[REVIEW] Evil Dead Rise is a Blast (of Blood and Vomit!)

This review contains some spoilers.

Since it is National Poetry Month (in America), let’s begin this review with a poem:

The Red Elevator 

by William Carlos Williams (probably)

so much depends
upon

a red ele-

vator

glazed with 

blood

beside the 

family of five

Evil Dead Rise (2023) is now among us in the world, and with that, a new entry into the canon of blood, guts, and vomit galore. Lee Cronin’s installment in the Evil Dead-iverse is the perfect marriage of comedy and gore, while still upping the ante of the 2013 Evil Dead. Cronin clearly has a grasp on what an audience wants out of an Evil Dead film and that is a truly heart-pumping good time that makes the crowd scream “EW, UGH, GROSS” while simultaneously clapping. Cronin achieves his mission within his own artistic vision, showing us what he can really do.

The Evil Dead franchise really is a collection of the ultimate cat and mouse style chase, and Rise takes this approach to heart. There is always a character who finds the book and brings it to life, the demons are awakened in their chosen host(s), and the protagonists do whatever they can to kill those demons. What stands out with Cronin’s approach is his incredible creativity when it comes to how this film’s monsters and protagonists go after one another.

The film opens on our usual Evil Dead suspects: some teens relaxing on a pier at a lake next to the woods. We follow Teresa (Mirabai Pease) into a cabin (this one shaped like a triangle, perhaps a Midsommar reference?). Teresa finds her friend Jessica (Anna-Maree Thomas) lying on a bed in the cabin, but when she tries to wake her, Jessica sits criss-cross applesauce with her back facing Teresa–the classic Evil Dead pose. Jessica has been possessed and proceeds to attack both her boyfriend Caleb (Richard Crouchley) and Teresa. Jessica’s method of attacking Teresa is so brutal, I will leave that element spoiler free. Cut to a flashback where we enter the primary world of the Rise installment.

Rather than our usual cabin setting, Evil Dead Rise takes place in a Los Angeles apartment building. Beth (Lily Sullivan), a guitar technician and certified rock chick, visits her sister Ellie (Alyssa Sutherland) and her three children: Bridget (Gabrielle Echols), Danny (Morgan Davies), and Kassie (Nell Fisher). The sisters have not reunited in ages and the reasoning behind this visit is that Beth has just learned that she is pregnant. Once Beth has arrived, Ellie announces that the father of her children has left the family. The children are sent to pick up pizza and an earthquake interrupts the family visit. The children are still in the parking garage while the earthquake erupts, which leads Danny to discovering a Book of the Dead along with a 3-volume vinyl set hidden under the garage. This Book is not the one we have seen in previous films. This one is its own beast with the same dark secrets hidden inside. Danny opens the book and plays the vinyl, which includes the voice of a preacher (a cameo by Bruce Campbell) who reads the forbidden words that release the Book’s demons. Ellie is captured by wiring in the elevator and is possessed by the demon. Chaos ensues as our Evil Dead chase begins between Ellie and the other members of her family. By the end, we are left to grapple with the most gruesome monster of the franchise (in my opinion, but I guarantee it will also be everyone else’s as well).

The innovative nature of all the methods of attack are fresh and brutal, breathing new air into the franchise. There is, of course, the inclusion of the cheese grater, but other weapons such as a wood chipper make their way into the film. A chainsaw makes a triumphant return in aiding Final Girl Beth, Ellie makes use of a tattoo needle (she is, after all, a tattoo artist!), and Bridget eats a water glass! What’s not to love! The size of the apartment and the layout of the building also aid to the tension of the film, which is masterfully executed by Cronin. The apartment has limited space and because they are not on the first floor, there are limited methods of escaping. The apartment is a claustrophobic setting that raises the stakes of the situation. The only way to keep Ellie away is to lock her out in the hall, but this leaves the family trapped in the apartment and it lets Ellie loose to kill other tenants (which she does). The elevator is another location of contention, as it is the only real way to safety, but Beth and Kassie need to make it there alive first.

The creativity in the gore is thanks to Cronin’s writing, but it can also be attributed to Sutherland’s performance so expertly bringing them to life as Ellie. Ellie is horrifying while also exerting the campy, humorous tone that is signature to Evil Dead in carrying out her attacks. It’s such a joy (and also a nightmare) to behold and her performance will be remembered as a standout this year. 

The demons make their way into the bodies of Bridget and Danny as well, creating a real force that Beth and Kassie must conquer in order to survive. Within the franchise, there is always the element of having an attachment to the person who has been possessed, and that has not been more true than in Rise. Bridget and Danny have not only lost their mother, but they are both children themselves and it is difficult to lose these characters to possession. That being said, it is simultaneously fun to see two teens/pre-teens occupy this space. Echols and Davies are clearly having a blast with their roles and there is a real emotional depth that is added by having them chasing after their younger sister and aunt. 

The primary downfall of Rise comes from the storyline (though I will preface this section by saying that I don’t particularly believe that the plot matters in an Evil Dead film). We show up for the chase, not so much the setup. The plot of the sisters’ visit is only briefly established and it is clear that Cronin attempts to prove throughout the film that although Beth may be seen as not being capable of becoming a mother, her ability to protect Kassie proves otherwise. It is a sweet sentiment, but I do believe the film would have been just as strong without it. It feels like a message of feminism that falls too short to be worth it, and having two sisters reconnecting alone is enough.

One other issue to be considered is the inclusion of a child as young as Kassie. Her age is not given, and though Nell Fisher is 12, her character is depicted as even younger than that. The reason that I bring this up is not because children cannot handle trauma, but because of the current state of the world. With the rise in gun violence against children and the mass dis-regard of their safety by larger governmental powers, it is upsetting to watch a young child experience the type of brutal violence that is present in Rise. Kassie is a wonderful character, and she does act as a way for the audience to build empathy for the family, but I did find myself taken out of the film at points. She is threatened with decapitation by her own mother in one of the final sequences and that level of violence against a child was really difficult to see on screen. In their real lives, children are subject to similar violence and worse at this point in time and I do feel that it is unnecessary to have to depict that, particularly in a film that is primarily for the purpose of escapism. Not only that, but Kassie is witness to the brutal possession and death of her mother, sister, and brother; trauma that will now be with her forever. It all feels too real and the inclusion of two pre-teen/teens was enough to get the angle of empathy across that the inclusion of Kassie was a bit too far.

If you’re an old fan of the franchise, I believe you will be thrilled with Evil Dead Rise, and if you’re a newer fan (or if you’ve never seen the others!) I hope this film knocks you off your rocker and has you wanting to join mommy with her maggots. 

Night, night Deadites!