Evil Dead Rise, 2023.
Written and Directed by Lee Cronin.
Starring Lily Sullivan, Alyssa Sutherland, Morgan Davies, Nell Fisher, Gabrielle Echols, Mia Challis, Jayden Daniels, Tai Wano, Billy Reynolds-McCarthy, and Nedim Jahić.
SYNOPSIS:
A twisted tale of two estranged sisters whose reunion is cut short by the rise of flesh-possessing demons, thrusting them into a primal battle for survival as they face the most nightmarish version of family imaginable.
During a moment of downtime among the bloodsoaked, demonic mayhem unfolding inside a Los Angeles apartment home, young Kassie (newcomer Nell Fisher) asks her pregnant aunt Beth (Lily Sullivan) if they will be okay, to which she shakily answers yes. Writer/director Lee Cronin then shows a dark sense of humor, with Kassie remarking that she will make a good mom because she is a good liar. Motherhood is the theme of Evil Dead Rise, a movie where, from the beginning, when children are casually playing with scissors, I was ready to join the Deadite (possessed, indestructible, and regenerative zombielike creatures of this universe) cause and ensure that none of these people parent again.
Nevertheless, the hellish nightmare that unfolds across 98 gory minutes is one hell of a way to prepare to be a mother. Like the 2013 reboot titled The Evil Dead, Evil Dead Rise has a solid hook, replacing addiction with the fears and doubts of becoming a parent. For whatever reason, there’s hardly any emotional impact to that concept, and it’s not because this second reboot is hyper-fixated on violence; so was the previous reboot, which is arguably one of the best in recent memory.
Not only is the pacing completely off with Evil Dead Rise (never fully able to reach freight train momentum like any of its predecessors), but the decision to abandon the beloved cabin in the woods locale for an LA apartment regularly affected by earthquakes doesn’t add much in the scare department. If anything, the creative choice requires Lee Cronin to work overtime, whipping up contrivances for how and why this family is stuck inside their apartment home, unable to leave the building. He actually resorts to riffing on his previous film as a means for the characters to uncover the Necronomicon (which admittedly has a creepy, high-detailed redesign with sharp teeth-reminiscent spikes binding it together). It’s also far more terrifying knowing that someone can walk outside the cabin and escape running around in the woods but technically not be free or safe; there’s ominous danger even within a massive open space.
Once evil has been unleashed, and the family members have been established, ranging from matriarch Ellie (Alyssa Sutherland) to her punk-rock children comprised of teenagers Bridget (Gabrielle Echols), Danny (Morgan Davies), and the previously mentioned Kassie, Lee Cronin is more or less free to wreak havoc. He is also clearly having fun creating characters who are self-aware that they shouldn’t turn on one another but will end up violently attacking one another anyway due to demonic possession. However, his ambition for roughly the film’s first half, despite some bloody moments and a chilling turn from Alyssa Sutherland bouncing between demonic and a manipulative caring mother still under possession, doesn’t amount to anything more than genre clichés.
Worse, it quickly becomes evident that all the filmmaker is doing is taking aspects from across all four previous films and recycling them into this LA apartment; rather than having a cellar, our protagonists find a way to lock demonic Ellie in the hallway. By the time the Deadites (yes, more than one character becomes possessed) are taunting by repeating the phrase “dead by dawn,” one cannot help but feel this iteration has lost itself, falling down into pure nostalgia bait. There’s a graphic conclusion involving a chainsaw, which, granted, was also how the previous reboot climaxed, but far less inspired and innovative here without a flair for demented, unforgettable imagery. Evil Dead Rise isn’t just swallowing the soul of the original trilogy for nostalgia dopamine, but it’s also desperate to redo aspects of a reboot that’s barely 10 years old, with less gusto and excitement.
What can be said is that Lee Cronin is admittedly not afraid to shy away from gallons of blood and disturbing situations, sometimes mined for twisted humor (such as young Kassie impaling another character with her homemade staff creation as a means to ward off whatever ghosts might be in the building, or a truly demented gag involving an eyeball), but again, it’s stuck inside rough pacing and unremarkable characters that never find a way to make the themes hit hard. Still, there are some solid thrills and an overall fun time to be had here.
More confounding is that Evil Dead Rise is bookended by a pair of mildly related scenes at the cabin in the woods, where it feels like Lee Cronin has more freedom to get creative with terror and kills (such as an early scene with a drone). So, maybe shifting the setting was a hindrance more than anything. Either way, it feels entirely out of place and forced into the greater narrative.
Lee Cronin is skilled in craft but, strangely enough, lacks imagination in gore (there are plenty of stabbings and geysers of blood, but much to forget, and nothing that will live on in my mind like practically anything from the other four films) and has written unmemorable characters. Evil Dead Rise is a gruesome fun time that struggles to get off the ground fully and make an emphatic mark on the series.
Flickering Myth Rating – Film: ★ ★ ★ / Movie: ★ ★ ★
Robert Kojder is a member of the Chicago Film Critics Association and the Critics Choice Association. He is also the Flickering Myth Reviews Editor. Check here for new reviews, follow my Twitter or Letterboxd, or email me at MetalGearSolid719@gmail.com
