The EVIL DEAD Remake is happening and with a helping hand by Diablo Cody

Forget what you may think about Juno and Jennifer’s Body, and focus on the positive side of Diablo Cody’s career which is the terrific series The United Sates of Tara.  As much as it pains me to no end that they are remaking yet another classic that certainly has no reason to be remade, I can take a little comfort in knowing that Sam Raimi’s company Ghost House Pictures  is producing it and that there is a talented group of men and women behind the film.  The Evil Dead is a milestone in independent filmmaking and its influence on horror films can still be felt to this day.  I’m sure that all who are involved know this going in to the project and are treating the production with kid-gloves, but the whole idea still feels unwarranted.  Keep reading to hear the official word sent from the studio regarding who is directing the remake and Diablo Cody’s involvement in the script.

From Ghost House Pictures:

Sam Raimi and original producing partners Rob Tapert and Bruce Campbell (who also starred in the original franchise) are gearing up to remake their cult sensation THE EVIL DEAD through their long standing Ghost House Pictures partnership. Raimi and Tapert were such instant fans of Fede Alvarez’s short film “Panic Attack” that they set up a blind deal with the filmmaker and through that process have attached Fede Alvarez to write and direct the film. Alvarez wrote the script with Rodo Sayagues. Academy Award® winning screenwriter Diablo Cody is currently doing revisions on the draft. Ghost House is committed to renewing the franchise and has the film on the fast track.

Raimi, Tapert and Campbell will serve as producers. Ghost House Pictures partners Joe Drake and Nathan Kahane will executive produce. Nicole Brown and J.R. Young will oversee the project for Ghost House. Lionsgate will handle international sales on the film.

The three producing partners commented, “We are committed to making this movie and are inspired by the enduring popularity and enthusiasm for the ‘Evil Dead’ series. We can’t wait to scare a new generation of moviegoers using filmmaking techniques that were not available to us thirty years ago as well as Fede bringing a fresh eye to the film’s original elements.”

Raimi wrote, directed and, along with Tapert and Campbell, produced the original horror classic THE EVIL DEAD that tells the story of five twenty-something friends who become holed up in a remote cabin where they discover a Book Of The Dead. An archaeologist’s tape recording reveals that the ancient text was discovered among the Khandarian ruins of a Sumerian civilization. Playing the taped incantations, the youths unwittingly summon up dormant demons living in the nearby woods, which possess the youngsters in succession until only one is left intact to fight for survival. THE EVIL DEAD spawned a franchise with the equally successful installments EVIL DEAD II and ARMY OF DARKNESS.