What’s so great about the Evil Dead franchise is that they’re relentless in their unforgiving onslaught of in-your-face, buckets of blood violence that begins early on and only finds ways to escalate right until the final scene fades to black. In 2013, Fede Álvarez co-wrote and directed Evil Dead, a re-imagining of the 1981 horror classic of the same name, and his work lived up to – and even surpassed the originals in the eyes of many. Despite the overall positive response and box-office success of the film, it has taken 10 years for the next cinematic Evil Dead installment to come to light in Evil Dead Rise.
While the film begins with the familiar setting of demonic possession happening at a cabin in the woods, it doesn’t stay there for long, as we quickly move to Los Angelas and are introduced to the film’s main cast of characters. Now, this isn’t the glamorous, star-studded side of L.A., in fact it’s far from it. No, the film takes place in a more rundown part of town, and more specifically, a condemned apartment building that’s set to be torn down within a month. That doesn’t mean it’s empty though, as it’s currently home to a number of people, including our leading family, which includes single mother Ellie (Alyssa Sutherland), big brother Danny (Morgan Davies), middle-sister Bridget (Gabrielle Echols), and the youngest, Kassie (Nell Fisher). We also have Ellie’s estranged sister Beth (Lily Sullivan), who drops by unannounced for reasons of her own, but ends up sticking around because, well, demons.
The kids are sent out to get pizza for dinner, and upon returning and parking in the basement an earthquake hits. This causes a hole to open up in the parking lot and Danny decides to investigate, remembering that the building was said to have been build on an old bank and thinking that his mom could use the money if there was anything of value to be found. While down there he finds a few records in a box that also has other religious artifacts and pictures in it. He takes the records and is about to leave when he notices a sealed tomb that’s no longer sealed thanks to a hole that’s cracked in the side. Inside he finds something wrapped up, quickly places it into his backpack alongside the records and heads back upstairs with his siblings.
In his room he unwraps the sheet and inside we see the Naturom Demonto, or the Book of the Dead, which is a version of the book that’s seen throughout the Evil Dead franchise and is known as the root of all evil in this world. Danny shows the book to Bridget, who believes that there’s something wrong with the book and that Danny never should have taken it. She is correct, of course, as when Danny begins to play the records he found alongside the book, he accidentally summons an evil force that possesses his mother Ellie while she’s heading downstairs to do laundry.
Ellie returns and begins acting bizarre as her family watches on, and only briefly is she able to fight the possession enough to tell her sister Beth that it it’s too late to save her, but not to let it take her babies. That’s the last we hear from Ellie, as it’s complete possession from that point on, and it’s also pedal to the metal in terms of absolute demonic insanity kicking into gear.
What’s so fun here is that writer/director Lee Cronin has built up the stakes perfectly, with the earthquake not only revealing the book, but also causing the stairwell from the 14th floor (where our heroes apartment is located) to be destroyed. The elevator is in shambles after the possession of Ellie, and the power to the building also goes out during said possession. It creates a perfectly dreadful scenario that sees this family and their neighbours trapped on this eerie apartment floor with this demon who is lusting for blood.
I’ll get into the specifics a bit more in the audio breakdown, but if you’ve got a surround sound system then you’re in for an absolute treat. The Dolby Atmos track is mind-blowing, and it leads to an incredibly atmospheric viewing experience from start to finish. The demonic voices fly from one side of the room to the other, while the sound effects and score just rumble throughout. It’s truly masterful sound work by all involved that places the viewer into the horrific action as much as one can be, and it just adds so much to the overall experience.
While it doesn’t take long to get into the action, the little time we’ve spent with Ellie, Beth, Danny, Bridget and Kassie is enough to make them sympathetic characters that don’t exactly require the time to be fleshed out, as we can do that ourselves with what little is given. Danny is the oldest, with dreams of becoming a DJ, and is the creative and likely the most optimistic of the kids. Bridget is a social justice warrior, of sorts, but she’s also clearly the one who views life the most pragmatically, knowing that Danny shouldn’t have gone into the hole to begin with, let alone taken a mysterious book from within it. Kassie is the youngest, with simple fears like having to check the bathtub water before she’ll get in. She’s also imaginative and looks to thwart her fears with self-created weapons such as Staffanie, which is a doll-head combined with a sharpened staff/stick.
Ellie is a newly single mom just trying to make sense of it all, while Beth shows up looking for help from her big sister, who in her eyes is the one who always knows what to do and how to handle things. Then there are the neighbours, like Gabriel (Jayden Daniels), who is quick to help Ellie when she believes her kids are missing after the earthquake, so we know he’s a nice guy. It’s just brief introductions to everyone that are done well enough that there isn’t anyone on this 14th floor that we want to see get killed, though it’s clear pretty damn quick that they aren’t all going to make it.
Not only does Cronin set up the characters and location wonderfully, be he also captures the terror perfectly with a mix of shots famous to the franchise, as well as some of his own that just get the audience into the mix as best he can. There aren’t many jump scare moments, which is always a welcome change of pace in the genre, but that’s also because things don’t often slow down enough to build that tension. It’s just go, go, go, and it works delightfully for what the movie is trying to do.
While things get absolutely crazy to the point where characters don’t really have time to even process what’s going on, what’s important is that we believe that they believe they’re in danger and what’s happening is terrifying. There aren’t really any moments where things slow down enough to spend time with these characters once the fun begins, so it’s heavily reliant on the actors involved to sell the story, the pain, the agony and sadness of all that’s going down, and there isn’t a single one of them that drops the ball. Everyone involved plays their role perfectly, and it allows for the story to move at its breakneck pace without having to worry if the audience is on board with wanting these characters to make it out.
Evil Dead Rise is a glorious bloodbath of a horror film, taking the franchise’s love of gore and cranking it up to 11. If you’re like me and your mind causes you to often feel the pain that characters go through then prepare to do some flinching, as there are numerous scenes that will just leave you in awe of the vicious, unrelenting violence happening in front of you. But those brutally painful moments aside, it’s the abundance of over-the-top ultra-violence that Evil Dead fans should love and be excited for. If this is your first experience in the world of the Evil Dead, then prepare yourself for a thrilling, fast-paced and savagely violent good time! Groovy!
Overall Movie Score: 4.5/5
4K Blu-ray Video and Audio Review:
The HDR10 2160p 4K transfer of this movie is the best you’ll get for home viewing, with the film being overly dark in almost every way to add to the atmosphere, and the 4K rendering helping to keep the blacks rich and deep, while not suffering from muddying that is always risky in these ventures. The details are incredible, and the makeup and effects all blend in harmoniously with the characters on screen. Whenever demonic possession takes place, the details within the eyes pop wonderfully, and the decomposition of Ellie looks, well, clean and natural despite the clarity being a way for potential flaws to show. Instead, it only ups the details of the evil that’s taken hold and it’s fantastic on all fronts.
As mentioned earlier, the Dolby Atmos sound mix is reason alone to add this to your collection, even if you’re not normally a horror fan. This is some of the best audio mixing that I’ve had blasting through my living room, absolutely adding to the frightening gravity of the situation, with demonic voices whispering from side to side, and religious summoning chants bellowing throughout the room. It’s absolutely top tier quality and audiophiles should love every minute of it.
Special Features:
The 4K bundle comes with a Blu-ray version of the film, as well as a digital copy, but sadly there are no features found on either of the discs. This is one I would’ve loved to have had a commentary for, as well as a behind-the-scenes featurette, because it looks like they had a bloody blast making this movie. Here’s hoping there’s a collector’s edition we can get down the road, but for now, it’s just the movie here for us to enjoy.
Disclaimer: A review copy of this 4K Blu-ray was sent to me to cover in honest and truthful fashion.
Warner Bros. Pictures Presents Evil Dead Rise. Written and Directed by: Lee Cronin. Starring: Lily Sullivan, Alyssa Sutherland, Morgan Davies, Gabrielle Echols, Nell Fisher, Jayden Daniels, Mirabai Pease, Richard Crouchley, Anna-Maree Thomas. Running time: 97 Minutes. Rating: R. Released on 4K Blu-ray: June. 27, 2023.
About Brendan Campbell
