When it comes to horror franchises, it’s hard to argue against The Evil Dead when it comes to picking the best, in terms of overall quality. Every film in The Evil Dead series is strong; the franchise has an awesome TV show, a great video game, fun comics, and even a killer musical based on it. It’s very rare for a horror series to be this many movies in, and still be producing such excellent entries.
The trend continues with Evil Dead Rise, the newest addition to the franchise, written and directed by Lee Cronin, the Irish filmmaker behind The Hole in the Ground; a picture that was nominated for Best Film at the 2020 Irish Film and Television Awards.
The movie stars Lily Sullivan (Jungle), Alyssa Sutherland (Vikings), Gabrielle Echols (Reminiscence), Morgan Davies (The Hunter), and Nell Fisher. Sam Raimi and Bruce Campbell, the duo behind the original Evil Dead, are producers of the new film.
Evil Dead Rise follows Beth (Sullivan), a sound technician who, after finding out she’s pregnant, decides to visit her sister Ellie (Sutherland) and her three kids, Bridget, Danny, and Kassie (Echols, Davies, and Fisher) in their soon-to-be-condemned inner city apartment building.
After an earthquake, Danny discovers the building sits on top of an old bank vault; a hiding place for old religious assembly recordings on vinyl, and of course, the Book of the Dead. Danny plays the recordings over his speakers and the recorded priests utter the sacred words, awakening the demons that lie dormant, and they immediately possess Ellie. From there, all hell breaks loose, literally.
One of the most welcome parts of Evil Dead Rise is the new setting. The choice to move away from the isolated cabin setting to a dilapidated, historic building was refreshing. There’s a certain level of creepiness to the building; it offers its own levels of isolation due to its poor condition, and contains plenty of hiding spaces, surprise characters, and has an eerie aesthetic.
It felt like a much-needed change after three of the four previous Evil Dead films have taken place at the iconic cabin.
I also loved the familial storyline. We weren’t just dealing with a group of friends anymore, and while we got a taste of familial closeness with the estranged brother-sister storyline in the 2013 Evil Dead remake, it just didn’t hit as hard as the horrific desperation and trauma of killing or trying to save close family members.
There were so many moments of Evil Dead Rise where I was wondering how the characters could ever come back from what they witnessed or had to do.
The acting was fantastic, and while all the kids played their parts exceptionally well, it was the contrast between Alyssa Sutherland’s immediate, chaotic, demonic transformation and Lily Sullivan’s slow descent into madness that carried my interest and concern for the characters.
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Sure, there were plenty of typical, cheesy Raimi-isms in the script, like “I’m going to swallow your soul,” and “Come get some!” but they were delivered flawlessly and only added to the style fusion of the film.
Outside some of Raimi’s specific stylization in the original, this was the first Evil Dead movie that felt like it was filmed through a visual artist’s eyes. The level of detail that went into capturing perfectly horrific angles and eerie, creeping shots is unmatched in the franchise.
There were some great Raimi shoutouts, too, as Cronin took the time to reference some of the more iconic camera moments from the original film. Once again, a testament to taking two very distinct styles, and creating an extremely cohesive product.
The creepy atmosphere was only built upon by the haunting score from Stephen McKeon, who is no stranger to the horror genre, having scored Black Mirror, The Cellar, and collaborated with Cronin before on The Hole in the Ground.
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Recently, the score was gorgeously pressed by Waxwork Records on “Deadite & Blood”-colored vinyl, with incredible artwork from Steve Reeves.
For those horror fans that were hoping this movie was bringing the gore, you will not be disappointed. Bring your poncho because Evil Dead Rise is an oozing, flowing, splatterfest. It’s absolutely the bloodiest of the franchise, even one-upping several of the hair-raising, skin-crawling scenes in the grittier 2013 version. This movie is a gore-hound’s dream, and a squeamish person’s nightmare.
In fact, the film was so gory in some scenes, that in moments that pulled the reigns a bit, I was a little shocked at the restraint.
The gore looked amazing, too. While there were a few messy-looking CGI moments throughout, I’m positive they’ll be cleaned up before the home release, and they were far outweighed by the bloodbath of practical gore used once things take a turn for the worse. After a certain point in the movie, there isn’t a dry spot on the set.
Evil Dead Rise is a blood-soaked spectacle, that brilliantly meshes new-age, eerie, artistic horror with the chaotic absurdity of the ‘80s films. I had a blast with it, and I can’t wait for a second watch. The movie does the Evil Dead world proud and is a phenomenal addition to the best-quality horror franchise ever.
Evil Dead Rise is now in theaters everywhere.
