In the second half of our discussion with Evil Dead remake director Fede Alvarez, we talk about the rebooted franchise’s future, which, by its nature, is somewhat spoilerish. If you haven’t seen the film already, take care moving forward.
Q: Now I noticed that you used some of the original audio of Professor Knowby, so in a way are going the J. J. Abrams/Star Trek route by being a remake and a sequel at the same time?
A: We’re not overwriting anything. We’re not saying that this movie overwrites the mythology of the original. They live together. If you see it from a certain point of view, this happens at the same house, thirty years later. The car’s still there. If you didn’t see the second one where the car goes back in time, at the end of the first one everybody dies. The car’s still there. But this happens thirty years later and there’s an old rusted car next to the house. There’s definitely a lot of things to geek out over if you’re a fan of the original.
Q: Given everyone’s excitement over the reception of the film at SXSW there has already been some talk of a sequel. Given that Evil Dead II took an interesting shift in tone away from the first one are you thinking of doing something similar or do you have to go in a completely new direction to avoid even further comparisons to the original?
A: If people know where [a sequel] goes, than we’ve failed. I think we really have to surprise people with a sequel. We have to really go to a different place. I agree that there is something in the Evil Dead saga that every movie is in a completely different place from the previous one. It would have to happen with this one too. The sequel should surprise you and should be something that you don’t expect.
Q: So it may very well be an adaptation of the off-Broadway musical?
A: (laughs) That would be good. I loved that.
