Evil Dead Rise
Rebooting beloved horror franchises is certainly in vogue in recent times. Over the last few years, we've seen Halloween, Scream, Hellraiser & now Evil Dead all make shocking returns. With Evil Dead Rise director Lee Cronin brings a blood-splattered, demonic icon into the urban environment in a thrilling fashion.
Set in modern-day Los Angeles viewers are introduced to Ellie (Alyssa Sutherland), a mother of 3 living in a dilapidated apartment building due for demolition. Following a sudden earthquake, Ellie's son Danny (Morgan Davies) finds a creepy bank vault strewn with crosses hidden beneath the building. Contained within the bank is a macabre-looking book. We later learn that this book is the Necronomicon (aka Book Of The Dead), which subsequently unleashes a terrifying demonic force upon the residents of the apartment complex.
Placing Evil Dead Rise in an urban environment creates a lot of new angles for Cronin to explore. It also allows the viewer to ponder the horrors that could ensue in such a densely populated environment once the deadites are unleashed.
It's not too long before we witness the ensuing chaos & depravity.
From a scalping to children eating glass, a grotesque use of a cheese grater, the iconic chainsaw & last but not least what is sure to be a new fan favourite weapon, 'Staffanie' a sharpened broom handle adorned with a doll’s head, Evil Dead Rise is unrelenting in its depiction of gore. So much so the producers used approximately 6500 litres of fake blood during filming, so no cut corners here!
Across these hyper-violent scenes, the film employs incredible special effects makeup & practical effects. Giving Evil Dead Rise a very strong visceral, gut-churning feel.
Combine this with inspiration from horror classics such as The Exorcist & The Shining as well as homages to the original films, this hits all the key beats one would expect.
Evil Dead is a franchise known for its campy, cheesy comedic moments & Evil Dead Rise lives up to this as well. Lines such as "you'll make a good mum because you already know how to lie to kids" or even witnessing a murder via projectile eyeball, break the tension in just the right ways.
Lastly, we couldn't end our review without mentioning the performance of Alyssa Sutherland as the maniacal & terrifying deadite. Alyssa is captivating in the role but it's her creepy smile after delivering lines like "Mummy's with the maggots now" that is the absolute icing on the cake.
Evil Dead Rise is a full-bore gore fest & assault on the senses from the get-go. Yet it somehow manages to ramp up the brutality until the very end, which is just what fans of the franchise would hope for, but potentially a little much for newcomers.
Support Pario Magazine
Become A Publisher
$10/ Month
- Name Added To Publisher List
- Physical Print Issue
- Early Access
-
