'Evil Dead Rise' Movie Review

From writer/director Lee Cronin and producers Sam Raimi, Rob Tapert, and Bruce Campbell, this new spin-off of the Evil Dead franchise leaves the familiar cabin-in-the-woods setting for a dilapidated apartment building in downtown Los Angeles. Beth (Lily Sullivan) works on the crew for a rock band, but when she finds out she’s pregnant, she turns to her sister Ellie (Alyssa Sutherland) for advice. But after Ellie’s son Danny (Morgan Davies) uncovers another volume of the Necronomicon Ex Mortis, the Deadites are unleashed once again, and Danny, Beth, Ellie, older daughter Bridget (Gabrielle Echols), and younger daughter Kassie (Nell Fisher) are directly in their path.

In case anyone still doesn’t know, the Evil Dead series is my favorite horror franchise, and Evil Dead 2 is my all-time favorite horror movie (the first and third films are also in my personal top 10). It’s the series that made me a horror fan. In 2013, Fede Alvarez rebooted the series with a loose remake, with Sam, Rob, and Bruce producing, and it was awesome. A continuation of the original timeline called “Ash vs. Evil Dead” aired on Starz for three seasons, which saw Bruce return to the role that began his career, and in addition to producing, Raimi even directed the pilot. The show was exactly what Evil Dead fans wanted; if only it hadn’t been canceled. After that, Bruce Campbell retired the character of Ash onscreen (he did come back to voice the character in a video game), and Raimi announced that he was aiming to produce a series of spin-offs about mostly (if not entirely) unconnected groups of people encountering deadites. This prospect really excited me, especially since it would be a chance to see other indie horror filmmakers play in the Evil Dead sandbox, and I’d never say no to more Evil Dead. Raimi was really impressed with Irish filmmaker Lee Cronin’s debut feature The Hole in the Ground (definitely recommend) and tapped him to write and direct the latest entry in the series.

Evil Dead Rise is exactly what I was looking for. I saw this movie at a late showing with a couple of friends and a fairly decent crowd, and it was a wonderful time. This series means so much to me, and every time a new addition to it is announced, I try to proceed with enough caution to keep my expectations in check, while also being open to new ideas and perspectives. This latest entry does try some new things, and it works marvelously. Lee Cronin wasn’t exactly the most obvious choice to helm an Evil Dead film, as The Hole in the Ground is relatively light on blood. That said, these two films have some noticeable similarities. Both focus predominantly on the theme of motherhood and the bond between a mother and her child (or in this film’s case, children). But while The Hole in the Ground was about the terror of a mother realizing something is terribly wrong with her kid, Evil Dead Rise is about kids contending with a demonic entity possessing their mother. And while the former picture was a slow burn, this one (much like every other Evil Dead flick) doesn’t hesitate, and once it starts, it outright refuses to slow down.

While the original trilogy was a bit more about the style than the substance, there still managed to be likable characters, obviously Bruce Campbell’s Ash Williams in particular. This also applies to the 2013 reboot and the TV series. And while no Evil Dead protagonist will ever be as beloved or iconic as Ash, Evil Dead Rise does still manage to offer some compelling characters brought to life by a solid cast. Lily Sullivan is terrific as our main hero, especially when she gets into the third act. She also has particularly great chemistry with Nell Fisher, the young actress who plays Kassie. Fisher only has two prior acting credits, but she is exceptional and oh-so-lovable. Danny and Bridget are fairly standard troubled, quirky, alt teenagers, but Morgan Davies and Gabrielle Echols give very sincere performances that add the appropriate emotional heft for them. All of that said, Alyssa Sutherland, probably best known for role on the show “Vikings”, is the show-stealer of Evil Dead Rise. She is our primary deadite in the film, filling the role previously held by characters like Cheryl, Henrietta, and Evil Ash, and she completely owns it. Her elastic facial expressions and freakishly unnatural body language she reportedly patterned after Jim Carrey in The Mask, yet another way in which the Evil Dead franchise has always blurred the line between funny and disturbing. Sutherland has said in interviews that she normally isn’t a big horror fan, but I really hope that won’t keep her from doing more horror roles, because she’s clearly got the chops.

The main thing that makes this particular film so unique in comparison to the rest of the series is the new urban setting. Rather than taking place at a cabin in the woods (or medieval England, in Army of Darkness’s case), we’re now in a rundown high rise apartment complex, hence the title Evil Dead Rise. This allows for not only some clever variations on classic Evil Dead tropes and gags, but also some entirely new things that play into this new environment (e.g. elevators, ventilation, and parking garages). One of the complaints I’ve seen people make was the fact that we do open the film with a loosely-related scene at a cabin. Some have said that this felt like a crutch and/or a misdirection, and even if it’s true, I didn’t mind it. It does give us a really clever meta joke about a certain Sam Raimi signature, and it leads to a pretty bitchin’ title sequence, so I can’t complain. This is also a testament to Lee Cronin’s direction and Dave Garbett’s cinematography, both of which capably match the energy of the previous films in the series.

Absurd gore is a hallmark of the franchise (with the exception of the third film, but that’s another story), and Evil Dead Rise f*cking delivers! In addition to the Overlook Hotel-style elevator full of blood featured in the trailer, we get some more truly nasty violence at the hands of the deadites, and it’s incredibly creative with it’s methods of evisceration. The gore also looks outstanding, thanks to the effects team Odd Studio, who won an Oscar for their work on Mad Max: Fury Road. We are also given a totally new form of deadite in the finale, which was a welcome (and quite unsettling) addition to Evil Dead lore. I’m also a big fan of the new design for this particular volume of the Necronomicon, and the increased use of religious imagery creates an even greater sense of dread surrounding it.

Evil Dead Rise has just about everything an Evil Dead fan could want. The urban setting is plenty creepy, almost post-apocalyptic at times, the characters are engaging and well-acted, and there’s more than enough blood and gore to go around. With inventive kills, a good balance of humor and terror, and plenty of easter eggs, Lee Cronin’s contribution to the franchise sets up an exciting new direction for my #1 favorite horror series.

SCORE: 5/5