Deadline announced that Suburgatory star Jane Levy will replace Lily Collins as the lead in the remake of Sam Raimi’s The Evil Dead.
The new film, directed by Fede Alvarez and written by Diablo Cody, will focus on five friends who go up to a remote cabin and discover a Book of the Dead with a demonic force unleashed possessing each until only one is left to fight for survival. Mia is a recovering from a recent drug addiction, and is particularly susceptible to the persuasive ways of the evil dead, says the source.
This is a terrific move, as Lily Collins never felt quite right for this type of film. While Collins has been outshone by her eyebrows on more than one occasion, and may sink without a trace after Mirror Mirror, Levy has a natural comic timing and personality that makes her a great successor to Bruce Campbell.
The original 1981 The Evil Dead, from director Sam Raimi, brought a fresh perspective and a whole bag of new tricks to the industry. On a budget of less than $375,000, Raimi and his troupe reworked his earlier Super 8 film Within the Woods over one-and-a-half years, with several actors leaving in the process. From these modest beginnings, Raimi would create a trilogy of films revered by lovers of cult horror and comedy, and show the beginnings of his path towards Hollywood success. It also made leading man Bruce Campbell a figure of cult royalty.
The Evil Dead is due in cinemas on 12 April 2013.
