MPAA Rating: R/ Genre: Supernatural Horror/Stars: Lily Sullivan, Alyssa Sutherland, Morgan Davies, Gabrielle Echols, Nell Fisher, Richard Crouchley, Mirabai Pease, Anna-Maree Thomas, Jayden Daniels, Billy Reynolds-McCarthy, Tai Wano/Runtime: 97 minutes
I think it is a fairly safe statement to make that a lot of the more iconic horror franchises out there have all been blessed (or cursed dependent on perspective) with a reputation of some kind. Indeed Friday the 13th is known for covering the same eventual hockey-masked wearing psycho as he goes everywhere from camp to Manhattan and even outer space. Nightmare on Elm Street is known for a lot of creative kill sequences and some truly cheesy CSI Miami-style puns. Halloween is known for being pretty much the “Choose Your Own Adventure”-style horror franchise. Oh and Children of the Corn is known for being the one horror franchise that has absolutely nothing to do with corn except for the fact that every single installment is corny to the hilt. All jokes aside though dear reader, I think it can also be said that the Evil Dead franchise also has a reputation to be mindful of as well. That being that this is a horror franchise that has never had any qualms about showing us literally gallons of blood being spilt, more than a few stupid decisions being made, and groups of people being subjected to injuries that you are consistently wincing at to say nothing of surprised you are seeing unfold before you in such an uncensored, unrelenting, and unapologetic manner. In other words: ever since the first film made its impact on the world back in the long-ago year of 1981, this is one horror series that has consistently able to provide the avid horror movie lovers and gonzo gore hounds of the world with everything they could want. Yet even though the first three entries are considered iconic, and rightfully so, it is also worth pointing out that the gore and viscerality on display is also balanced out quite nicely with a brilliant macabre sense of humor. This would soon change however with the release, in the long-ago year of 2013, of film helmer Fede Alvarez’s reimagining of the first film. A reimagining that, among other attributes, managed to take all of the elements that people loved about the first three, minus the macabre sense of humor, elevated them at least 3 levels and made the whole thing a heck of a lot darker. Yet even with the release of the darkly comical and visceral yet heck of a good time TV show Ash vs. Evil Dead, I think it’s safe to say that audiences still were in the mood for further entries that operated in the way that the 2013 one did. Thankfully, we now have a new Evil Dead movie in the form of the slice of cinema I am reviewing for you today Evil Dead Rise, and I can now happily confirm that our patience was well worth it. Indeed it might not be on the same level of say the original three, but with the aid of incredibly potent work on both sides of the camera Evil Dead Rise is an entry that is able to give both fans of this franchise and avid horror movie lovers exactly what they want and as a result makes for one heck of a viscerally gory good time to be had.
The plot is as follows: Following an opening that I shan’t spoil for you here, Evil Dead Rise gets its nightmarish narrative underway by introducing us to our main character named Beth. Beth, we quickly learn, is a very career-driven member of the music industry who, following her latest tour on the road winding down, decides to go see her sister, a single mom by the name of Ellie, and Ellie’s kids Danny, Bridget and Kassie respectively in their soon to be demolished and more than slightly desolate and crumbling down all around them apartment building. Not just to make up for lost time mind you, but because Beth is also dealing with some things and she is hoping her sister, who has always had the answers for any even remotely difficult situation, will be able to help her again. Tragically, we see that Lady Fate doesn’t have the desire to see this sister duo reignite their bond of sisterhood and is instead hell-bent on putting it through the absolute wringer. A wringer that soon becomes apparent when, just after the kids decide to go make a run for some delicious pizza, an earthquake without any warning whatsoever slams the building and leaves the family unit void of either electricity or a way to leave the building respectively. Oh and there is one other thing it does that I guess is worth noting. That being that it also manages to conjure up a pretty decent size hole in the building’s parking lot. I bring that up dear reader because we soon see that one of the kids decides (quite stupidly I might add) to poke around in the hole and, in the process, finds not only quite a bit of religious paraphernalia, but also a record and a rather weird tome that he proceeds to take back up to the apartment. Of course, this being an Evil Dead movie after all, we see that this book is of course an edition of the Necronomicon and the record is, of course, a reading by a priest of some of the incantations contained within. A reading that soon results in a demonic force being released upon the world and that, upon locating a suitable host within the family unit, brutally attaches itself to them and proceeds to possess them. Now what started out as a more than slightly strained reunion between this family unit has turned into a horrific and visceral battle for survival. One that will see our heroine, as hard as it might be, have to step up and do whatever it takes to keep the other members of her family safe no matter what the cost…..
Now right off the ol’ chainsaw (if you know, you know), it should be said that Evil Dead Rise most assuredly is one follow-up that is blessed with the chance to want for nothing when it comes to its aspirations. By that I mean on one hand, we see that by switching its locale from a creepy and isolated cabin to a more than slightly rundown apartment complex in L.A. it is able to distinguish itself quite nicely from its predecessors. With that in mind though, this slice and dice of cinema is also brilliantly aware of what works in this franchise. As a result, it is able to bring forth some moments here and there that for fans of this franchise might seem vaguely yet lovingly familiar. In other words dear reader: Evil Dead Rise is a movie that absolutely adores being an “Evil Dead film”, but it is also more than content at not giving us merely the same ol’, same ol’ despite being incredibly aware of those components. Perhaps the most delightfully perverse trick in this film’s toolkit however is the fact that the majority of the people at the more than slightly decaying heart of this film’s journey into a living nightmare are family members. Indeed by doing so we see that the film is able to deploy a vibe of peril and calamity fairly consistently throughout to say nothing of incredibly lively camerawork zipping and weaving through the darkened halls and into up close and personal shots of twistedly enjoyable chaos we see that the film makes one thing clear. That being that no character is safe simply because they fit the archetype of “loving parent”, “decent neighbor”, or “innocent child” because it is in one of those three categories that 99% of the characters belong to. Now, much like the other entries, I am not 110% sure this one has any serious aspirations narrative wise beyond being a twistedly engaging time to be had. In all fairness though, does a film in this franchise really need to revolve around anything other than the skill and craft into making it? I didn’t think so either dear reader. At any rate, we see that the aforementioned craft on display is phenomenal right down to the body horror moments that give off enough of a palpable vibe to suggest they are practical in nature, but jaw-dropping enough to make you think it could be rooted more in the digital realm instead. Yet even though the 2013 entry put more of an emphasis on being as bleak as possible, this one joyfully whisks us from one delightfully insane moment to another whilst also reducing the cast of players and raising the bar at every chance. Suffice it to say that by the time the movie makes it into the final act of the movie and we get some of the wildest effects we’ve witnessed in an Evil Dead movie to date it wouldn’t surprise me if the director was gleefully laughing like a madman behind the camera. In other words: this slice and dice of horror cinema not only never once forgets to be enjoyable, but even when it gets a bit more ominous and bleaker than Raimi’s entries, it doesn’t feel like we as movie goers are being penalized. Rather, it feels more like the director is joyfully and unashamedly saying “I cannot believe the studio powers that be is letting us do THIS”. In other words dear reader: this movie is very much an Evil Dead film from beginning to end and truth be told we wouldn’t have it any other way.
Of course, it is also worth noting that the potent work is by no means limited to behind the camera. I say that because this slice of cinema is also the blessed recipient of a collection of riveting performances from a truly talented cast of players in front of the camera as well. This starts with Alyssa Sutherland in the role of Ellie and honestly this is a fanfreakingtastic to say nothing of just straight up nightmarish performance in every sense of the word. Indeed when she is playing this character as a single mom, we see that Sutherland is able to bring a genuine love and decency to the part that is really heartwarming in a lot of ways. Yet when things happen and Ellie is….turned for lack of a better word I can safely say that Sutherland is able to flip some kind of switch and transition over into this completely other persona. A persona incidentally that is creepy, sinister, unnerving, downright homicidal, and just pure nightmare fodder (especially with that Joker-style smile) in all the best ways possible. Suffice it to say that, much in the vein of what we as movie goers got to see with the other 4 people in the original Evil Dead, Sutherland’s more than slightly wicked other persona in this takes sheer delight in just putting the rest of the characters in this through the wringer on both a physical and psychological level thus making for one heck of a performance that will surely leave you with more than a few chills running down your spine by the time it’s all over. As fantastic as Sutherland is though, she is matched phenomenally well here by Lily Sullivan in her role of Ellie’s sister, and our main character, Beth. Indeed Sullivan does a wonderful job at presenting us with a character that has for a long time only had to focus on her own needs and wants, but who finds herself, due to the events of the film, having to shift from that mindset and become a kind of surrogate mom to her nieces and nephew in order for any of them to have even a fighting chance at survival. Suffice it to say that Sullivan does a wonderful job of utilizing the potentially stereotypical subversive archetype to her benefit to such an extent that she is able to bring a resourcefulness through everything which occurs in the film that feels more rooted in Sullivan’s committed and passionate performance than in any other aspects of the movie. Along with these two however, it should also be said that the trinity of kids at the undead heart of this movie also deserve praise as well for their respective roles in this wonderfully gonzo madness. Suffice it to say that all three of these younger performers have the potential to genuinely go far and I can’t wait to see where their careers go from here.
All in all and at the end of the day dear reader, it is no closely guarded secret that the act of both penning and helming the latest entry in a horror franchise that has quite the rabid legion of fans is by no means a walk in the park. I say that because that just makes the relative ease with which the talented crew both behind and in front of the camera have brought this slice and dice of horror cinema vividly to life a bonafide triumph. Indeed this next chapter in a legendary series about perverted trees, chainsaw prosthetic hands, the undead wrecking all kinds of havoc, and boomsticks might be as visceral as anything that this franchise has seen fit to give us, but it also manages to give the franchise new and intriguing avenues to go down whilst still being able to operate incredibly well as a stand-alone venture. Suffice it to say then dear reader that no matter how you choose to analyze this bloody latest installment of this iconic franchise there is no denying that it also is very much an unequivocal triumph. Indeed I say that dear reader because Evil Dead Rise is a wonderful mix of love for an existing franchise, a novel narrative, and just gonzo horror at its best respectfully. To be sure there are a few moments where the film does encounter a few hiccups here and there be it when it is further fleshing out (no pun intended) the lore behind the Necronomicon or when the movie chooses to tip into its thematic concepts revolving around motherhood a bit too much than it really ought to. Thankfully, we see that these moments are unable to completely shatter the tempo that this slice and dice of cinema is operating with and as a result the incredible work behind the camera and the potent performances in front of the camera are able to hold their ground through copious amounts of blood and gore with a little bit of narrative thrown in for good measure. Suffice it to say that Evil Dead Rise is more than just a great Evil Dead movie that definitely leaves me eagerly wanting more; rather it’s also a genuinely great horror movie period and that, in and out of itself dear reader is really quite groovy. Make of that what thou will. On a scale of 1-5 I give Evil Dead Rise a solid 4 out of 5.
