Diablo Cody: The Evil Dead Remake Will Be "Really Scary" and "Unbelievably Violent"
Posted 11.20.11 by BrentJS
Horror fans were already having a tough time wrapping their minds around the fact that Federico "Fede" Alvarez was directing a remake of one of their most beloved cult classics, Sam Raimi's The Evil Dead, but the news that Juno scribe Diablo Cody was hired to rewrite the script written by Alvarez and Rodo Sayagues sent many of them over the edge. In an effort to assure the fans that all is well with the remake, the star of the original Evil Dead movies, Bruce "Ash" Campbell, has spoken out in support of Cody, but it hasn't seemed to have had much of an impact on the online community and their constant grumbling that Cody will Juno-ize the remake.
Apparently, the controversy was not unexpected, least of all by Cody herself. In a recent interview in support of her new movie, Young Adult, Cody said that she knew she was "gonna get sh*t" from the fans when she signed on to rewrite the remake and that she "wouldn't have even gotten involved" if Raimi and Campbell were not attached as producers. As for the tone, Cody offered the assurance that the new Evil Dead will be "really scary, "unbelievably violent" and "true to the original."
I wouldn’t have even gotten involved if Sam [Raimi] and Bruce Campbell hadn’t been involved as well, they're producing it, and so of course I was like, 'Alright I have to do this,' because I'm such a fan of the original, and the whole original series in fact. But I was nervous to take the job because I thought, 'Ugh, I'm gonna get sh*t for this. People are not gonna like this, because all people know of me is like Juno and they think I'm gonna pollute Evil Dead with like wacky dialogue and cute stuff and folk music,' and it’s like 'No, look I understand what this is. I'm interested in storytelling here and making it scary and good and true to the original.' I feel like people will hopefully see Young Adult and go 'Oh, okay that's a horrifying movie maybe she could pull it off.'
Cody explained that her work on the script focused on dialogue and character work and that she left the blood-and-guts to Alvarez.
Because the director's draft was really scary, I tried to stay away from some of the big horror set pieces. I didn't wanna mess with his vision, because he’s the one who ultimately has to shoot it. That being said, there is a moment near the — I mean, it's unbelievably violent. You know, occasionally I threw in a wound here or there. I didn’t write anything extravagant.
The Evil Dead is currently in pre-production. No cast members have been announced and its unclear when it will begin filming, but it is slated for release in 2013.