Welcome back to BlazinBlue's Review with a new review. Today, I have the pleasure of getting to talk about Evil Dead Rise. Now as you may know if you've been following around here long, Evil Dead is one of my all time favorite franchises. Yes, I grew up watching the Elm Streets among other horror franchises. But it was the Evil Dead series that really landed for me alongside the Scream series.
I mean what is there not to like about this series? The first three films and TV show had a kickass hero with Ash Williams. He is a Michigan made hero. When you look at the horror genre, it's cool seeing all of the variety in terms of our heroes. But when it's someone from your home state, it's just even cooler.
At this point, this franchise has had five films now, a successful TV series, and multiple video games. That's pretty dang good track record. What's even better is that if you look at the films, there isn't one that's not enjoyable. There is always something that helps make the film solid. And honestly a lot of that is down to the characters.
After the success of 2013's EVIL DEAD from Sony, I was ready for more. Ash Vs. Evil Dead was a nice, don't get me wrong. I really appreciate it for what it did. But I wanted to see more Evil Dead films. Sadly, we weren't able to get more of a straight forth sequel to that 2013 film. But honestly, that's okay.
Evil Dead Rise was written and directed by Lee Cronin. The absolute nice thing is that with this installment, it brings the franchise back home to New Line Cinema. Originally, this film was to be directly sent to HBO Max. But after some very successful screenings, Warner Discovery realized that they had something on their hands. I won't lie I do have some various issues with HBO Max, but at least with this installment it alleviated my doubts that they'd screw things up.
With this go around, we have 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.
Just reading that synopsis alone with no spoilers, it honestly brings Resident Evil 7 vibes to my mind. With that game, there was an absolutely large part of it that just oozed Evil Dead vibes. It's probably why it was the first entry that I played all the way through.
This is a film that definitely does not need spoilers. It makes one go into the film and judge it on its own merits. It's also one of the reasons that I decided to forgo the theater experience. When I went and seen the 2013 film, it was in a packed theater. It was a great experience. But it did pull some weight on my thoughts for that film. With sitting down and watching Rise on a 70 inch screen, it still was able to give me a bit more of a theatrical experience than I've had before.
First off, I will say that I really dug Evil Dead Rise. I had no idea what to expect. I had managed to stay away from anything on social media regarding it. I even went as far as staying away from trailers for the film. I knew that I was going to give the film a watch no matter what. I wanted to be surprised. Would it have Campbell return in some fashion as Ash? I know that Campbell, himself, has said that he was ready to move on from the character. But he's still heavily involved behind the scenes. And honestly that's something that helps the film.
Lee Cronin has delivered an extremely solid film. I applaud the approach that was taken. It caught me off guard quite a bit. One of the big swings that was taken was the focus on a family. Yeah, we get a small little taste of what we usually have for an Evil Dead experience. Cabin in the Woods, Check. Evil creepy clock from Evil Dead II, check. But then, things shift to the more urban setting of the apartment building. This is the Die Hard of the Evil Dead films in a sense.
The characters that we are introduced to in this film are all pretty solid. The largest focus is on the family - Beth (Lily Sullivan), Ellie (Alyssa Sutherland), Bridget (Gabrielle Echols), Kase (Nell Fisher), and Danny (Morgan Davies). It's incredibly ballsy to have a horror film with children in it. Now, I definitely think the film hit a lot different for me than the 2013 film. As a parent, I definitely found myself wanting to protect everyone. If I had to make one nitpick with the film, it's that we are not given enough time with the characters. But that may also be a strength because with what time we are given, I was able to still care about what happened to them.
The setting of the apartment building is something incredibly interesting. It's a bit of a breath of fresh air. I do wish that we could have seen more with it. How many other tenants are there? I know they establish that the building is going to be closed down in a month. But it just feels like that may be there to keep the character count down. However, the use of the peephole throughout the film is incredibly cool. There's one sequence that will literally go down in this franchise as one of my all time favorites. It's just so damn cool seeing events unfold in the hallway.
Oh yes, there is blood. Buckets and buckets of blood. This is a film that is not for the squeamish. I tend to not be squirm while watching a film. But there were some sequences that I couldn't help but do so. The transformations that happen in
the film are definitely different. There's one that I found myself repeating "No, No, No.". It worked so well.
The best thing that happens is that Lee Cronin plays up on the fact that there are three Book of the Dead's. This was something that originally set up in Army of Darkness. It felt like a complete throw away then. But now, it firmly establishes that EVERYTHING IS CANON. Every single installment. Hell, I'll even throw Ash Vs. Evil Dead in for good measure. So, we have Ash's Book of the Dead, the 2013's Book of the Dead, and this film's Book of the Dead. Each one adding more of a different flavor to everything. It's honestly making me want to have a replica of each book for my collection. The Deadites in this film do feel a little similar to the 2013 ones. However, Cronin delivers a delightful curveball in the final act.
EVIL DEAD RISE is a film that delivered in spades. It surprised and made me squirm. Would I be interested in seeing another installment? Yes, I absolutely would. This firmly establishes that the Evil is Everywhere now. So the possibilities on where things could go next is pretty endless. It kind of blows the doors wide open for the franchise. And that's delightful to see as a fan.
Rating: 4.5 out of 5 Chainsaws.
