Evil Dead is one of the more beloved B-movies ever made, and while a remake is likely to piss a lot of people off, the original is not actually very good (that sentence is likely piss a lot of people off as well, and we’re not sorry about it.)

Made on an ultra-tiny budget, Sam Raimi‘s Evil Dead told the story of some some college kids unwittingly unleashing a terrible evil when staying at a remote cabin in the woods – something that we might struggle to take seriously now, after, erm, Cabin In The Woods. The performances are ropy, the sets and effects even ropier, and the trees are particularly ropy (sorry, that should say rape-y.) The film spawned two sequels, which are what most people are really talking about when they discuss the Evil Dead franchise, as they pushed Bruce Campbell’s unlikely hero Ash to the fore and highlighted the sense of fun and humour that only lightly permeated the horror-centric original (most of the laughs are unintentional). Entertainment Weekly have kindly given us the first still from the new version.

The above picture indicates that a sense of intentional fun might be present from the off this time. Director Fede Alvarez will be fully aware of what fans of the franchise will want, which gives him the opportunity to make his version more in keeping with the tone of superior sequels. The still shows a young, female Deadite (that’s zombie, to you and me) poking its rotting head playfully up from the cellar of the iconic cabin, with a fun, hungry grin on her face. She’s not particularly lovable, but it does indicate that the film won’t be an entirely po-faced affair. We’re not sure how close to the original Fede Alvarez’ version will run, but we’ll find out on 12th April 2013.

Are you excited for an Evil Dead remake? Or is it sacrilege?