Dear Sara –
With all the fanfare about the new EVIL DEAD movie, I was wondering when this series started and how many of these movies there are.
Best wishes,
Lucy T.
Dear Lucy –
There are a few films that have since borrowed the title, but if you mean the franchise started by Sam Raimi (who has since gone on to make the SPIDERMAN films, OZ THE GREAT AND POWERFUL, etc.) and Robert Tapert (who with Raimi has executive-produced HERCULES, XENA, SPARTACUS, etc.), the new one makes four. The original THE EVIL DEAD, written and directed by Raimi and produced by Raimi, Tapert and their friend Bruce Campbell, who also starred, was made in Michigan in 1981 for approximately one dollar and fifty-nine cents. Okay, not really, but it was very much an ultra-low-budget affair. It was released in the U.S. in 1983. It was followed in 1987 by EVIL DEAD II, again written (this time with Scott Spiegel) and directed by Raimi, which was essentially a remake of the first film, since Campbell reprised his role as Ash, yet had no memory of prior horrific events. 1992’s ARMY OF DARKNESS is the third film in the series, again directed by Raimi, written by Raimi and his brother Ivan, where Ash winds up sending stuck with a chainsaw for an arm and transporting himself back to the year 1300. So, despite what it may feel like (ARMY OF DARKNESS reruns constantly on TV), this new EVIL DEAD is the first of its kind in over two decades. The current release is directed by Fede Alvarez, with a screenplay by Alvarez, Diablo Cody and Rodo Sayagues, with Raimi, Tapert and Campbell serving as executive producers. The film stars Jane Levy (of TV’s SUBURGATORY) and Jessica Lucas (of TV’s CULT).
It’s In The Bag,
Sara Bellum, Editor-at-Large Buzzy Mag
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