Okay, maybe it's not a trick after all:
In regards to Evil Dead 4 Raimi says, "There will be an Evil Dead 4, and there will ALSO be an Evil Dead Remake. The remake will be produced by Ghost House pictures, (his company with [Bob] Tapert) and it will star a new cast and a completely new director. The point of Ghost House is that we want to bring new directors (like Takashi Shimizu of The Grudge) to Hollywood and give them a chance to make a good horror film." ... Contrary to what Raimi told Mr. D, the remake will be Evil Dead 1 and 2 together, but remade with a higher budget and a new cast and crew.
However, Raimi will be directing and producing Evil Dead 4, which will star Bruce Campbell as ASH and will also have many of the actors from the previous Evil Dead movies. Raimi says that "This is the project I really want to make. The remake can belong to someone else, but part 4 will be a continuation of the original"
As someone who's been eager for another Evil Dead movie ever since I sat with four other people in an otherwise deserted Dallas theater and watched Army of Darkness on opening weekend 12 years ago, I feel kind of stupid in saying I have mixed feelings about this. It's taken a dozen or so re-watchings of the trilogy to make me wonder how good another sequel would really be. Obviously, they're only limited by Raimi's imagination, I'm just afraid they'll go the easy route and subject us to endless variations of "Come get some" and "Gimme some sugar, baby." That, and the previous lack of enthusiasm expressed by both Campbell and Raimi on the prospect of another film make me question whether this is something both of them are going to fully support.
Maybe Bruce needs the money. Heaven knows "Spider-Man Director" Sam Raimi doesn't.
As for the remake...well, Raimi will be producing, and last year's Dawn of the Dead proved that classic horror remakes aren't required to suck. Ghost House needs to get on the stick, however. The Grudge was mildly successful, but no amount of misguided favorable reviews can cleanse Boogeyman of the stench of failure. The Evil Dead remake needs to be a hard "R" and take as many chances as the original.
Then they can just follow the Army of Darkness business model and release a new DVD version every fiscal quarter.
Is Bruce really up to another Evil Dead remake? Granted, he's still Bruce, but a dozen years having passed since AoD.... I'm afraid I share your misgivings.
Though, OTOH, at least it wouldn't be Ash vs. Jason and Freddy.... Or would it? *ick*
AAACK! That should be "Is Bruce really up to another Evil Dead sequel", not remake... Damn, it's scary when the caffeine doesn't seem to kick in anymore....
I think it would be commendably charitable of Raimi to give Takashi Shimizu the chance to make a good horror film. We shouldn't dismiss foreign directors as incompetent just because they put out something like The Grudge - he quite possibly has very warped ideas of what american audiences are like. Look at Jackie Chan - as soon as he started targeting westerners he made nothing but crap.
We shouldn't dismiss foreign directors as incompetent just because they put out something like The Grudge
Yeah, Raimi sounds a tad disingenuous, doesn't he? I actually liked The Grudge okay, and the quibbles I had with it weren't Shimizu's fault.
Pete,
A friend of mine used to be the manager of the theatre right next to a local pool-hall. When they get the new movies on Wednesday, we would all get a free midnight showing of the ones we were looking forward to. I got to see Army of Darkness at 1 in the morning, with a twelve-pack, a pack of marlboro lights and 30 friends. Did I mention the free popcorn? You would be amazed at the confluence amongst geeks and pool players.
I agree, just go off the rails with the remake, only sensible thing to do.