Evil Dead (2013 film)

Writing

Fede Álvarez and Rodo Sayagues co-wrote the script, which was then doctored by Diablo Cody in an effort to Americanize the dialogue since English was not the writers' first language.^[5] The film was produced by Sam Raimi, Bruce Campbell and Robert G. Tapert, who are the producers of the original Evil Dead trilogy.^[6]

Raimi and Campbell had planned a remake for many years, but, in 2009, Campbell stated the proposed remake was "going nowhere" and had "fizzled" due to extremely negative fan reaction.^[7] However, in April 2011, Bruce Campbell stated in an AskMeAnything interview on Reddit: "We are remaking Evil Dead. The script is awesome ... The remake's gonna kick some ass — you have my word."^[8] The film was officially announced that July.^[5]

In November 2018, Álvarez confirmed the film's relationship to the original:

It continues the first one. The coincidences on events between the first film and mine are not coincidences, but more like dark fate created by the evil book. (Ash [sic] car is still there rusting away.)^[9]

Casting

Actor Shiloh Fernandez was cast in the lead male role of David.^[10] Initially, Lily Collins was scheduled to play the lead female role of Mia, but dropped out in January 2012,^[11][12] with Jane Levy replacing her the next month.^[13] Lou Taylor Pucci, Elizabeth Blackmore, and Jessica Lucas later joined the cast.^[14][15]

Filming

Álvarez, who also has a background in CGI, also confirmed in an interview that the film does not employ CGI (except for touch-ups): "We didn't do any CGI in the movie ... Everything that you will see is real, which was really demanding. This was a very long shoot, 70 days of shooting at night. There's a reason people use CGI; it's cheaper and faster, I hate that. We researched a lot of magic tricks and illusion tricks."^[16]

Theatrical

TriStar Pictures released the film theatrically on April 5, 2013, in the United States,^[17] with Sony Pictures handling other markets. Fede Álvarez tweeted on January 28, 2013, that the film first received an NC-17 rating, which prompted cuts in order to obtain the contractually obligated R-rating.^[18] The film has been rated uncut as an 18 by the BBFC for containing strong "bloody violence, gory horror and very strong language".^[19] StudioCanal handled the release of Evil Dead in the United Kingdom.^[19]

Evil Dead premiered at the SXSW Film Festival in Austin, TX on March 8, 2013.^[20] The music for Evil Dead, composed by Roque Baños, was released by La-La Land Records in a 40-minute digital form and a 70-minute physical release, on April 9, 2013.^[21]

Home media

Evil Dead was released on DVD and Blu-ray, on July 16, 2013.^[22] The Blu-ray exclusives include commentary from three of the cast, and screenwriters Fede Álvarez and Rodo Sayagues and five featurettes, while the regular DVD includes only three of the featurettes. Shout! Factory released a 4K Ultra HD Blu-ray containing both cuts of the film and an exclusive poster on September 27, 2022 under their Scream Factory sub label.^[23]

Extended Cut

An "extended version" featuring an alternative ending (a deleted mid-credits scene) and various other deleted clips and dialogue, some of which were featured in the original trailer but subsequently removed from the theatrical version, was aired in the UK on Channel 4 on January 25, 2015.^[24]

On October 10, 2018, Sony Pictures announced the release of the Unrated Cut on Blu-ray Disc in a two-disc manufacture on demand combo pack with the theatrical version. It was released on October 23, 2018. The extended cut is 96 minutes compared to the 91-minute theatrical cut.^[25]

Box office

The film grossed $25.8 million in its opening weekend, finishing first at the box office.^[26] It went on to gross $54.2 million domestically and $43.3 million internationally, for a worldwide take of $97.5 million against its $17 million budget, making it a box office success.^[2]

Critical response

On Rotten Tomatoes, the film has an approval rating of 64% based on 203 reviews and an average rating of 6.2/10. The critics consensus states: "It may lack the absurd humor that underlined the original, but the new-look Evil Dead compensates with brutal terror, gory scares, and gleefully bloody violence."^[27] On Metacritic, the film has a weighted average score of 57 out of 100 based on 38 critics, indicating "mixed or average" reviews.^[28] Audiences polled by CinemaScore gave the film an average grade of "C+" on an A+ to F scale.^[29]

Evan Dickson from Bloody Disgusting reviewed the film at SXSW and went on to say, "Evil Dead is amazingly gory and fun" and gave the film 4/5 stars.^[30] Chris Tilly of IGN gave Evil Dead 9/10 and called the movie a "terrifying, exhilarating and relentlessly entertaining new chapter in the Evil Dead story".^[31] John DeFore of The Hollywood Reporter also gave the film a positive review, calling it a "remake that will win the hearts of many of the original's fans."^[32] Independent horror review site HorrorTalk gave the film four stars out of five, saying it is "the most unrelenting and bloody horror film to come out of a major studio in a very long time".^[33] Emma Simmonds of The List commented: "Evil Dead has ample cheap shocks and few bloodcurdling frights but it builds to something gorily bravura and, if that's your bag, you'll come away satisfied. It's a while before anyone picks up a chainsaw, but boy is it worth it when they do."^[34] Matt Singer called the film "an assault on the senses" and "a success, one that out-Evil Deads the original movie with even more gore, puke, blood, and dismembered limbs. It may not be wildly inventive, but it is effective, and plenty faithful to the spirit — and tagline — of the first 'Ultimate Experience in Grueling Terror.'"^[35]

Richard Roeper rated the film one star out of four, criticizing the film's unoriginality, the characters' lack of intelligence, and the film's reliance on gore for what he felt were cheap scares. He concluded his review by saying: "I love horror films that truly shock, scare and provoke. But after 30 years of this stuff, I'm bored to death and sick to death of movies that seem to have one goal: How can we gross out the audience by torturing nearly every major character in the movie?"^[36]

Accolades