Editor’s note: The following contains spoilers for Evil Dead Rise.You know things are getting real inEvil Dead Rise, 2023’s gory addition to theEvil Deadfamily, when an elevator fills with blood. Despite the fact that this entry isn’t directed by originatorSam Raimi,longtime fans will likely feel his spirit most strongly here at the film’s bloody conclusion. The entirety ofEvil DeadRiseis undeniably entertaining, with terrifying visuals, great special effects, andperformances that are sure to be iconic— but there’s a certain all-out sensibility in its ultimate battle that best echoesthe style of the original movies. WhileEvil Dead Risedoes change some of the elements that made its predecessors famous, including focusing on a family instead of a group of adults, its soul is just as demonic. Bloody, gross, and fantastically maximalist,Evil Dead Risedoes doesn’t disappoint, especially in its final act.
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When the series' first film, 1981’sThe Evil Dead, premiered, it felt like a reset. Its director and writer, a relatively unknown Sam Raimi, was only 22 years old when the movie hit theaters. The movie was his dream, and he’d been very open about his lack of care regarding censorship — this labor of love wouldn’t be limited by the sensibilities of others. Raimi and his fellow creatives, almost all of them amateurs, had endured painful conditions to make the movie, from freezing temperatures to on-set injuries. They wouldn’t be compromising. The final product was lurid and gratuitous, graphic enough to be rated “X” in the UK.The Evil Deadeven earned the label of “video nasty"across the pond, which got it yanked from circulation for a while.
StarringBruce Campbellas the anti-heroic Ash Williams, the firstEvil Deadwent beyond the limits of a simple slasher or horror flick, crossing over into the realms of splatter and fantasy. The plot, almost secondary to the scary bits, follows a bunch of college students vacationing in a remote cabin. They find a mysterious book in the basement, and, being college students in a horror movie, accidentally summon an evil force of the ancient variety. One by one, they’re turned into “Deadites,” zombie-like beings puppeted by the evil forces they’ve called up — and excellent fodder for Ash. Though the film didn’t make a fortune upon its release, it slowly gained momentum as a cult film, paving the way for a second iteration. This film, 1987’sEvil Dead II, refined the style of the original, allowing it to build on itself. Campbell shines in this zany entry, complete with a badass chainsaw arm. Since then, the legacy ofEvil Deadhas only continued to grow, branching out into everything fromArmy of Darknessto a 2013 re-imagining directed byFede Alvarez. (Super graphic,this one is well-liked by diehard fans.) Though it might surprise newcomers, 2023’sEvil Deadis but a continuation of a very long tale. So, what’s it about?
Unlike its four predecessors,Evil Dead Riseis decidedly domestic. After a personal crisis, our rock-n-roller protagonist Beth (Lily Sullivan) is visiting her sister Ellie (Alyssa Sutherland). She’s hoping to do some reconnecting, especially with Ellie’s adoring kids Kassie (Nell Fisher), Danny (Morgan Davies) and Bridget (Gabrielle Echols). Unfortunately, a pizza run coincides with an earthquake, and Danny soon makes a discovery — buried in the concrete foundation of their apartment building is a strange leather-bound book. Longtime fans already know they’re about to be doomed. Danny recklessly plays one of the dusty records that came with the tome (a nice vocal cameo by Campbell), unleashing the same evil that’s plagued the world sinceThe Evil Dead.Ellie is soon turned into a (terrific) Deadite and begins trying to kill her family — or whoever else stands in her way.
Though the movie’s adherence to a more classically cinematic method of storytelling might throw longtime viewers off, they’ll feel right at home when directorLee Croninhas elevator wires cut through Ellie’s flesh. And they needn’t worry about shock value: In adherence to the franchise’s long history of pushing boundaries,Evil Dead Risedoesn’t shy away from killing off the members of Ellie’s family, including her kids. (One of the best sequences in the film sees Bridget stalking her siblings just out of the camera’s focus.) It’s clear thatEvil Dead Riseputs more effort into its story than previous entries. Though this does make it more accessible for new fans, those who are returning might long for the wanton bloodletting of the Raimi originals. Fortunately, that’s where the final act comes in.
It’s probably a good thing thatEvil Dead Riseisn’t trying to ape the films that came before it. Instead of a pale imitation, audiences will instead get a properly invested riff off the source material — as well asa continuation ofEvil Dead’s overarching story. But that doesn’t mean that the movie forgets its origins, either. As Beth escapes the Deadite-infested apartment building with her surviving niece, it becomes clear that the two are only steps ahead of what’s hunting them: a rat king-like amalgamation of all the Deadites. In this horrifying scene, we see that the possessed bodies have combined to becomea squirm-inducing mishmash of flesh, much like the creature inThe Thing.Arms and legs stick out of the crawling mess, its many heads focused on killing. Thankfully, Beth — covered in blood from the elevator — is able to grabthe franchise’s signature weapon, a chainsaw. Holding it, she actually looks eerily similar to Bruce Campbell. It obviously can’t be a coincidence. She backs the combined Deadite into a wood chipper, spraying blood and viscera everywhere — and cements herself as a worthy spiritual descendant of Ash. While this triumphant sequence isn’t the final scene of the movie (that honor belongs to a scary follow-up in which we’re treated to a classic Raimi camera trick), it feels like a proper ending. It’s a jubilant moment for returning fans as well as for new ones. More than forty years later, we’re still getting some.
