The Evil Dead series has always had consistently strong installments. Apart from Sam Raimi’s original trilogy, Fede Alvarez’s 2013 remake reminded us of the franchise’s untapped potential, while the Ash vs. the Evil Dead series perpetuated the heritage of Ash Williams (Bruce Campbell) while leaning heavily towards splatstick absurdity.
Evil Dead Rise, Lee Cronin’s newest film, combines the greatest elements of what makes an Evil Dead picture interesting: Cronin blends sorrow with dark comedy, shifting between the bleak and darkly humorous to skillfully craft a terrifying narrative of possession. While the Deadites follow similar emotional dynamics to earlier Evil Dead films, Cronin raises the stakes in Evil Dead Rise by immersing a family in a center of dread. Continue reading the Evil Dead Rise Movie Review to learn more about the film.
Review
Evil Dead Rise: Special Effects
We’ll talk about Evil Dead Rise’s amazing effects. Since the series promotes practical effects, there are some great ones. For instance, Ellie becomes a Deadite. Cronin shows her limbs contorting and cracking while tied to the ceiling. The sound of shattered limbs and gory makeup maximize the film’s meager budget. The other Deadite metamorphosis sequences are another fantastic example of the flixtor movies spectacular effects.
When Bridget transforms, she vomits weird material. It wasn’t that horrible, maybe. The film’s special effects deserve praise for making the material appear genuine. Because it maximizes results with less. The Deadites’ makeup is horrific even without knowing anything about them, even though it’s not special effects. This is particularly true of Ellie when she’s tied up in bed to keep her from harming the family. Actually, the special effects are better than most high-budget horror films.
Evil Dead Rise: Violence and Gore
We’ll talk about the film’s gore and violence. Avoid this paragraph if you hate gore descriptions. Evil Dead Rise takes the gore to a new level. It’s not a bad thing. The final confrontation between the hideous Deadite/Ellie hybrid crab and Beth is a perfect example of this. Beth turns the Deadite into a woodchipper with a chainsaw. Despite the gore’s brutality, it fits the franchise, especially since Cronin emphasizes it.
When Ellie runs through the apartment complex, the film’s violence and gore are on full display. Beth and the kids hear people being ripped apart in a locked apartment. Cronin doesn’t reveal much, so the audience can imagine Ellie’s horrors. That’s a clever trick because the audience often imagines something worse. Oh, and the Deadite who rips off her sister’s scalp before drowning her boyfriend in a lake. The film’s timing of extreme violence was excellent.
Evil Dead Rise: Cinematography
We’ll talk about Evil Dead Rise’s cinematography. The opening sequence is a fantastic example of the film’s cinematography. In this case, the Deadite attacks a lakeside cottage. The deadite hanging over a lake as the title card appears from beyond the mountains is the scene’s outstanding cinematography. Instead of transitioning to a dark title card screen, the blood-red titles behind the mountain symbolize the horror to follow, demonstrating the cinematography’s ingenuity. Look at the last encounter because the camera is more movable. Cronin may scare the crowd by imitating the Deadites.
Also, Beth is chainsawing (is that a word?) with a more static camera. A good touch is turning the deadite into a woodchipper. Because even though the Deadite is a monster, Beth still loves her sister, and it brings out her emotional side. The POV photography at the moment when Ellie chooses which child to devour is brilliant—all we see are her kids’ scared faces and her skeletal finger pointing at them. This adds drama and intensity to an already stressful scenario.
Final Word
Evil Dead Rise is a very strong and violent addition to the cult horror series. It has a lot of great gore and realistic effects that pay tribute to its roots with Sam Raimi while also adding some smart modern filmmaking.