Film Review - Evil Dead Rise
Images courtesy of Warner Bros. Publicity Australia.
Originally helmed by genre mastermind (or is it maniac?) Sam Raimi, the Evil Dead franchise is one that I - like many fellow gorehounds - hold near and dear to my heart. It's one of the few horror franchises that has never really missed, with even the two black sheep of the family (Army of Darkness and Evil Dead (2013)) having their fair share of fans that'll proudly claim either as their favourite - I'm one of the persecuted few who vouches for the latter. It's also one of the most versatile franchises, with the core ingredients being demonic possession, a chainsaw, a shotgun, a book of the dead, and several bucketloads of practical gore.
Yes, I omit Ash here, not for contrarian reasons, nor to dismiss the incredible lore that Raimi built up over three films and a TV show, but rather because the most recent reboots have made a very convincing case for Evil Dead not needing its chosen one - as much fun as it was following a hero who was not only unwilling to step up, but also unqualified. With Raimi, Rob Tapert and Bruce Campbell taking a relative backseat approach to the series while we wait for the Ash vs Evil Dead follow-up, and Fede Álvarez's 2013 reincarnation proving that R-rated gorefests could still scare up solid box office numbers, Lee Cronin's latest stab Evil Dead Rise carves out new horizons for the horror franchise, while still boasting enough of the strengths of what came before.
After a brief cold open featuring a fun subversion of the signature Raimi demon-cam, we follow guitar technician Beth (Lily Sullivan) who, upon finding out she's pregnant, attempts to reconnect with her sister, Ellie (played to a fever pitch by Alyssa Sutherland), as well as nieces Bridget (Gabrielle Echols) and Kassie (Nell Fisher in her debut role), and nephew Danny (trans actor Morgan Davies). It's not long before an earthquake opens a tomb beneath Ellie's apartment complex, the Naturom Demonto is found, and naïve youngsters are accidentally invoking a Kandarian summoning ritual.
Initially scheduled for a VOD release before positive audience responses convinced the executives to go theatrical, Rise has the difficult balancing act of introducing the campy, yet vicious franchise to modern audiences, as well as appealing to its existing fanbase. It doesn't always fully succeed on that front, as I found myself wanting a bit more of the mythology, and there's a bit more CGI than usual, possibly the result of its HBO Max origins. However, there is an appreciated attempt at bringing the series back to its roots by way of a solid vein of dark comedy, after the previous reboot was criticised for straying from the goofy tone that Evil Dead is known for (there's an especially great line from a possessed Ellie as she refers to her children as "titty-sucking parasites").
As much as I found this latest iteration falling short in certain areas, for newcomers and diehard fans alike, I can see Evil Dead Rise being extremely effective thanks to a healthy dose of gross-out moments and improvised home weaponry (shout out to the cheese grater scene in particular). There's puke, insects, eyeballs, people puking up eyeballs, people puking up insects, people swallowing puked up eyeballs - you know, the good stuff. Even if it feels somewhat restrained compared to the manic creativity of Raimi, or the adrenaline-pumping viciousness of Álvarez, the franchise is still going five-for-five in the quality department, and the buzz around this entry hopefully means that we'll see the Deadites back on the big screen again before long.
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Evil Dead Rise is screening in cinemas from Thursday 20th April. For tickets and more info, click here.