[This is a re-post of my review from the 2013 Sundance Film Festival.  The East opens today in limited release.]

The undercover thriller is a familiar genre, but it rarely reaches its full potential. For a setting where betrayal and shifting sympathies are central to the plot, most of these stories only provide the semblance of a grey area. Yes, the terrorist is planning to destroy the western seaboard, but his kid died ten years ago, so he’s not all bad. This is an easy road to nominal dramatic conflict while still keeping the audience firmly supporting the hero. With their new film The East, director Zal Batmanglij and co-writer Brit Marling have played the undercover thriller to near-perfection by forcing the audience to sit uncomfortably as we wonder who should deserve our sympathies. Playing to the conventions of the genre stops The East from holding any major surprises, but Batmanglij and his strong cast always keep us riveted as we become as conflicted as the film’s protagonist.

Fox Searchlight has released a batch of new high-resolution images from director Zal Batmanglij’s (Sound of My Voice) eco-terrorist thriller The East. Brit Marling co-wrote the script with Batmanglij and stars as an undercover operative for an elite private intelligence firm who infiltrates a domestic terrorist organization in order to protect her corporate clientele.  Once she starts living as part of the anarchist collective, though, she finds that her loyalties aren’t as solid as she believed them to be.  I caught the film at Sundance and it’s a very solid thriller that poses some fascinating questions that don’t exactly have easy answers.  It has a lot to say about the world we live in, but the film still manages to work very effectively as commercial entertainment, as evidenced by the most recent trailer.

Hit the jump to check out the images, click here to read Matt’s review, and click here to read my interview with Batmanglij and Marling.  The film also stars Alexander Skarsgard, Ellen Page, Patricia Clarkson, Julia Ormond, Shiloh Fernandez, and Jason Ritter.  The East opens on May 31st.

Fox Searchlight has released a new trailer for Sound of My Voice director Zal Batmanglij’s upcoming thriller The East.  The film stars Brit Marling as an undercover operative for an elite private intelligence firm who infiltrates a domestic terrorist organization in order to protect her corporate clientele.  Once she starts living as part of the anarchist collective, though, she finds that her loyalties aren’t as solid as she believed them to be.  I caught the film at Sundance and it’s a very solid thriller.  Batmanglij and star/co-writer Marling prove that they can skillfully craft a commercially pleasing film that still manages to be smart and thought provoking, and Marling turns in a riveting performance as the film’s protagonist.  This trailer delves quite a bit deeper into the pic’s plot than the first teaser trailer, and it gives you a good idea of the pic’s intensity level and story beats.

Hit the jump to watch the new trailer, click here to read Matt’s review, and click here to read my interview with Batmanglij and Marling.  The film also stars Alexander Skarsgard, Ellen Page, Patricia Clarkson, Julia Ormond, Shiloh Fernandez, and Jason Ritter.  The East opens on May 31st.

The cast of Evil Dead, remake to Sam Raimi’s original kids-go-to-a-cabin, kids-get-massacred-by-evil-demons classic, are certainly put through the ringer in this new updated version. The three interviewees of this article are forced to endure a bevy of indignities: nail-gun wounds, a really sharp needle, shards of glass, the top of a bathroom toilet, bloody vomit, etc.… And yet to hear the threesome talk about it  –the experience shooting the picture was the time of their life. There’s a loose rapport between the trio that’s impossible to fake – and that camaraderie certainly extends to the film itself. There’s a real sense of shared friendship between their characters – which makes the inevitable demons massacring them all the more tragic.

At the film’s press day, co-stars Shiloh Fernandez, Lou Taylor Pucci and Jessica Lucas discussed creating such bonds in a relatively short amount of time, working under heavy prosthetics and the rehearsal process for the film. 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.

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 undercover thriller is a familiar genre, but it rarely reaches its full potential.  For a setting where betrayal and shifting sympathies are central to the plot, most of these stories only provide the semblance of a grey area.  Yes, the terrorist is planning to destroy the western seaboard, but his kid died ten years ago, so he’s not all bad.  This is an easy road to nominal dramatic conflict while still keeping the audience firmly supporting the hero.  With their new film The East, director Zal Batmanglij and co-writer Brit Marling have played the undercover thriller to near-perfection by forcing the audience to sit uncomfortably as we wonder who should deserve our sympathies.  Playing to the conventions of the genre stops The East from holding any major surprises, but Batmanglij and his strong cast always keep us riveted as we become as conflicted as the film’s protagonist.

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.

Sony has released a new red band trailer for director Fede Alvarez’s remake of Evil Dead.  It is the most red band trailer I have ever seen.  It is messed up.  I can’t go anywhere near this movie when it opens on April 12, even though I like Jane Levy and this looks like a fun, wicked role for her.  But if you are the type of horror fan who can watch a girl lick the blade of a knife to slice a fork in her tongue, Evil Dead is for you.

Shiloh Fernandez, Jessica Lucas, Lou Taylor Pucci, and Elizabeth Blackmore co-star.  Sam Raimi and Bruce Campbell have given the remake their blessing as producers.  Watch the trailer after the jump.

The first trailer for director Fede Alvarez’s Evil Dead remake has been released by way of a red band trailer, and boy is this thing bloody.  This clip seems aimed directly at fans of the original that are skeptical of the update, and the gore-factor displayed here in this trailer (along with the fact that Sam Raimi, Bruce Campbell, and Rob Talbert are all highly-involved producers on the project) signal that we don’t really have anything to worry about.  The terrifying tone is on full display as we get glimpses of Alvarez’s disturbing versions of the Necronomicon, Deadites, and tree assault, with some tongue splicing and appendage removal thrown in for good measure.  While I was a bit wary about the redo at first, consider me all-in after this incredibly promising red band trailer.

Hit the jump to watch the trailer, and be sure to read Matt’s recap from the film’s New York Comic-Con panel and check out Steve’s video interview with star Jane Levy.  The film also stars Shiloh Fernandez, Lou Taylor Pucci, Jessica Lucas, and Elizabeth Blackmore.  Evil Dead opens on April 12th, 2013.

Bruce Campbell’s role in Sam Raimi’s original film The Evil Dead was career-defining, so how does Campbell feel about the current remake by director Fede Alvarez? Luckily, the man behind the famous chin had nothing but good things to say about the film.  He also talked about what fans could expect, differences between the remake and the original and whether or not he would be making a cameo appearance.

The Evil Dead remake, starring Jane Levy, Jessica Lucas, Shiloh Fernandez, Elizabeth Blackmore and Lou Taylor Pucci, debuts April 12th of next year.  Hit the jump to see what Campbell had to say, and click here to read what Raimi himself told us about the “so bloody it will make your head spin” remake.

Filming has begun on Fede Alvarez‘ remake of Sam Raimi‘s classic 1981 horror film The Evil Dead.  Raimi is producing alongside original co-producer Rob Tapert and franchise star Bruce Campbell.  Alvarez co-wrote the screenplay with Rodo Savagues with Diablo Cody also doing some work on the script, which she calls “unbelievably violent.“  The remake will keep the “five co-eds head to a cabin in the woods, and bad things happen” of the original, but since Raimi’s The Evil Dead was one of the forefathers of the genre, it’s immune from the scathing satire of The Cabin in the Woods.  The remake stars Jane Levy (Suburgatory) as Mia; Shiloh Fernandez (Red Riding Hood) as David; Lou Taylor Pucci (Carriers) as Eric; Jessica Lucas (Cloverfield) as Olivia, and Elizabeth Blackmore (Legend of the Seeker) as Natalie.  Like the original, the characters stumble upon the Book of the Dead, read from it, and are possessed until only one is remaining.

Hit the jump for the press release.  The Evil Dead is slated for April 12, 2013.