Does an ‘Evil Dead’ film work without Sam Raimi and his madness muse Bruce Campbell hacking away at Deadite creatures as Ash?
2013’s well-received reboot, simply titled ‘Evil Dead’, seemed to indicate that it might be, even though that didn’t lead to more films featuring Jane Levy’s Mia.
Still, that isn’t stopping Raimi and Campbell, who simply produce this time, leaving the actual filmmaking on ‘Evil Dead Rise’ to ‘The Hole in the Ground’s Lee Cronin. Hand-picked by Raimi, Campbell, and fellow producer Rob Tapert, he also worked with Raimi on the short-lived (and short-episode-timed) Quibi series ’50 States of Fright’.
(L to R) Gabrielle Echols as Bridget, Nell Fisher as Kassie, Lily Sullivan as Beth, Morgan Davies as Danny and Alyssa Sutherland as Ellie in New Line Cinema’s horror film “Evil Dead Rise," a Warner Bros. Pictures release. © 2022 Warner Bros. Entertainment Inc. All Rights Reserved.
Cronin, who also made his name creating horror shorts and other projects, writes and directs here, for a movie that promises to evolve the ‘Evil Dead’ story in new directions. Specifically, into the city and upwards. That ‘Rise’ part of the title seemingly referring to nasty Deadite creatures rising and the fact it takes place in a high rise.
Which is a fresh setting for a film series that has largely run around the woods and in cabins (though later movies and TV show ‘Ash Vs. Evil Dead’ did show off some different locations).
According to the official synopsis, the movie is a twisted tale of two estranged sisters Beth and Ellie, played by Alyssa Sutherland and Lily Sullivan, whose reunion in Los Angeles is cut short by the rise of flesh-possessing demons, thrusting them into a primal battle for survival as they face the most nightmarish version of family imaginable.
Lily Sullivan as Beth in New Line Cinema’s horror film 'Evil Dead Rise,' a Warner Bros. Pictures release. Copyright: © 2022 Warner Bros. Entertainment Inc. All Rights Reserved.
From the looks of the trailer, “nightmare” certainly seems apt, one of the family becoming infested with a Deadite and turning on the others in brutal, bloody fashion.
And getting all that red stuff on screen took some doing, according to Cronin. “I had to hire an industrial kitchen to create the amount of blood we needed,” the director told Empire recently of the 6,500 liters of the stuff. “When I was checking out, I had to warn the landlord, ‘You’re going to find bloody handprints all over the apartment––but they’re not real, honest!’”
Aside from the blood, this first footage boasts a promising commitment to nasty action and some inventive uses of household implements (the cheese grater moment seems set to inspire plenty of wincing and eye-covering from audiences). It might be set in the City of Angels, but the movie appears to be chock full of demonic action.
Lily Sullivan as Beth in New Line Cinema’s horror film 'Evil Dead Rise,' a Warner Bros. Pictures release. Copyright: © 2022 Warner Bros. Entertainment Inc. All Rights Reserved.
Plus, because it truly wouldn’t be an ‘Evil Dead’ movie without it, there is indeed someone revving and using a chainsaw.
The cast for ‘Evil Dead Rise’ also includes Morgan Davies, Jayden Daniels, Billy Reynolds-McCarthy, Tai Wano, Gabrielle Echols, and Nell Fisher.
‘Evil Dead Rise’ will find its way into theaters on April 21st.
Alyssa Sutherland as Ellie in New Line Cinema’s horror film 'Evil Dead Rise,”' a Warner Bros. Pictures release. © 2022 Warner Bros. Entertainment Inc. All Rights Reserved.
(L to R) Director Lee Cronin and Lily Sullivan on the set of New Line Cinema’s horror film 'Evil Dead Rise,' a Warner Bros. Pictures release. © 2022 Warner Bros. Entertainment Inc. All Rights Reserved.
(L to R) Director Lee Cronin and Alyssa Sutherland on the set of New Line Cinema’s horror film 'Evil Dead Rise,' a Warner Bros. Pictures release. © 2022 Warner Bros. Entertainment Inc. All Rights Reserved.
A scene from New Line Cinema’s horror film 'Evil Dead Rise,' a Warner Bros. Pictures release. © 2022 Warner Bros. Entertainment Inc. All Rights Reserved.
