Movie Review Evil Dead Rise

Evil Dead Rise (2023) 

Directed by Lee Cronin 

Written by Lee Cronin 

Starring Lilly Sullivan, Alyssa Sutherland, Morgan Davies 

Release Date April 21st, 2023 

Published April 21st, 2023 

The Evil Dead franchise is supposed to be fun. It's supposed to be gross, it's supposed to shock you out of your seat, but above all, it's supposed to be fun. Writer-Director Lee Cronin, the creative force behind the new re-imagining of the Evil Dead franchise has completely forgotten the fun of the franchise. Don't get me wrong, Lee Cronin is a terrific horror movie director. The gore and the weirdness he achieves in Evil Dead Rise is impressive on a technical level. But it's not The Evil Dead. 

Evil Dead Rise begins at a cabin in the woods because it has to, it's an homage to the original film setting. After a gory set piece, we go back in time by one day. We arrive at a rock club where we meet Beth (Lilly Sullivan), a guitar technician for a small scale rock band. Beth has just found out that she is pregnant and is struggling with this information. While in Los Angeles, Beth goes to see and stay with her sister, Ellie (Alyssa Sutherland), and Ellie's three kids, son Danny (Morgan Davies), daughter Bridge (Gabrielle Echols), and youngest daughter Kassie (Nell Fisher). 

The kids' father has rather recently disappeared and the family is being thrown out of their ancient apartment building because it is about to be condemned and torn down. Then, an earthquake hits and reveals a treasure trove in the basement. Curious, Danny goes searching the rubble and finds a tomb in the basement. Inside is a book made of human flesh and series of records that contain the voice of a Priest who has translated the horror Latin of the book, revealing that this is The Book of the Dead. 

You can guess what happens next, the demons are loose, people are possessed, and terror is unleashed on one member of the family after another until the movie mercifully finds a properly blood-soaked ending. It's all rather skillfully crafted, the blocking, the sound design, the overall staging of the blood and guts of Evil Dead Rise, is all first rate horror stuff. But, where's the fun? There is zero fun to be had in Evil Dead Rise and that, for a fan of the franchise, is a death knell. 

If this movie was not an official sequel of The Evil Dead franchise, I might find it more appealing. But as it is, billed as a part of a legendarily dark comic horror franchise, Evil Dead Rise just feels like a bad fit. I was reminded of how horror producers of the 70s and 80s would find a random script and attach a familiar franchise title to it as a marketing gimmick. Sometimes they might graft onto the script a very loose scene to connect it to the franchise, but it was clearly born as something else. 

Find my full length review at Horror.Media