"Evil Dead" Spin-Off in Works with Sébastien Vaniček Helming

Rising filmmaker Sébastien Vaniček has been tapped to co-write and direct a new spin-off of the Evil Dead franchise for Sam Raimi and Robert Tapert’s Ghost House Pictures.

Details about the pic's plot are under wraps. The Evil Dead is, of course, the horror comedy franchise created by Raimi, going back to 1981’s same-name film starring Bruce Campbell as Ash Williams, a combatant of various supernatural entities. 

That pic grew into a trilogy, also spurring the creation of Starz TV series "Ash vs. Evil Dead" and a number of other projects over the years. 

The most recent standalone movie, "Evil Dead Rise" from writer-director Lee Cronin, grossed more than $147M worldwide last year when it hit theaters via Warner Bros, after world premiering at SXSW.

Vaniček made his feature directorial debut last year with "Infested" (Vermines), a horror pic first introduced as part of the Critics’ Week sidebar at the Venice Film Festival. 

It followed the residents of a rundown French apartment building battle against an army of deadly, rapidly reproducing spiders.

The pic won Best Picture and Best Director in its North American premiere at Fantastic Fest, and was also invited to the Sitges Film Festival, where it earned a nomination for Best Motion Picture and won a Special Jury Prize.

Other credits for Vaniček include the shorts "Crocs", "Mayday", and "299 792 458 M/S."