It’s hard to believe that Sam Raimi’s Evil Dead franchise is over four decades old. Despite that, it’s only had four instalments, which is much less than other long-running iconic horror franchises. A whopping ten years after Fede Álvarez’s Evil Dead remake comes Lee Cronin’s Evil Dead Rise, the fifth entry in the franchise.

Groovy

Evil Dead Rise is not a remake, but it’s more of a ‘requel’, similar to 2022’s Scream. It’s set in the same universe as the original Evil Dead films by Sam Raimi with easter eggs and references, but it can also be a standalone movie for newcomers out there. While Evil Dead Rise takes place in an apartment in the middle of the city, it’s very much still an Evil Dead film, even if there’s no Ash Williams (Bruce Campbell) or a cabin in the woods setting anymore.

It’s pretty much a family affair this time around, as it involves a touring guitar technician Beth (Lily Sullivan), her sister Ellie (Alyssa Sutherland), and her three nieces/nephews, Danny (Morgan Davies), Bridget (Gabrielle Echols), and young Kassie (Nell Fisher). Without spoiling anything specific, as usual, the chaos begins because of the Necronomicon (Naturom Demonto or The Book Of The Dead), but as a long-time fan, Evil Dead Rise adds to the franchise lore in a way that expands the universe and also sets up future movies.

It’s clear that director Lee Cronin injected as much blood and visceral gore as possible into Evil Dead Rise. There are elements of body horror as well as the expected mutilations, decapitations and gallons of blood. Body parts get stabbed, snapped and cut using everyday items such as scissors and a cheese grater of all things. It’s also worth pointing out that almost all of these violent and bloody scenes passed through Malaysian censors unscathed, with the sole exception of a kill that lasts several seconds.

Veteran Evil Dead fans will also be happy to learn that while Evil Dead Rise is nowhere as funny as Evil Dead 2 or Army Of Darkness, Lee Cronin did inject a few moments of levity and black comedy into certain scenes. It’s not a laugh-out-loud comedy, of course, but it’s more than the overly-serious 2013 remake ever had. For instance, one scene had a Deadite biting the eye out of a person’s socket and spitting that eye out into the mouth of another person, who then proceeds to choke on that eyeball. It’s the kind of humour that Sam Raimi would have done. While these parts are extremely rare in Evil Dead Rise, it’s appreciated that they’re included.

That’s not to say that the movie isn’t without its flaws. The pacing in the first act might feel a bit slow, especially when compared to previous Evil Dead films. It takes a while for the blood and gore to kick off, but that’s probably to set up the characters and their family dynamic. My other qualm with the movie is that Evil Dead Rise still doesn’t have the same legendary Sam Raimi style and flair that fans want. That may be a bit unfair since only Sam Raimi himself returning would be able to satisfy that.

Get That Boomstick

Evil Dead Rise is better than the 2013 remake, and it’s one that fans will probably be able to embrace. It’s a movie that both newcomers and hardcore fans can enjoy. It also opens up the franchise for more instalments in the future, so there’s still hope for the return of both Sam Raimi and Bruce Campbell (though they are the executive producers of Evil Dead Rise, so it’s not like they completely left the franchise). It’s safe to say that there’s life yet in the Evil Dead franchise.

FINAL SCORE: 80/100

We attended an early screener of Evil Dead Rise courtesy of Warner Bros. Malaysia. Evil Dead Rise is slated to premiere in Malaysian cinemas on 20 April 2023.