Sam Raimi’s Evil Dead films stand out as an exception among the many classic horror film series. It’s hard to realize that the first film in the series came out more than four decades ago; since then, every film has been a critical and commercial success. The television adaptation by Starz of Ash Williams’ narrative, Ash vs. Evil Dead, managed to capture the same wonderfully violent and darkly comic attitude that made the movies stand out from the crowd. Evil Dead Rise is the next installment in the series, and viewers have been wondering whether it can live up to the bar set by its forerunners. Continue reading the Evil Dead Rise Movie Review to learn more about the film.
Story
The best thing about Evil Dead Rise is that it is a standard Evil Dead story. If Ash weren’t played by Bruce Campbell, who is middle-aged and funny, the movie would feel like Sam Raimi directed it. Director Lee Cronin does a great job of catching the crazy, over-the-top, and funny style of horror that is unique to the series. The pace is perfect for an Evil Dead movie, with a steady buildup of tension that bursts into a crazy ending.
The 97 minutes go by quickly because each scene builds on the one before it to make a scary and heart-pounding experience. Cronin also adds a good amount of dark humor and wit to the movie. In keeping with the rest of the series, the lookmovie also has some amazing physical effects, relying more on old-school methods than CGI.
Sutherland is a pretty scary Deadite. I remember him as Aslaug from the TV show Vikings. It makes sense that her picture is used a lot to promote the movie. She gets into the part, giving it a sense of danger and control from another scary and fascinating world. The same goes for Sullivan and the kids.
Visual Effect
Evil Dead Rise is a movie that needs to be watched with a group of friends, preferably in a house deep in the woods, far from civilization. The movie takes place in an apartment building, though. But the story’s needs mean that the apartment building has to be stuck in the middle of the city. So, an earthquake knocks out the power and cell phone service and digs up the scary Necronomicon Ex-Mortis. It seems fake, but no one cares once the evil book starts causing trouble for the Deadites, and the blood and scares pile up.
Star Performance
Alyssa Sutherland (Vikings) and Gabrielle Echols, among others, played a monster from hell great. The camera work, which was done in the style of Sam Raimi, added to the fear and chaos. Sutherland gets most of the credit because she became one of the scary figures with her facial movements and the great makeup and makeup used on her. But she also made people feel sorry for her character, Ellie, even after the demon took over.
Lily Sullivan does an amazing job as the main character, picking up the stick or maybe the signature chainsaw that Bruce Campbell used to carry in other movies. It works so well because it makes references to the classics.
In addition to the famous chainsaw, there were many other references to the original Evil Dead film. Campbell also comes back to voice the priest on the taped records, and like all Evil Dead movies, there is a real killing in the movie.
Final word
Evil Dead Rise is a good addition to the series. It has a lot of the gore, scares, and dark humor that fans of the series have come to expect. You have to get past a couple of plot contrivances.