People really seem to want more “Evil Dead.” Fans flipped when creator/director Sam Raimi said (and then later recanted) that a “Evil Dead 4” was in the works, and the remake of the original just played SXSW last night. We’ll have a review of our own later in the day, but reactions for SXSW seem decidedly mixed: Gore hounds seemed to love it, but viewers and critics with less investment in the genre seemed to think it was bloody, but empty.
Here’s a fairly good assessment and one we concur with based on all the Twitter chatter. Even Ryan Turek, managing editor of horror-loving ShockTilYouDrop, acknowledges that people seem to be divided on the movie.
What I’m getting: Tepid reaction to Evil Dead from the more discriminating; enthusiastic response from those looking for gory good time.
— Ryan Turek (@_RyanTurek) March 9, 2013
Here’s two more reactions. One from Ain’t It Cool News, the other from /Film, both arguably fans of genre films. Both represent a divided take on the movie.
EVIL DEAD is absolutely orgasmic, it will make you bleed out various orifices profusely and you’ll love it!!!!
— Harry Knowles (@headgeek666) March 9, 2013
If you’re looking for gore and/or fan service, EVIL DEAD has it. If you want anything else, there are nice DVDs of the original movies.
— Russ Fischer (@russfischer) March 9, 2013
You’ll get to find out on April 5th. Meanwhile, “Evil Dead” remake director Fede Alvarez says a sequel script is already being written. There’s not much to work with quote-wise, but apparently he told the SXSW audience that yes, a sequel to the remake is “officially” in the works. Considering the mixed response so far, we’re not sure we care. But maybe gore mavens who love films that make you hemorrhage out of various orifices will be delighted.
