Evil Dead Rise (2023)
Director: Lee Kronin
Starring: Lily Sullivan, Alyssa Sutherland, Morgan Davies, Gabrielle Echols
Primary genre: Supernatural
Secondary genre: Horror
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“Evil Dead” is not the typical mainstream franchise. Featuring uncertainty in every turn where everyone can become a Deadite or a subject for horrific (yet hilarious) acts of dismemberment, there are no really traditional tropes which its plots rely upon. One moment you are the hottest guy on Earth. The next one a demonically possessed puppet with a dangling eyeball destined to be defeated by the protagonist in an orgy of gore.
Bearing this in mind, the sandbox of “Evil Dead” offers several opportunities for novel and blood soaked set pieces. But what can you do when three entries have relied consistently in the isolated cabin-in-the-woods thread? Excluding the dark fantasy aspect of “Army of Darkness” (1992), filmmakers can choose to redo the same thing or break new ground.
And this is what Lee Kronin attempts to do with “Evil Dead Rise” (2023). Moving the … action in the most disturbingly designed apartment complex the City of Angels has, Kronin’s script is wise to involve a more relatable antagonist in Alyssa Sutherland’s mom. This is not your typical boyfriend/girlfriend scenario that dominated (and still does) the horror genre. Featuring a possessed mother out for blood against her own children raises the emotional stakes and presents interesting dynamics between predator and prey. Sutherland is appropriately creepy; her body language and “motherly” line delivery carry a different and gut wrenching weight when we know that is a demon saying them.
Amidst all this chaos, not only evil will rise but also a new (exceptional) hero in the form of Lily Sullivan. A tomboy and rocker (i.e., guitar technician), Sullivan slips effortlessly in a role that Jane Levy and the inimitable Bruce Campbell had before her by taking matters in her own hands (chainsaw and shotgun started pack included) and kicking all types of ass convincingly enough.
Kronin takes his time to build up the relative small ensemble of characters including the key locations they inhabit in the first half offering additional lore that gives room for further tales to be explored. The neighbors though do not serve as nothing more for horror food which is a shame. Having a larger group of people of different beliefs and backgrounds tackling a Deadite infestation could have opened up the opportunity to imbue satirical tones for the glamorous and multi-cultural aspects of L.A.
Despite having to maintain a rather heavy dosage of belief suspension during all the erupting chaos that sees no noise complains or police calls from fellow residents, Kronin does not allow the location to limit his inventiveness in the several Deadite skirmishes. While it is less gory than its predecessor (the remake is on a league on its own), it is more emotionally involving and unique culminating into a tense and appropriately blood soaked face off with a new “Evil Dead” entity. “Evil Dead Rises” will not reinvent the genre or the franchise and it does not have to. But it is a good old time in the movies and feels fresh with Alyssa Sutherland’s gonzo performance deserving the price of admission alone though.
Solid entry to a solid franchise
+Alyssa Sutherland is great
+New heroine is awesome
+Fresh setting
+Minor lore expansion
+Bruce Campbell cameo (find it if you can!)
-Neighbors offer nothing to the plot
-A few plot holes considering the setting