, and much more.  Hit the jump to check out the interview.   Evil Dead opens April 5th.

A couple weeks ago, Fede Alvarez‘ remake of Evil Dead premiered at SXSW to an ecstatic crowd (click here to read my review).  For those unfamiliar with the film, the story centers on five friends who go to a remote cabin in the woods, and stumble upon a demonic evil that begins possessing them one by one, which causes horrific scenes of gore and mutilation.  Jane Levy stars as Mia, who has gone to the cabin to detox with the help of her two friends, her estranged brother, and his new girlfriend.

I got the chance to interview Levy at SXSW, and we talked about her role, if she had studied people who were detoxing, the appeal of the gruesome violence, the intensity of the production, working with Alvarez, and much more.  We also talk about the film’s ending near the end of the interview, so I’ve put up a spoiler warning when we get to that part.  Hit the jump to check out the interview.  Evil Dead opens April 5th.

A new clip and trailer for director Fede Alvarez’s upcoming remake of Evil Dead have been released online.  The clip is incredibly brief as it’s mostly just a bloody set-up for a jump scare, but the WonderCon Announcement Trailer features a few bits of new footage.  The film premiered at SXSW last week to a mostly enthusiastic response, with our own Matt Goldberg calling it a “crowdpleaser” and a “gruesome feast” in his positive review.  Though some seemed to be put off by Alvarez’s “fan-service” approach with the pic, the critics who caught the film all agreed on one thing: Evil Dead is very, very, very violent.

Hit the jump to watch the new clip and WonderCon trailer.  The film stars Jane Levy, Shiloh Fernandez, Elizabeth Blackmore, Lou Taylor Pucci, and Jessica Lucas.  Evil Dead opens on April 5th.

After last night’s ecstatic SXSW screening of Fede Alvarez‘ remake of Evil Dead, it was announced that a script is currently being written for the sequel.  Earlier today, I got to interview Alvarez, and near the end of our conversation, I brought up his plans for Evil Dead 2.  He says fans can expect that he’ll be in no way copying Raimi’s Evil Dead II, and this the new sequel will be “100% original”.  Also, since we’ve previously reported that Sam Raimi intends to start work on a script for Evil Dead 4, I asked Alvarez about his involvement with that film.

Hit the jump for what he had to say, and click here for my Evil Dead review.  The film opens on April 5th.

If your goal is to give the people exactly what they want, then you better give them the best you’ve got otherwise it’s obvious pandering.  Fede Alvarez‘ remake of Evil Dead does not pander.  It fiercely grabs the audience by the throat, and vomits as much blood and viscera as we can stomach it, and not everyone will be able to stomach what the horror flick has to offer.  Alvarez and cinematographer Aaron Morton set a creepy vibe, but their primary interest is in gleefully laying out the implements of destruction.  “We know what you came for,” the film says with a devilish smile.  And then it lets loose violence beyond all reason.  The fear eventually fades, the emotions recede into the background, but Evil Dead delivers on the bloody mayhem that needs far more than an MPAA rating.  It needs a warning label.

The first TV spot for director Fede Alvarez’s horror remake Evil Dead has been released online.  There’s not much new footage to be found, as the TV spot’s focus is on audience reactions to the film’s incredibly bloody red-band trailers.  Fans of Sam Raimi’s original film are likely already sold on at least checking out the redo—Raimi and Bruce Campbell were intricately involved as producers on the film—so this TV spot seems aimed squarely at young moviegoers who have no idea who Sam Raimi is but sure do like those jump scare movies like Paranormal Activity.  The pic is set to premiere at the SXSW Film Festival this weekend, so expect to hear first reactions soon.

Hit the jump to watch the TV spot.  The film stars Jane Levy, Shiloh Fernandez, Elizabeth Blackmore, Lou Taylor Pucci, and Jessica Lucas.  Evil Dead opens on April 5th.

Hey, Evil Dead fans, we have some new promotional material for you.  FilmDistrict has released a new poster, a red variant of the first poster that promises the remake will be “the most terrifying film you will ever experience.”  There are also several new images, including a few behind-the-scenes photos.  Check it all out after the jump.

Jane Levy, Shiloh Fernandez, Elizabeth Blackmore, Lou Taylor Pucci, and Jessica Lucas star in Fede Alvarez‘s English language debut.  Evil Dead opens April 5.

We all pretty much saw this coming as soon as the first red-band trailer for the film was unveiled, but director Fede Alvarez recently revealed that his remake of Evil Dead received an NC-17 rating from the MPAA when it was first submitted for consideration.  We’ve since seen two red-band trailers for the redo, and they’re both filled with wall-to-wall blood and disturbing imagery.  The poster even boasts the tagline, “The Most Terrifying Film You Will Ever Experience,” so it’s clear that Alvarez and Co. are swinging for the fences.

The director noted that they indeed made some cuts to secure an R-rating, but I imagine we’ll get to see the full unrated cut when the film hits Blu-ray and DVD.  Hit the jump to read Alvarez’s full statement and to revisit the red-band trailers.  If you missed any of Steve’s set visit coverage, check out 35 things to know and Steve’s extended interview with Alvarez.  Evil Dead opens on April 12th.

The first green band trailer for director Fede Alvarez’s upcoming Evil Dead remake has been released online.  We’ve previously seen two red band trailers, but this clip gives us a look at some new, less blood-filled footage.  As we’re very much aware, the new Evil Dead is not holding back in the gore department so it’s interesting to see how much footage is “green band safe.”

Hit the jump to watch the trailer, and click here to read Steve’s set visit.  The film stars Jane Levy, Shiloh Fernandez, Elizabeth Blackmore, Lou Taylor Pucci, and Jessica Lucas.  Evil Dead opens on April 12th.

What’s the best course of action should you ever find yourself a boring married person who’s hesitant to cash in “movie favors” due to the fear that your return favor will come in the form of the next four Katherine Heigl movies? Align yourself with like-minded boring married people and schedule yourself a significant-other-free triple feature. This advice comes directly from my own playbook and is the reason why this week’s Top 5 is arriving a little earlier than usual; so that I can make time to check out Gangster Squad, Zero Dark Thirty, and Django Unchained all in one glorious day. While you likely didn’t come here for relationship advice, as an added bonus to an already robust palette of content, I’m confident that you’re getting your time’s worth and then some.

All creative thinking pertaining to movies and how we can watch them while in a relationship aside, this week saw the announcement of the 2013 Oscar nominations, a little Evil Dead remake set visit coverage, Gangster Squad interviews with Ruben Fleischer and more, a healthy portion of posters and images from Harmony Korine‘s Spring Breakers, and developing news regarding Christopher Nolan potentially taking on Interstellar as his next directorial effort. All of the above resides in brief recap and link form after the jump.