"Evil Dead Rise" a lean, bloody hellride set to an eleven

Evil Dead Rise (2023)

Just when you thought the Necronomicon only unleashed hell in the woods. Apart from 1993’s “Army of Darkness” going into the Middle Ages, the “Evil Dead” series has always stayed put in a cabin until now. What with the recent “Scream VI” moving the franchise to New York City, “Evil Dead Rise” finds another exciting (and just as contained) place to go: a shabby but formidable Los Angeles high-rise. Finding a tonal middle ground between Sam Raimi’s increasingly more tongue-in-cheek trilogy and Fede Alvarez’s grim, awesomely splatty, and squirm-inducing 2013 remake, “Evil Dead Rise” is a giddily gruesome, balls-to-the-wall blast.

The pre-title sequence—a gnarly, visually clever knockout where some young meat puppets stay in a lakeside A-frame cabin—is used as a wraparound for our main narrative. Newly single mother Ellie (Alyssa Sutherland) is just trying to support her family before their apartment building gets condemned. To the surprise of Ellie and her three kids—teen DJ Danny (Morgan Davies), teen activist Bridget (Gabrielle Echols), and morbidly curious young Kassie (Nell Fisher)—guitar technician sister Beth (Lily Sullivan) shows up one rainy night. Not long after, an earthquake shakes them all up, and Danny investigates a hole leading to an old bank vault underneath their parking deck. He finds the Book of the Dead—bound in human flesh and sealed with teeth—and listens to some vinyl records with a recorded incantation. And, well, Ellie becomes the first to get possessed and goes after her “titty-sucking parasites” (her words, not mine). Can Auntie Beth save her nieces and nephew, or are they all dead by dawn? Let the bodily dismemberment commence.

Making his follow-up feature to 2019’s creepy, atmospheric “The Hole in the Ground,” Irish writer-director Lee Cronin is clearly a fan of family-oriented horror stories that begin with holes in the ground, and here, he gets to up the extreme intensity and viscera quotient. Tightly crafted and moving as fast as the chain on a chainsaw for a fat-free 96 minutes, “Evil Dead Rise” goes nearly as hard as 2013’s “Evil Dead” like an insane party of practical and computer-enhanced gruesomeness. Despite taking some time to efficiently establish family dynamics and a few much-needed breathers to retain an emotional investment with this family, it does not let up, nor does it let any character feel safe or untouchable. Including someone just having to take the damn book, a couple of unadvisable or simply foolish decisions get a pass—children are, by far, the most fallible—because there is genuine suspense in who will make it by dawn. 

Director Lee Cronin gets strong performances out of his entire cast, even if some of their native Australian accents slip out on occasion. Perfectly cast as sisters, Lily Sullivan and Alyssa Sutherland find a shorthand in Beth and Ellie’s estranged but still-loyal bond, and individually, both characters have their own personal stuff to contend with. When Beth sees Ellie is no longer in her body overtaken by a demon, it is tragically felt, and Sullivan handles all of the badass duties with aplomb. Sutherland makes for a terrifying foe, throwing herself into Ellie when it comes time for the Deadite make-up and juggling that it’s-really-me-in-here warmth with a maniacal grin and ghoulish humor. The way she throws a pan on the stove and cooks a bunch of eggs, shells included, is absolutely unsettling, and Mommy’s greeting through the family’s front door peephole already lives in the memory bank. Ellie’s elevator possession is a little less shocking than the tree assault on Mia (Jane Levy) in 2013’s “Evil Dead,” but there’s a hell of a bone-breaking crucifixion pose. 

It wouldn’t be a true “Evil Dead” movie without a ton of gross carnage and bodily harm. Director Cronin delivers that in spades, none of it less than devilishly inspired, with glass being swallowed, a cheese grater not being used on Gouda, and a tattoo needle that gets far too close for comfort. A bathtub and a blood-flooded elevator are also used effectively on their own while also paying homage to a certain horror classic, and there’s a suspenseful and gloriously bloody showdown in a parking deck that recalls “Jurassic Park” where characters hide in an enclosed space. With muscular camerawork, a solid emotional connection to the characters, and more blood than you could shake a shop vac at, “Evil Dead Rise” is a lean, unrelenting hellride set to an eleven.

Grade: B +

Warner Bros. released “Evil Dead Rise” (96 min.) in theaters on April 21, 2023.