Tuesday, October 31, 2023

Evil Dead Rise

Sam Raimi’s “Evil Dead” trilogy has always had a sick, evil quality to it. While the first film celebrated the strengths of an extreme, unforgettable cabin in the woods horror, the sequel used the same setting to embrace a strange, darkly comedic feel to raise the boundaries of a realm haunted by Deadites. Despite “Army of Darkness” moving away from the main setting that planted the franchise’s legacy, it gives charms of the slapstick type. It quickly moves towards a strong finish, with two endings (one theatrical and the other being the director’s cut) to choose from.

Debopriyaa Dutta said in her review, “When Fede Alvarez decided to reinvigorate the franchise in 2013 with his darkly grim, endlessly bleak The Evil Dead, it embraced an identity that was very different from Raimi’s films, despite having all the narrative markings that populate the original trilogy. This is not a criticism of Alvarez’s entry at all. Instead, the new reboot offered such a horrifyingly traumatic experience with no respite that it emerged as a cinematic experience that would be rather difficult to replicate. Fast forward to Lee Cronin’s newest entry in the franchise, Evil Dead Rise, a film that carves out a fun, promising, gnarly middle-ground where the nastiest Deadties are allowed to mutate and fester.”

“Evil Dead Rise,” released back in April, starts with a classic Raimi shot that was used in the first two “Evil Dead” films: the hectic fast shot that shows the undead traveling at supernatural speed from a first-person point of view. By immediately making it a fake-out, Cronin makes the tone of his film very clear. We are here to have an enjoyable bloodbath time seeing scalps rip open, the flesh bitten off, and even children become victims to some of the evilest people in the history of horror. This is sure to be a sickeningly enjoyable time.

The focus is changed from the cabin in the woods image to an L.A. apartment that is about to be demolished. Dutta said, “Something is unsettling about the space from the get-go, as the building seems to be on its last legs, somehow preternaturally aware of the horrors that are about to go down within it in a few hours.” Musician Beth (Lilly Sullivan) finds out that she’s pregnant, and this surprise makes her want to visit her sister Ellie (Alyssa Sutherland) and her three kids.

Despite being happy to see each other, Ellie and Beth appear to have some unknown tension between them. Dutta mentioned, “While Beth is frustrated that her sister does not take her career seriously and only deems her a “groupie,” Beth’s absence miffs Ellie, particularly during the difficult time of separation from her husband.” However, a more incredible, unimaginable source of horror is about to separate this family apart, no matter how much love they have for one another.

Dutta noted, “The Necronomicon Ex-Mortis, or The Book of the Dead, is the literal catalyst for the rise of evil in the Evil Dead franchise.” Cronin uses this story to get this film going. However, everything that happens after that is a completely new area.

Here, we have two sisters and three children thrown into this insanity, with Deadite Ellie haunting her children in a way we have never seen before in the franchise. There’s no mercy: nobody is safe, not even the children, and it does not matter whether fates are deserved or not.

Trapped inside the apartment, Beth must step up to protect the kids from their mother, who won’t stop before every one of them is dead (or undead). As you may have guessed, Ellie is gone, and Mommy is with the dead now. Dutta said, “What wears her face is a conniving, ruthless demon who will crawl through vents and chomp off necks without hesitation.”

Every Deadite in the franchise is unique. We have Deadite Cheryl mocking Ash Williams in “Evil Dead,” deliberately haunting Ash’s humanity to mock his empathy, while Deadite Mia of the reboot purges a large amount of blood and splits her tongue with a box-cutter before kissing a traumatized Natalie.

Dutta mentioned, “In Evil Dead Rise, Deadite Ellie is an unstoppable force: her body contorts like a marionette, she mocks and coos to her children to manipulate and terrorize them, and she’s ready to turn anyone who stands in her way. Sutherland is sublime in the role, as she brings an edge of menace to the character, alternating between darkly comedic scares and truly unsettling evil machinations.”

Dutta continued, “Evil Dead Rise sports a healthy amount of violence and gore, but I wouldn’t say it necessarily tops Mia slicing The Abomination in half with a chainsaw as blood rains on her sequence in The Evil Dead.” However, there is plenty you can expect, as the film raises the terror of a small space with the dangers given by everyday household objects, such as the bathtub, a gas stove, and a particularly dangerous cheese grater. Eyes are about to be gouged out, chainsaws are started, and mutated, combined amount of Deadites emerges as the final villain in this film of blood, guts, and gore.

Dutta said, “Cronin plays a cat-and-mouse game with the audience, cleverly staging shots that sufficiently elevate what could have been yet another underwhelming apartment horror where a loving family unit is torn asunder. The man loves split diopter shots, and all of them (there is a handful) are exceptionally well done. Body horror is used to induce pure, unadulterated fear while never forgetting to have fun with it.”

“Evil Dead Rise” makes an already-solid horror franchise even stronger and introduces new, evil nightmares to the spirit. As the blood spills, the fun seems to have only begun.

This is a welcome change to the franchise. It goes back to what made this franchise great. The remake was so horrible that this film will redeem the franchise for you. If there are going to be sequels to this, which looks like it will be, I will be happy. I think the way this film was done; it will scare people and you will be on the edge of the seat to see these people survive. See this on Max and you will love it, I promise.

Happy Halloween everyone. I hope everyone enjoyed my reviews this month. I hope everyone was safe tonight trick-or-treating, but make sure you didn’t get too much candy. I will see you next month with what I will review next.

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