PopHorror Let's Get Scared
Remakes are, without a doubt, one of the most hotly debated issues in horror today. I’m personally not a fan in most cases, favoring original ideas or at least fresh spins rather than rehashing what’s already been done. There are always exceptions, of course. For me, one that will always stand head and shoulders above the rest is Fede Alvarez’s spectacularly bloody Evil Dead remake from 2013. It’s one of the few reboots that had me excited and captivated from its very announcement, and the result absolutely blew me away from first viewing in the theaters.
It was not only a re-envisioning of Sam Raimi’s masterpiece and one of my favorite horror films of all time, but when a lot of other big horror releases were going the PG-13 route, Evil Dead was an unapologetically brutal hard R rated film, with blood and guts aplenty to keep audiences squirming. This film didn’t hold much back, so it was amazing to learn back in October 2016 that there was an even more savage unrated director’s cut, with nearly 5 vicious minutes of additional footage not included in the theatrical version. It was released digitally, but never saw a physical release… until now.
According Amazon, Sony will finally be unleashing this unrated bloodbath on U.S. Blu-ray this October 23rd, complete with the theatrical and unrated version. Fans can expect a whole load of extras, including some fun featurettes, and the near 5 minutes of additional footage. The site Movie Censorship fully outlines the differences between the theatrical and unrated cuts, citing around 27 differences – some major, some minor – between the two, including footage that appeared in the theatrical trailer but never made it into the film, extended shots of Mia’s tongue-splitting and Natalie’s self-inflicted arm amputation, two of the most unforgettably gory sequences in the film.
As a fan of all things Evil Dead, including the remake, this Unrated Director’s Cut of the film that really put Fede Alvarez on the map is a definite must. Gorehounds rejoice, the unrated Evil Dead is coming to Blu-ray October 23rd!!
