Horror fans celebrate 39th anniversary of the release of Evil Dead
Last updated: 18 October 2020
On 15th October 2020, horror fans celebrated the 39th anniversary of Sam Raini’s cult-classic Evil Dead that released in 1981 and is widely considered to be one of the greatest horror films of all time. The huge success of the film had buoyed its makers to release two more films completing the trilogy, Evil Dead II (1987) and Army of Darkness (1992), both written and directed by Sam Raini.
The franchise was rebooted in 2013 with the same title as the original film and marketed with a caption: “The most terrifying film you will ever experience”.
Upon its release, the reboot received mixed reviews from critics but was very well-received by fans of the genre and raked in $97.5 million in worldwide box office collections against its production budget and marketing costs of $17 million despite being rated “R” in the USA and 18 in the UK and other countries for its “bloody violence, gory horror and strong language”.
A 10-episode television series, Ash vs Evil Dead, was released in 2015 on TV channel Starz. Helmed by Sam Raimi, Ivan Raimi, and Tom Spezialy, the series is set approximately 30 years after the first three Evil Dead films and doesn’t address the events in the 2013’s reboot. The first season was met with critical acclaim leading the makers to release two more seasons over the next couple of years, both of which were well-received. However, fans were left disappointed after Starz announced in April 2018 that they were not renewing the series for a fourth season quoting the show’s reducing popularity.
After the series started streaming on Netflix, it garnered more popularity and new fans. This renewed hopes of a fourth season, however Netflix did not make any attempts to renew the series as the streaming giant did not own the production rights.
Bruce Campbell, who starred in all of the Evil Dead releases including the reboot (in which he briefly appears in the post-credits) and is the main character in all the 3 seasons of the TV Series, playing the iconic role of Ash Williams, revealed in an interview with Empire in June this year that a new Evil Dead film titled “Evil Dead Rise” is in the works much to the joy of the fans who have been petitioning Netflix to take over the franchise and release a fourth season of Ash vs Evil Dead.
The fifth film of the franchise is written and directed by Lee Cronin with Sam Raimi, Robert Tapert and Bruce Campbell bankrolling it, however Campbell confirmed he won’t be returning to play the character of Ash Williams and hinted that the new film will be centered on a female protagonist.
Filming for Evil Dead Rise is set to begin in 2021, and the cast and crew are yet to be announced. The latest instalment of the hit franchise is likely to release in 2022. Fans will hope the much-awaited film will release in theatres first and not directly on a streaming platform.