Evil Dead spinoff director Sébastien Vaniček teases his disturbing vision for the next installment in the hit horror franchise. Evil Dead Rise, the fifth installment following the 2013 reboot, was a box office success last spring, earning $147 million. That film’s success essentially ensured that the franchise would continue for at least another installment, and it was recently announced that a spinoff is in the works from Vaniček, with Sam Raimi set to return as a producer.
With details still scarce on the announced Evil Dead spinoff, Vaniček teases in an interview with Konbini (via Bloody Disgusting) that his take on the franchise will sport a “nasty” tone. Plot information is still under wraps, but the director’s comments suggest the spinoff will be closer in tone to the more recent installments than the Raimi originals. Check out Vaniček’s full comment below:
“I told the studio that I wanted to make a nasty film, a film that hurts, from which you come away tested. I’m going to put all the horror I have inside, it will be cathartic, and if I haven’t ruined my career and I can continue to make films behind it, I will move on to something other than horror!”
Evil Dead’s Tone Fluctuations Explained
Is A Nasty Tone The New Evil Dead Franchise Normal?
Raimi’s 1981 original Evil Dead was more of a pure horror, but it still had campy elements to it. The sequel in 1987 and Army of Darkness in 1992 leaned heavily into the camp and the humor, delivering movies that were just as funny as they were gory as Bruce Campbell’s Ash Williams does battle against the forces of evil. In 2013, however, Raimi handed the reins to director Fede Álvarez, who delivered a dark, gritty, and gory take on the franchise.
Title | Rotten Tomatoes Critics Score | Rotten Tomatoes Audience Score |
|---|---|---|
The Evil Dead | 86% | 84% |
Evil Dead 2 | 88% | 89% |
Army of Darkness | 68% | 87% |
Evil Dead (2013) | 63% | 64% |
Evil Dead Rise | 84% | 76% |
The reviews for 2013’s Evil Dead were somewhat mixed (see the chart above), but the movie performed moderately well at the box office. Despite this, it never got a direct sequel, with Lee Cronin’s Evil Dead Rise instead coming in 2023. This film split the difference, somewhat, between the two takes on the franchise, featuring plenty of wince-inducing gore while also bringing back some of the Raimi movies’ unique sense of humor. Still, however, it probably skewed a little closer to the 2013 movie’s tone overall.
Vaniček’s comments suggest that his take on Evil Dead will be continuing this trend. If it does, then there will be more dark Evil Dead movies than more campy, comedic ones, speaking to the freedom that Raimi gives new directorsthat board the franchise. It remains to be seen how Vaniček’s Evil Dead spinoff will be received, but it could indicate the broader course for the franchise moving forward.
