31 Days of Horror--Day 26 EVIL DEAD remake

I have a soft spot for Sam Raimi's Evil Dead films, especially I (1981) and II (1987).  I'm not a fan of Hollywood Remakes, as you can tell from my post on COMA and its remake.  So I was a little upset to find out that Evil Dead was going to be remade, even if Sam Raimi and Bruce Campbell are producing the bugger. I guess they have to send their kids to private school.

What's worse?  Diablo Cody worked on the screenplay.  As a feminist horror scholar, I am all for more women in horror, but with this particular screenwriter, I have been previously burned (I'm looking at you, Jennifer's Body (2009)).  I fear for this film's dialogue.

The Old Ash

I also cannot imagine an Evil Dead film without Bruce Campbell as Ash.  From what Campbell has admitted at a panel on the remake at this past New York Comic.con, Ash is now a woman, "Mia," played by Jane Levy.

The New Ash

What else did I glean from the panel?  That Mia is the New Ash AND is raped by a possessed tree.  I guess Raimi and Co. thought that if they stuck in a Final Girl, then they could get away with something so violently misogynist and outdated.  Did Ms. Cody write THAT scene?

Still, like my rant about the Carrie remake, I know I'll still see this film, and while I can complain all I want, this film is a done deal, and I'm going to have to talk about it.  Here's a couple of unfunny images from the new Evil Dead.

Yikes.  I do like horror films to scare me, and I will admit, this Red Band Trailer for the Evil Dead remake looks pretty damn scary.

The original film, with its wonky special effects and hyperbolic acting, is positively quaint in comparison.