Evil Dead Rise Review: A Bold Departure with Intense Gore and Nostalgic Throwbacks!

I don’t usually review big new movies. I mean so many other websites do that, so I’d rather concentrate on the underground and such, but with Evil Dead Rise, I’m a fan of the original, the series, and the ‘reimagining’ so with this I straight away noticed that it was going a different direction and attempting to be something new. Not just because it’s set in a high rise, but the whole concept and law around it.

Beginning with a woods and cabin setting as a couple of cousins are attacked by a deadite, we quickly switch around to our central character, Beth, who is a guitar technician that’s discovered she’s pregnant. Needing to get a break from the fast insanity of her life, she travels to her sister. Ellie lives in a high-rise block, is a tattoo artist (yep the needle comes into play along our journey), and is mum to two teenagers, Bridget and Danny (Danny is a DJ with turntables, which also soon come into the story), and little Kassie. The reunion between sisters is a bit shaky but soon Beth settles into the condemned, to-be-demolished apartment block which was built upon a bank many years ago.

Whilst getting pizza, the three young’uns are shaken up by an earthquake. Within the carpark opens a hole leading into a sealed bank vault. Danny does exactly what My Partner in Gore, Willow, and I would do in that situation — he heads downward to investigate. We both carry small torches on our persons for this very scenario. Among the dust and stuff, he discovers a bound-up book, plus three vinyl records. He hears creepy voices and also notices many hanging religious items. Hmm.

Back in the apartment, after we’ve met the neighbours, Bridget is pissed off at Danny for bringing his findings up. He argues that they’ll be worth something and their mum needs money. Flicking through the book of course shows glimpses of what is to come unbeknownst to them, and Danny plays the first two records.

Ok so I suppose it’s coincidence, or maybe unseen forces have driven this allin certain directions, but it would have been screwed up totally had the vault been opened up by an average kid or adult that doesn’t own a turntable. These 1923 records would have been left behind, broken, or chucked into a charity shop by most people. We don’t own anything to play them, we have CDs. Willow and I probably would have taken them, shoved them away somewhere in our house and one day maybe bought a cheap record player from a junk shop. By then the book would have messed us up, I guess.

The Naturom Demonto apparently exists in three volumes. The priest upon the vinyl explains his brotherhood’s research (it’s hard to recognise him but it’s Bruce Campbell). Record two then begins the incantations we know so well. Ellie has just dumped some clothes into the laundry and is suddenly and painfully attacked by that mandatory demon which sounds like it rides a motorcycle.

Ellie makes it back to the flat amidst power failure, threatening everyone, then asks Beth to protect the kids, before apparently dying. The neighbours help, giving us chance to properly meet them. Then Ellie rises from the dead as a full uncut deadite.

Meanwhile, they’ve discovered that the elevator is smashed up and the staircase has collapsed due to the prior earthquake. Ellie begins her onslaught against everyone, changing her victims into fellow deadites as she goes. Could their only hope be contained within the third record?

In all honesty, I enjoyed the remake — sorry, the ‘reimagining’ far more, it was fun, energetic, and also held you in a grip. Evil Dead Rise tries a bit too hard now and then but makes terrific use of its surroundings.

The cast are kind of irritating. They exist only for bait and kill, with no substance. Any attempt at character means nothing amongst the grand scale of blood and effects. I didn’t care. Evil Dead Rise is unkind to its younger cast, which is a plus point making it unpredictable.

The deadites don’t want to take over the world, they just want chaos and disorder. Alyssa Sutherland comes away as the best thing going to many. From her expressions, her movements, nasty choice of words, taunts, and banging her head a lot. She’s hitting horror conventions on the back of Ellie. However, I’ll give a lot of respect to Gabrielle Echols as Bridget. She’s realistic, intelligent, and makes a damn scary deadite. “I don’t like things in my tummy.” She’s still a newbie, she has a huge future, hopefully she stays around the horror genre a while.

There’s a load of throwbacks to the original trilogy which neatly sews them together. Ahh to hear the beautiful, “Dead by dawn!” chant again made us smile. There’s a fair few more that I won’t spoil.

It has all the ingredients to make up a solid entry in the story. The gore and effects are intense (a huge crew worked on this). Director Lee Cronin makes excellent use of the interiors. The lighting itself becomes a fearsome danger in his hands but his script could have been better. The final chapters go on too much, and as I said before, the characters feel hollow. Okay, look, Ash and his original band of doomed travellers weren’t solid rounded people, they were shallow cutouts waiting for sadistic sufferings, but the Evil Dead ‘reimagining’ actually had a neat assortment and a couple of almost likeable folks. Lee went the original route, I just kind of wished I’d have had a chance to give a damn about them. Nah, it’s horror world, who cares? Lambs to the slaughter.

The UK Blu-ray from StudioCanal is minimal. It boasts a great picture and audio, but the extras are just a director’s commentary and the director showcasing his earlier short movie, Ghost Train.

All in all, Evil Dead Rise is almost a brand-new franchise in itself but reminds us of its roots throughout. It’s very different and brave, raising a lot of chuckles and smirks. Incidentally, my two sons and youngest son’s partner, Angie, were also watching this. Poor Angie. Evil Dead Rise triggered a whole load of phobias and fears for them — elevators breaking down, vomit, glass in the mouth, the list goes on. Brilliant.

AKA: Evil Dead Now, Evil Dead: El despertar, A Morte do Demônio: A Ascensão, Злите мъртви: Пробуждане, L’opéra de la terreur: Renaissance,鬼玩人5,鬼玩人崛起, Zla smrt: Buđenje, 鬼玩人：復活, Gonosz halott: Az ébredés, Leha’ir et Ha’Shed, La casa – Il risveglio del male, Восстание зловещих мертвецов, Piktieji numirėliai prisikelia, Evil Dead Rise – O Despertar, Зли мртви: Буђење, Evil Dead: Vzostup zla, Posesión infernal: El despertar,鬼玩人：復活, Kötü Ruh Uyanış, Повстання зловісних мерців, Ma Cây 5: Trỗi Dậy

Directed by: Lee Cronin
Written by: Lee Cronin
Produced by: Rob Tapert, Sam Raimi, Bruce Campbell, Richard Brener
Cinematography by: Dave Garbett
Editing by: Bryan Shaw
Music by: Stephen McKeon
Special effects by: Adam Johansson, Damian Martin, Colin Ware, Kim Docherty, Jason Docherty, Taylor Docherty, Lara Hawker and more
Cast: Lily Sullivan, Alyssa Sutherland, Nell Fisher, Gabrielle Echols, Morgan Davies, Jayden Daniels, Bruce Campbell (voice)
Year: 2023
Country: USA
Language: English
Colour: Colour
Runtime: 1h 36min

Studio: Department of Post, Ghost House Pictures, New Line Cinema, Warner Bros., Wild Atlantic Pictures
Distributor: StudioCanal UK