Evil Dead Rise Review
It’s been ten years since Fede Alvarez remade the iconic horror film The Evil Dead and made it his own. Replete with gore galore and even nastier kills.
The long-awaited sequel has finally arrived. Ever since its release, there have been rumors of a sequel. Fans of the first one have been clamoring for Fede to do another Evil Dead film.
Unfortunately, Fede was unavailable so the producers turned to an up-and-coming horror filmmaker Lee Cronin. Until now, Lee only had two full-length feature films under his belt.
His 2019 film The Hole in the Ground had everyone buzzing and led to him signing on as the director for this film. Though I thought The Hole in the Ground had more style than substance it was clear that Lee had an eye for filmmaking.
Lee does what Fede does and stays true to the Evil Dead lore but makes it his own. Lee also stays in the style of the first film, gory nasty fun. This time in a high rise rather than a cabin in the woods.
Though the film opens with a cabin in the woods scenario, after the opening scene we flashback to 24 hours earlier, to a dilapidated Los Angeles highrise.
Ellie lives there with her three kids, on this fateful night Ellie’s estranged sister Beth shows up. Beth is looking for help/comfort because she has just found out she is pregnant.
Of course, like in any other film in this franchise, someone unwittingly awakens the dead and the mother Ellie is possessed and attempts to kill her kids and Beth. It becomes a fight for survival in this high rise.
Ellie is played by Alyssa Sutherland, some may know her from the TV show Vikings. She is a relative unknown though she has been working for years in the industry.
This film will put her on the map. She gives a terrifying transformative performance. It’s a physically demanding performance and Alyssa is more than up to the task.
I suspect she will gather a cult following and hopefully more roles as more people see her as the imposing villain. Lily Sullivan plays Beth who is our “final girl” like Jane Levy in the first film. Lily is a great horror heroine, but I fear she is overshadowed by everything Alyssa Sutherland is doing.
Fans of the 2013 Evil Dead will be happy to know that there is plenty of gore to be found here. There is a couple of squirm-inducing sequences that had a lady in my row physically rocking back and forth in her recliner.
Though there is gore for the fans, I actually didn’t think there was enough. The reason Fede’s remake has such staying power is it’s nearly an hour of brutality before the awesome chainsaw final battle at the end.
It takes far too long for things to get going in this film, by the time things do there is not enough time spent on all the nasty kills, which is what many fans came to see.
I also feel like the film was a little light on a story, that is becoming a theme in Lee Cronin’s films. However, to be fair, there is not much story that goes with this franchise.
But with the light story and less vicious fun, the film overall feels like it’s lacking the punch of the first film. Though I’ll give Lee credit for that ending, I don’t think anyone saw that coming.
Overall, Lee’s sequel is a worthy entry into this franchise, especially for these ferocious reimagined films. If you liked this film then I implore you to check out Lamberto Bava’s Demon films.
The first one is amazing and one of my personal favorites. But, the second one, takes place in a high-rise apartment and feels like a direct inspiration for this film.
3.5/5 Stars
