Evil Dead Rise: A New Beginning for Classic Horror
Josh Brafman
Much of modern horror doesn’t interest me. Jump scares, generic villains and dumb protagonists turned me off of the genre entirely for much of my life. It wasn’t until I saw John Carpenter’s The Thing or Ridley Scott’s Alien that I began taking more notice of horror as a creative, intelligent medium for telling compelling stories. However, decades before ever seeing either of those films, I’d grown up with and loved the horror-comedy, Army of Darkness. Army of Darkness is the third film in the Evil Dead franchise, one I’ve grown to love very much. In fact, loyal readers may remember that, having read my review of Evil Dead: The Game that I wrote some time ago. The game has had many expansions and improvements since my review, and I’m happy to say, and even more exciting is that the franchise as a whole is in the middle of a revival. This is thanks both to the game, and to the recently released, newest entry in the film series: Evil Dead Rise.
Evil Dead Rise is the fifth film in the Evil Dead franchise, and the second overall to not star seminal leading man Bruce Campbell as Ash Williams. Instead, Evil Dead Rise focuses on Ellie (played by Alyssa Sutherland - Pic Right), her estranged sister Beth (played by Lily Sullivan), as they and Ellie’s children must survive a horrific night of terror after accidentally unleashing the Deadite forces upon the high-rise apartment building Ellie’s family calls home.
There’s a lot to love about Evil Dead Rise. Firstly, the fact that this movie finally takes the franchise out of the rural, forested lands the films have been in for years. Placing an Evil Dead movie in an urban area makes things far more tense, as the idea of the Evil escaping into the wild is far more likely in such a densely populated area. The movie takes place largely within the confines of Ellie’s apartment, making the claustrophobic, tight atmosphere feel all too familiar for people who have grown up in cities, or suburbs like I have.
Alyssa Sutherland as Ellie
The cast of characters in the film feels small, but every single actor involved brings their A-Game, especially Alyssa Sutherland as Ellie. Early on in the film, Ellie is killed and then possessed by the Deadite forces of the Necronomicon, and her performance as a Deadite is truly some of the best I’ve seen in horror, period. While we only get a few minutes of Ellie while she is still human, her change is so dramatic that you truly do believe she has been taken by something not of this earthly plane. Every moment Ellie is on screen you will be frozen in both fear and awe of her magnetic performance. The visceral, bloody, practical effects used in the film make every hit, every kill in the film feel all too close – I was physically tensing up during every confrontation with the Deadite Ellie.
That’s not to say the rest of the cast doesn’t deliver as well. Lily Sullivan’s Beth (Pic Right) is an excellent leading woman, locked in a desperate struggle to protect Ellie’s children from the monster she has become. Beth is a tragic figure, being forced into motherhood despite running from it her whole life, and having her family torn apart all at the same time by this arcane, malevolent force. Sullivan carries the film just as much as Sutherland thanks to her entirely sympathetic character that you want to see succeed from the minute she takes custody of the kids.
Evil Dead Rise expands upon the lore of the franchise, with recordings detailing three Necronomicons (or Books of the Dead). This singular detail helps to weave together all previous films, as Ash discovered three books in Army of Darkness, and both books in Evil Dead (2013) and here in Evil Dead Rise look dramatically different than the one we’ve come to know from the original trilogy and the Ash VS. Evil Dead TV series. This single detail helps to unify the previous films under one universe, potentially setting up crossovers down the line, which is an exciting thought for me.
Yet, for all its gore and abject nightmare fuel, Evil Dead Rise does include some genuinely funny moments during its action scenes, mainly in the form of over-the-top physical comedy and “splat-stick” (gory or bloody slapstick comedy) that Evil Dead is known for. However, with how dark of a tone the movie has, it’s hard to tell if those moments were intentional, or if my sense of humor is just warped. The humorous moments in Rise are few and far between, nothing like the goofy Army of Darkness or even the tongue-in-cheek Evil Dead 2.
Evil Dead Rise is also the first film in the series to feel like it’s about something. Now, that’s not to disparage the original trilogy or 2013, but those films felt more like simple out and out horror films. Evil Dead Rise is playing with a lot more symbolism and meaning to its horror, with everything stemming from the central theme of motherhood. From the fact that Ellie, the kids’ mother, is the primary threat, to the fact that Beth herself is pregnant, and so much of the film’s conflict stems from family and the different aspects of being a mother. Evil Dead Rise feels like the smartest entry in the franchise thus far, and I am here for it.
There are also a host of easter eggs sprinkled throughout the film, for eagle-eyed and eared fans to discover. From naming a pizzeria after a famous character in Evil Dead lore to a familiar voice on a record, there’s a lot here to appreciate if you’ve seen the other films. However, none of it feels distracting, and you absolutely do not have to have seen any of the other Evil Dead films to understand Rise, which is a huge benefit, and makes this film a perfect entry point for new fans.
As I said before, the Necronomicon in Evil Dead Rise is not the one we know from prior films, and as such, offers new twists. The book itself feels more alive, more of a malevolent presence with a will of its own than previous entries in the series. Not only that, but the monsters it unleashes are different than what we’ve seen before, especially during the tense final act. Let’s just say there’s a reason I brought up John Carpenter’s The Thing at the start of this review.
So, with all of that said, is there anything negative to discuss when it comes to Evil Dead Rise? Well, maybe a few things. Firstly, there’s a prologue and epilogue sequence to this film that largely takes place in the woods, which after seeing the whole movie, feels like you could have cut entirely and aside from an excellent title reveal, little of value would be lost. Additionally, I believe Evil Dead Rise could have done more with its location. When I first heard the next Evil Dead film would be taking place in an apartment building, my first thoughts were to something like Attack the Block, where a group of people have to survive a horde of inhuman monsters that are climbing and decimating the building that they call home. Instead, Rise is a far smaller scale film, which does work to its advantage in many ways, but in others, I can’t help but think what might have been, had they taken more advantage of the setting. I do also miss the out and out goofiness of Army of Darkness and Ash VS. Evil Dead. While there were a few chuckle-worthy moments in Rise, this is still definitively on the horror end of the horror-comedy spectrum Evil Dead has been known to balance on. Which is ultimately fine, but I would like to see a return to the tone that I grew up loving someday.
But, with that said, I’m here to judge Evil Dead Rise for what it is, not what I thought it would be. Any gripes I have with the film are minor nitpicks at best and theoretical non-issues at worst. And so, as it stands, Evil Dead Rise is not just a great Evil Dead film, but over time, it may just rise to the top of my list of favorite horror films.
