In the latest Evil Dead film, an earthquake hits Los Angeles, shaking an apartment complex, destroying the fire escape, and screwing up the elevators. It also leads to a part of the basement parking lot collapsing, revealing a previously concealed chamber. Three siblings — teenagers Danny (Morgan Davies) and Bridget (Gabrielle Echols) and their younger sister, Kassie (Nell Fisher) — enter the chamber. Danny finds several vinyl records and a book that is bound in human skin.
Now, personally, if I found a book that was bound in human skin, I would not pick it up. I mean, that’s just creepy! Honestly, the only reason why someone would bound a book in human skin would be to let the world know that the book is something evil. But Dany is stupid, so he takes the book back to the apartment where he and his siblings live with their mother, Ellie (Alyssa Sutherland). Danny not only opens the book but he also plays the records. The second record features a priest reciting an incantation and soon, all Hell breaks lose. It doesn’t take long before Ellie is dead and then possessed by the Deadites. Soon, the entire building is full of possessed people and it falls to Ellie’s wayward sister, a “groupie” named Beth (Lily Sullivan), to protect the children from the demon that is inhabiting their mother’s body.
Evil Dead Rise has been described as being the “second Evil Dead film without Bruce Campbell” but that’s not quite true. Along with Sam Raimi, Bruce Campbell served as an executive producer on the film and he also provided the voice of one of the people heard on the vinyl record. As Campbell is heard telling the priest not to read the incantation, it’s totally probable that the voice on the record is meant to be belong to Ash Williams. Evil Dead Rise definitely takes place in the same cinematic universe as the previous Evil Dead films. This isn’t like one of David Gordon Green’s snooty Halloween films. Evil Dead Rise is not ashamed of its heritage and, indeed, it’s full of visual references to the previous Evil Dead films. Yes, an eyeball is swallowed. Yes, there is a huge amount of blood spilled in the film, with the film’s main characters literally getting drenched in it. Yes, a boomstick is fired. And yes, there is some chainsaw action towards the end of the film. Beth says, “Come get some,” at one point and it’s a crowed-pleasing moment. The characters are all named after people who were involved in the previous films. At a time when so many sequels and reboots seem to resent the films that came before, Evil Dead Rise does not hide its heritage.
That said, while watching Evil Dead Rise, it was hard not to miss the slapstick anarchy that Raimi and Campbell brought to Evil Dead II and Army of Darkness. Evil Dead Rise plays up the horror of the Deadites and it is one of the rare horror films where you truly do come to feel like any character, regardless of how innocent or likable, could die at any moment. But, to be honest, the Deadites aren’t that interesting without Sam Raimi’s hyperactive visuals and Ash’s over-the-top mix of machismo and stupidity. Without the humor and the destructive glee of Raimi and Campbell, the Deadites are just another group of mean-spirited demons. Without Ash and Raimi’s kinetic camerawork, the film focuses on the Deadites and the film sometimes feels a bit generic as a result.
Which is not to say that Evil Dead Rise is not an effective survival horror film. The apartment building is an appropriately claustrophobic location and the sibling rivalry between Ellie and Beth brings an interesting subtext to the film’s story. When the possessed Ellie taunts Beth, it’s obvious that Beth is hearing everything that she’s always suspected her sister thought about her. Defeating her possessed sister is as much about Beth conquering her own insecurities as it is about defending Ellie’s children. Even if it’s not quite to the level of Raimi’s films, the blood-drenched finale achieves a horrific grandeur that bring to mind the best of Lamberto Bava’s Demons films. Evil Dead Rise is a well-made if occasionally generic chapter in the Evil Dead saga, though it’s impossible not to miss Rami and Campbell while watching the film.
Through the Shattered Lens