Like the 2013 “Evil Dead,” “Evil Dead Rise” – the saga’s fifth entry – tells the same story as the 20th century “Evil Dead” trilogy but uses digital effects rather than practical. The digital effects are reasonably good but the overall impact is insubstantial. Although there are callbacks and one new addition to the mythology, again it seems the target audience is casual viewers up for “watch it and forget it” fun.
If I were to list the violent ways in which Deadites attack humans – and in which they are dispatched by humans – “Evil Dead Rise” would sound like nightmare-inducing horror. But there’s some intangible way in which practical effects are art and digital effects are a production tool. As such, “Rise” plays as gore-horror product where you might raise your eyebrows now and then, but you won’t lose a wink of sleep.
Another problem: The continuity can get lazy. At one point a Deadite viciously takes a scissors to the face, but that wound isn’t seen in later shots.
“Evil Dead Rise” (2023)
Director: Lee Cronin
Writer: Lee Cronin
Stars: Lily Sullivan, Alyssa Sutherland, Gabrielle Echols
To be fair, “Rise” mixes these throwaway mistakes with throwaway moments of grand homage. The elevator of blood in “The Shining” is famous, but it has little to do with the story. A similar scene here is part of the plot, with two heroines flung into the hallway, covered with blood. A tip of the hat is in order for this moment, and for a creature that’s an amusing nod to “The Thing.”
Moving to the big city
The pacing and energy are competent for a movie with a plot so basic it could’ve been a short film meant to serve as a digital-effects resume reel. Writer-director Lee Cronin sets up the violence to come, even when the film is merely a family drama, not yet a blood-and-guts festival.
The youngest daughter of the focal family, Kassie (Nell Fisher), puts a doll’s head on a broomstick and calls her “Staffanie.” When the stick breaks amid roughhousing with her siblings, we know the spear will be used against a Deadite later. Cronin understands basic storytelling devices like Chekhov’s Homemade Baby-Headed Spear.
These two 21st century “Evil Dead” films consciously avoid campy humor and instead play it straight (with rare, wry moments of dark comedy such as “Staffanie”). Yet it’s hard to take them seriously, especially when the plots are always the same.
For starters, though, I like how this film’s setting departs from the usual cabin in the woods. The family lives in an L.A. apartment building that’s going to be torn down in a month. It’s decrepit enough that the wrecking ball seems appropriate, yet the rooms are homey as we meet Ellie (Alyssa Sutherland) and her three kids, plus visiting sister Beth (Lily Sullivan).
It’s neat how this building is a converted bank, with a mysterious book and vinyl records uncovered by son Danny (Morgan Davies) after a tremblor. It’s too bad this “digging through mysterious old junk” vibe wasn’t used in a movie where we don’t already know that the materials will summon hell demons. And it’s too bad that it’s never believable that the family is trapped here by a power outage; what building doesn’t have a stairway?
Should an ‘Evil Dead’ film play it so safe?
The mildly dysfunctional family vibe and financial straits are realistic, but it meant even less to me than the drug-addiction story from the 2013 film. Then “Evil Dead Rises” gets into the possession scenes and the killing of Deadites, with some lip service and acting service paid to the sadness of losing loved ones to this infestation.
Cronin’s film is slick, professional, and by the Book (of the Dead). It has the requisite amount of blood and vomit and maggots and violent things happening to bodies with chainsaws and shotguns and sharp objects. And to be fair, it does expand Deadite lore – albeit in an inexplicable way – as we see in the framing story about a separate trio of characters.
But it’s hard to shake the feeling that this fifth cinematic installment exists because a few more bucks could be wrung out of the I.P. with a mid-budget project. “Evil Dead Rises” never plants its hooks as anything fresh or substantial, even in the realm of blood and guts.
It’s harmless; we can rewatch the Bruce Campbell films and TV series at any time — flat sequels do nothing to change that. But perhaps an “Evil Dead” movie – whether good or bad — shouldn’t be so harmless.