Evil Dead Rise | SXSW 2023 Film Review

The funny thing about the Evil Dead franchise is its sheer ability to remain a fan favorite amongst horror fans for decades, and yet each film feels uniquely its own. This is fairly uncommon in the genre world, because sequels and even remakes are wholly the same across the board. Friday the 13th, Halloween, Hellraiser, Nightmare on Elm Street (except for New Nightmare); if you pop one of these on, you know exactly what’s coming. The stalking, the quips, the taunts, the slashing, etc. Evil Dead Rise aims to respect this aspect of individuality that the franchise is known for, while also offering enough nostalgia to turn this tradition on its dismembered ear.

With an Evil Dead film, all you know for sure is there will likely be a cabin in the woods and/or a chainsaw, Bruce Campbell might show up, and someone will eventually try to swallow a few souls. Could be comedic, possibly excessive carnage, despicable violence, a vaudevillian hand… you just never know what the tone will be. Director Lee Cronin is here to offer yet another personal take on the franchise, this time taking the Necronomicon into the city limits for the first time in an Evil Dead feature (Ash vs Evil Dead excluded).

Ellie (Alyssa Sutherland) is a struggling divorced mother of three bright kids: Danny, Bridget, and Kassie (Morgan Davies, Gabrielle Echols, and Nell Fisher, respectively). Her run-down apartment might not look like much, but it is all her family has. Her sister, Beth (Lily Sullivan), a guitar technician – whom Ellie cruelly refers to as a “groupie” – who appears on the eve of Ellie and her family being evicted from the complex. There is already immediate tension as Ellie has needed Beth for months, and she has only now shown up after Beth potentially needs her.

Circumstances go from bad to evil when an earthquake rips a hole in the foundation of their parking garage, which dislodges the Necronomicon, a book bound in human flesh with dark incantations written in blood. Thankfully there are a few vinyl records also nearby – which Danny loves to spin – to help shout those spells directly into the ether. This, of course, leads directly to the unleashing of the Evil Dead of the title; a venomous spirit determined to possess, torture, and swallow everyone’s soul by dawn. And no one, not even beloved children, will be safe.

Director Lee Cronin’s screenplay gives the franchise a much-needed makeover, as the Cabin in the Woods thing as been done-to-death (though Cronin does offer a nice nod to it for fans). By shaking things up and positioning the Necronomicon in the city with a hefty focus on family, it opens up a larger world – aka more victims, more blood, unique circumstances – for anyone who loves these films. My only real complaint are the contrivances of how the Book of the Dead is absurdly recovered, and the length of time it takes to get anyone to say the words out loud. Otherwise, this is a consistently fun reinvigoration of the franchise.

Cronin also carries a very Sam Raimi-inspired take on the property, injecting plenty of humor into the bloodshed to keep the proceedings hilariously macabre. While Fede Alvarez’s Evil Dead from ten years ago was dire and grim (in the very best of ways), Cronin brings back the delirious blending of styles akin to Evil Dead 2, before juicing the franchise with its biggest demon yet in the final act.

The performances are strong across the board, but the film is carried on the backs and wounds of its two leading ladies, Alyssa Sutherland and Lily Sullivan. Ellie is forced to confront her demons early on, and Sutherland delivers possibly the best take on Deadites (film lingo meaning those possessed) since Bruce Campbell got into a pissing match with his own hand. She is at times wicked, conniving, and unnerving, but always entertaining. Likewise, Beth embraces a survivor’s edge as she fights to save the family she has neglected for so long, and Sullivan gains more strength and resolve with each passing frame. This duo is a large reason why Evil Dead Rise works as well as it does, and their relationship is at the heart of this film for the duration.

The effects work is stunning, and the blood is seemingly endless. Practical effects make horror films better, hard stop, and when used properly they also hide digital effects cleaner. The violence here is gleeful and sadistic, you will never look at your cheese grater without side-eye ever again, and that is what an Evil Dead film needs. Is it worth a look inward at the sheer joy we take in dismembering others? Probably. But I’m not going to take the time when I’m being entertained like this.

Lee Cronin, cast, and crew have delivered a romp of a horror film that honors the legacy and tradition of Sam Raimi’s films, as well as charts its own course forward. A new backdrop, setup, and creative team have cracked the code to this franchise, and Evil Dead Rise demands to be seen in a packed theater on opening weekend. Let’s just hope it isn’t another ten years before the next one.

Listen to our full review on our SXSW 2023 episode of The Hollywood Outsider podcast: