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Monday
02Nov2009

'The Evil Dead' Coming Back to Theaters

DateMonday, November 2, 2009 at 2:53AM
The validity of re-releasing a great film has been proven in the recent past. The Exorcist celebrated its 25th anniversary in 1998 by earning about $40 million, and the practice used to be fairly common. If you're over 30, you probably saw a Star Wars re-release at least once. So when remakes are announced, a lot of our readers wonder why they don't just re-release the classic.

Geek Tyrant reports that The Evil Dead will be put back in theaters in the US and Canada, courtesy of Grindhouse Releasing, the self-described "undisputed leader in quality exploitation." Perhaps wisely, the plan is to go with midnight screenings for this theatrical run, and with the popularity of that kind of programming, it's a clever move for Grindhouse to pick up the tab on this since so many independent theaters likely already put The Evil Dead in their schedules.

So far, there's no official word on where or when the film will be back on the big screen, but I'll tell you: Anytime I see an old horror movie in a theater, it's better. I just watched the original Texas Chainsaw Massacre in a packed house at the International Horror & Sci-Fi Film Festival in Tempe, and that's the first time I've seen it like that. It's a much better film that way, and I suspect it's the same in the case of Evil Dead. One other point about Chainsaw that I think reinforces the first point I made: The primary reason it has the legacy it does is because it stayed in theaters, usually just on a limited basis, for eight years in a row. No DVD back in the mid-1970s. The movie probably would have vanished if it hadn't been a midnight movie staple well after its release.

I don't understand why studios buy the rights to classic films and spin tepid updates of them into theaters instead of building up the original. In some cases, remakes are the right call, but in every case, isn't it cheaper to issue a restoration project on the original and release it? You don't even have to do 3,000 theaters to make your money back. Plus, I can pretty much guarantee you'll piss off fewer people. A very limited run for the Vertigo re-issue, which is one of the most painstakingly restored films ever, netted $7 million.

Just imagine if a studio had the guts to go to the vaults to showcase its rich history instead of giving it new angles on every occasion.

AuthorColin Boyd | | in , , , | Print ArticlePrint Article | | Comment2 Comments |

Reader Comments (2)

Would love to see Evil Dead in theaters. Back when AZ had a Madstone Theatre, I was lucky enough to see Evil Dead II there.

Monday, November 2, 2009 | Unregistered CommenterCharcole

I miss Madstone. (Sigh).

Monday, November 2, 2009 | Unregistered CommenterWill

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