Sam Raimi, the cult-horror film director currently responsible for the tremendously successful Spider-Man movie franchise, has now decided to revisit his roots.
In a move possibly triggered off by the recent revival in horror interest leading to films like Shaun Of The Dead, The Grudge, and Saw, Variety has announced Raimi and his original producing partners Rob Tapert and Bruce Campbell joining forces all over again to produce a remake of the smash hit The Evil Dead.
The 1981 film was written, directed and produced by Raimi, and told the gristly, gory and unashamedly comedic tale of a group of friends in a cabin in the woods, and their encounter with an unspeakable evil lurking in the forest.
In a macabre gore-fest with oodles of over-the-top humour and campy comedy, the teens become deadly zombies, one by one. Only leading man Ash (Bruce Campbell) remains, and his resultant mission becomes to survive the night and battle the Evil Dead.
Evil Dead catapulted Raimi to cult status, and he has often declared it responsible for the rest of his life. It won him armies of fans across both sides of the Atlantic, and he enjoys a tremendous mythical stature among young cinegoers in the UK.
Campbell and Raimi worked on successful sequels before, with Evil Dead II and Army Of Darkness, and Campbell has been seen in virtually all of Raimi's projects since.
Memorably, Campbell stars as the ring announcer in the first Spider-Man, the loudmouth responsible for giving Peter Parker the name of the 'amazing Spider-Man', and reprises cameo status in Spider-Man 2 as the snooty usher who prevents Parker from walking into the theatre late.
It has been announced that Raimi will not be directing the new Evil Dead, so Ghost House Pictures is looking for a helmer to reinvent the franchise before a script is written.
Photographs: Getty Images
