Evil Dead: Early Impressions from SXSW, Work Has Started on a Sequel

Evil Dead saw its world premiere at SXSW this evening. When the remake was first announced, fans were understandably skeptical, but the gory red band trailer won many over. Did the movie live up to the hype? We have impressions from a number of people who attended the event, and word that a sequel is already in development.

The majority of audience reactions from the screening have been positive, and it looks like Sony will have a big hit with Evil Dead when it is released in April. As long as horror fans turn out to support the movie, a sequel seems like a given. During the Q&A that took place after the screening, director Fede Alvarez announced that he has already started writing the sequel. We'll have more details on this after post-screening interviews start coming in early next week.

We wanted to provide readers with a number of impressions from a variety of different horror fans. Here are some reactions that hit Twitter from critics and readers. Tag us on Twitter (@dailydeadnews) and we'll add your impressions:

Evan Dickson: EVIL DEAD knocks it out of the park. More fun and way more gory than even he trailers would lead you to believe!

Russ Fischer: If you're looking for gore and/or fan service, EVIL DEAD has it. If you want anything else, there are nice DVDs of the original movies.

James Rocchi: EVIL DEAD: That's Entertainment. Raggedly amputates the goofy humor from the original, drenches the rest in blood, adrenaline.

Heather Wixson: Evil Dead- yesssssssssssss. Jane Levy rules. So so so so so so much blood. Congrats @fedalvar on a fantastic rebirth!

Devin Feraci: The most interesting thing about EVIL DEAD is how violent it is as a studio release. That's a post-WALKING DEAD effect. EVIL DEAD is not that good. Super gory, not good.

Scott Weinberg: Not sure I can tweet something about @evildead that doesn't sound like a wannabe poster quote. Here: it's fucking great.

Aaron Morgan: Evil Dead rebirth has done for deadites what The Walking Dead has done for zombies. A nice refresh. Not perfect, but very fun moments. My biggest criticism/request of EVIL DEAD is less exorcist and more deadites for the next one, please.

Matt Goldberg: "EVIL DEAD left me shaking, partially from fear and mostly from the insane violence. Holy shit."

For Daily Dead reader Chris Johnson, it was his first experience with the Evil Dead franchise. How does this play for casual horror fans or those that stick to modern horror movies? Here's what he sent us literally right after the movie wrapped:

"As a horror fan, it almost seems unfathomable that I have not seen many classics... Rewind back a few months ago when I saw I tweet linking a 'horrifying red band trailer of the remake of the classic Evil Dead.' I clicked the link, expecting a cheesy remake of yet another classic horror film. What I found was undoubtedly the scariest trailer ever released. I was hooked and I had to see the film.

Tonight, sitting in the Paramount theatre at SXSW, I was joined by just over a thousand horror fans (Including the master Bruce Campbell) to witness the premiere of the film.

The movie tells the story of a brother and sister, along with three friends, to help the sister, Mia, detox from substance abuse. Upon arriving to the cabin, a scene of witchcraft is uncovered, along with a book of evil drawings and incantations. What follows is one gory horror scene after another as the evil unfolds.

The acting was much better than anticipated, and on par with modern horror films like The Cabin in the Woods. The cinematography was fabulous, and the gore was in the top five of mainstream horror films that I've ever seen.

Fabulous movie. Solid B."

We want to give a big thanks again to Chris for sharing his impressions with us. Here's a photo he took from the screening of the cast Q&A. Look for much more on Evil Dead in the coming weeks, including interviews, a contest, and our full review.