Review: Evil Dead Rise
Mommy Loves You To Death
THE PLOT
Two sisters find an ancient book that gives birth to bloodthirsty demons that run amok in a Los Angeles apartment building, and thrusts them into a primal battle for survival as they face the most nightmarish version of family imaginable.
QUICK REVIEW
I’m not going to pretend I’m a huge The Evil Dead fan. Not that I think the films are bad, far from it as I really enjoy the original three films, its just that I wouldn’t call it one of my go-tos for horror binging.
I get why the franchise has amassed such a wide following though. Its not just that these movies are ultra gory and feed into the bloodlust of hardcore horror fans, but they have protagonists that fight back and show some attitude while doing it -allowing you to not just be terrified at times but to jump out of your seat cheering when a Bruce Campbell would crack a one-liner before chainsawing a demon into pieces. And with the latest in the franchise, Evil Dead Rise, we have the dream of Sam Raimi and Campbell’s teams to continue the story through a sort of soft reboot of the 2013 Evil Dead linked storyline.
If you’re a horror fan that wants plenty gore, you’re gonna’ get it in spades with this film. This movie had me cringing at times which is a rare reaction to get out of a guy who literally grew up on gory horror films. There’s buckets of blood and plenty body dismemberment. There’s also a bit of a buildup as the movie goes along, slowly retching up the levels of horror until a third act that will deliver a lot of the trademarks franchise stans love about these movies.
The movie’s horror elements though may have gone a bit too far this time around with children involved. The Evil Dead series has always made it clear no side character is safe and has had some gnarly scenes, but with a whole family and kids involved it does toe a fine line between horror and out right meanness that it doesn’t always balance well. There were a few times that started to feel like shock for shock’s sake.
The characters here are also much weaker than previous films’ rosters. It wasn’t that I didn’t care about them, but I wasn’t as endeared to them as much as I probably would’ve liked. It all sums up to the film missing some ingredients that helped elevate its predecessors and thus making this what may be the weakest entry in the franchise yet.
And yet I did for the most part enjoy myself. I’m not sure I’m in a rush to see it again or that I’ll remember it that much down the line, but it hit all the story beats I like to see in a good horror flick, and it struck me as something that might be a good Halloween season watch on a lazy October night. There’s enough in this that I didn’t regret going to my local theatre and seeing Evil Dead Rise. Its sort of a must watch for horror fans that love their blood and guts but also want those “last girl” story beats.
INTIAL GRADING
