Evil Dead Rise (2023)

The Deadite Plague Unleashed In The Urban Hellscape

Total Score: 10/23.

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Our first shot is a clever fakeout. What you think is The Forest is instead, a drone. Then we get the triangular cabin, weirdly amusing when you think back to Ash in that rundown old hovel. The Evil Dead hammer smashes down again as we see that classic clock, and then the horror truly begins. Three people are on a little holiday - Jessica, her man, and her cousin. Jessica’s not well, though. Really not well. When she starts reciting the novel her cousin is reading without even turning her face to look at her, you know shit is about to hit the fan (also, this is a nice subtle callback). And fuck me, does it hit the fan. We get a brutal scalping, and soon after, a decapitation.

Then, after all this buildup, one of the BEST title drops I’ve ever seen. Historic shit.

Unfortunately, these are the best scenes in the movie.

We jump back a little in time - just a day - so we can meet the characters we’re actually going to be following against the Deadites. These are recently single El, her kids Bridget, Dan, and Kassie, and her sister Beth. Beth is a band technician, or something like it, and is grappling with a surprise pregnancy. The kids and El are not only dealing with their Dad walking out, but also with an upcoming eviction notice. Rough going.

The dialogue is pretty solid. These do feel like real people, which is easily lost in a horror film. I appreciated the time we had building these character dynamics, though they didn’t particularly go anywhere when everything gets crazy.

Speaking of crazy, an earthquake hits the building, revealing a fucking bank vault under the car park. Yes, you read right, a bank vault. It’s chock full of charms and crosses, and a book COVERED in bugs. Could it be Necronomicon Ex Mortis?

See, this is the thing. It might not be. It is a volume of Naturum Demonto, of which, we can assume, the Necronomicon numbers. This, however, is a different book. But not that different. Dan takes it up to his room, slits his fingers on it, and this causes the book’s bindings to open. There are some sick pics in there, which unnerve Bridget. We also learn that a priest, Father Littleton, translated the text in the 20s, and recorded his findings.

Playing these recordings is, as you’d expect, a colossal fuck-up. The Forest is here, ready for an urban spree, and it barrels straight into El. She’s in a lift at the time, so she gets the Tower of Terror treatment. A loose wire lifts her by the throat, choking her, then others snap her limbs like rock candy.

The lights in the flat go black. El walks limply in, lurking in the shadows. She cooks a whole bunch of eggs, shells and all, and starts monologuing. Her speech is flawed, but then, then she gets morbid. We all know what that heralds. Contorted limbs. A ton of soupy puke. Fascinatingly, though, something seems to remain of her original consciousness, but only for a moment but she “dies”.

Beth and Dan, distraught, try to take El to a hospital. The elevator and stairs are gone. Some neighbours come out of their flats to stand around and gawk. They take her home, and while her dead eyes ping open as they try to close them, one man offers up a prayer to boost the mood. Great!

We learn at this point that most of the building is unoccupied. In a high rise, nobody can hear you scream, eh?

After a nice creepy voicemail plays, a fly lands in El’s eye. Then she’s awake. In the bath, being cooled as she’s feverish, her eyes roll back in her skull and she convulses. It is time for things to get Bad. El hits the ceiling, shrieking a banshee cry that smashes glass and boils water. She jams a big old knife through her sister’s palm, and does a little voice manipulation, just for the hell of it. A tattoo gun demonstration in her head upsets poor Bridget, who has her face slit before her brother bashes the Deadite away.

A nosy neighbour, Gabriel, turns up to see if there have been any developments on the dead woman front. There have, and she chews his face. His eye goes right into another man’s mouth, just as Raimi would want. The family lock El outside the flat, where she goes all Hereditary (2018) and slams her head into the door. Gabriel is killed, and another neighbour shoots a shotgun round or two before he too is annihilated. What use are bullets against a Demon From Hell?

Bridget is quick to figure things out. She blames Danny, which is reasonable. She did warn him. Her cut looks pretty disgusting, and soon it looks absolutely fucked. Blood runs from her eyes and nose. Thick, black, bubbling sick spews out her mouth.

Meanwhile, Deadite El manipulates her youngest, Kassie, into opening the door for her. Mum gets her by the neck but the situation is rapidly resolved. Too rapidly.

Bridget has taken a serious turn for the worse, and when auntie Beth finds her she is sitting apelike on the kitchen counter. As it turns out, she’s chowing down on glass, which we see bulge in chunky shards in her throat.

She leaps at Beth, grating her leg. She makes her way to her sister, next, and Kassie, armed with a totem she’d prepared earlier, impales her sister right through the mouth. Our first Deadite kill! Except, not really, because as we know, impalement isn’t an approved method. Luckily, Dan restrains the corpse.

A note - the jabs at Beth’s pregnancy are subtle but nasty. It is a fine line, and they tow it well.

A second recording leaves us in despair. Fire, burial, and dismemberment aren’t what they used to be.

Deadite El has found her way into the vents, inspired by a cat. Soon enough she’s in the flat, and jabs a knife into her son’s arms. He also gets a stream of blood vommed on him. Because this is an unpleasant experience, he sets his mother alight. Kass and Beth watch him die from his wound (wounds?), but are interrupted in his final moments by the crispy figure of El. She gets a knife in the head for her troubles, which seems to temporarily stop her in her tracks.

Our Final Girls make a run for the fire escape, collecting a handy shotgun on the way. A well placed shot takes Mum’s leg off. Her manipulation attempts are lost on the remaining survivors. More Deadites arrive though, and laughter rings out, with a classic refrain of DEAD BY DAWN. Kassie and Beth barely make it into the lift. It fills, almost immediately, with blood. This is a memorable moment, up there with the bit in It: Chapter 2 (2019). We also get a nice Shining reference when the doors finally open.

A note - I wrote at this stage of the film, that I thought it was just ok. This is a genuine shame, because Evil Dead has had only killer films up to this stage. This is by no means trash, but it really doesn’t stack up - though the performances are great.

Anyway, out comes a new monster - the Amalgam. Hands and arms and heads smushed together in a Resident Evil style. This thing drags Kassie into the dark, intending to chainsaw her. Then, in a rage after being shot, it chucks it at Beth, conveniently putting it within arms reach.

Beth nearly gets blended in a woodchipper or some shit, but Kassie saves her. Instead, the Amalgam gets chainsawed into the machine, bringing about a nice meaty fountain of sinew and blood and bone. There is no gratification to be had though, as these two have lost everything.

Later, we see Jessica once more. She is upset by the viscera, but not so upset as she is when The Forest nabs her, harkening back to the ending of the OG film (LOVE that). So, full circle. We made it.

Overall, Evil Dead Rise had good effects, a great display of acting talent, and some fun camerawork. The wires in the lift were great, as was the glass-chewing and impalement. I think the ending of the 2013 remake kinda fucked the filmmakers a little because how can you top that spectacle? But still, this had a fantastic opening. If only it had all been in the woods, eh?

Still, it was a change of pace, and the narratives and characters had room for a lot of exploration. It didn’t really get there, but there was potential.

There was potential - that’s my final verdict.

Also, apologies, I don’t have any behind the scenes details this time! But, this is the last of the Evil Dead miniseries on Hellish Views….for now, so I’m closing things off with a quick and easy read. You guys have been great. I’ll put out a Summary post soon.

Anyway, as ever, thanks for reading,

Until next time,

H.E.

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