Evil Dead Rise – A Strong Addition to the Evil Dead Franchise

Evil Dead Rise sees the return of the acclaimed and extremely popular Evil Dead franchise 10 years after 2013’s Evil Dead and 40+ years since the original film, 1981’s The Evil Dead, was released in theatres. This time around, the film focuses on the twisted tale of two estranged sisters, single mother Ellie (Sutherland) and newly pregnant Beth (Sullivan), whose reunion is cut short by the rise of flesh-possessing demons after Ellie’s children Danny (Davies), Bridget (Gabrielle Echols) and Kassie (Nell Fisher) accidentally read from the Book of the Dead hiding in a vault underneath the parking garage in their high-rise building. This thrusts the family into a primal battle for survival as they face the most nightmarish version of family imaginable. The Evil Dead and the Scream franchises have been widely known as the two most consistent horror franchises ever and both of their new installments this year continue that trend with strong additions in their own right.

Originally meant to debut on HBO Max but after a reshaping of the company, Evil Dead Rise was upgraded to a theatrical release which was the right decision as it is a film made to be seen in a theatre with a big crowd. It is also the first installment to take place in a high-rise apartment building instead of a cabin in the woods, though director Lee Cronin still utilized a cabin sequence. The new setting works surprisingly well, offering a refreshing change of scenery while still staying true to what an Evil Dead film should be. The setting is used to its full potential, bouncing back and forth from the lead characters’ apartment to the hallways, stairwells, and elevator shafts around them. There’s no way to top the eeriness and confinement previous setting brought, but the apartment setting is a perfect substitute as the stakes continue to run high as the film makes it feel claustrophobic.

Tone wise, the film is much more in line with 2013’s Evil Dead, especially with how sadistic and mean spirited it is than the Sam Raimi trilogy but while this installment has all the gnarly violence and brutal gore one would expect, it also has the campier elements and twisted sense of humor of the earlier installments at times. Those who have never seen an Evil Dead film before might be taken aback, but Cronin finds a nice balance between those drastically different tones as its goofier moments are used sparingly throughout and never take away from the more horrific ones. Overall, it is honestly a pretty nasty experience, and the violence, make-up, and practical effect work is genuinely disturbing and creepy but thankfully, not to a point that takes audiences out of it or becomes too much. Meanwhile, some new additions to the franchise and lore are welcome and fit in with the rest of this franchise in terms of the shocking and horrific but also somewhat silly nature of it all.

The film is certainly in the running for the scariest and creepiest film in the franchise to date and a lot of that is to do with Sutherland’s absolutely phenomenal performance as Ellie. She makes for such a welcome addition to this franchise and brings so much to her role and this franchise. She fits perfectly in line with past versions of Deadites but brings so much new to the table and some of her line readings are just bone-chilling stuff. Her body movements are honestly astounding, and she somehow only manages to get even more frightening and unsettling with each passing minute. Sullivan is a great lead as well and she’s very easy to get attached to and the audience will find themselves rooting for her to get out of this situation. The rest of the performances are solid too especially from the child actors who cement the family dynamic, creating a group that audiences will want to see survive.

Despite its greatness, there are some slight problems that hold it back from reaching the same heights as the rest of the franchise. Outside of a great opening sequence, it takes a bit too long to get going. Being only 97-minutes, it’s easy to tell this is the longest film in the franchise to date because of how much it drags in the first act. There are also a few too many dumb character decisions that are impossible to ignore. Also, more of a nitpick than anything, but the few instances of CGI are noticeably bad and take away from the more practical elements. Though this isn’t a complaint, those sensitive to violence against children, the film may upset some audiences with how far it takes some sequences.

But even with a few minor missteps along the way, Evil Dead Rise delivers everything fans of this franchise could possibly want. Its new setting surprisingly works, and it opens the door for an endless number of possibilities of where this franchise could go in the future. If this film is a hit like it’s expected to be, hopefully it won’t be very long until audiences see this franchise return. Ten years was way too long of a wait.

still courtesy of Warner Bros. Pictures

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Connor Carey

www.connorsmoviereviews.com/