Evil Dead Rise ⭐

Evil Dead Rise is a manic horror film worthy of the Evil Dead name. It’s very good and very gory. This is the fifth film in the Evil Dead series, but it stands on its own. You don’t need to have seen any of the previous films, the last one of which came out ten years ago, but if you haven’t seen Evil Dead II yet, I feel sorry for you.

For those who have seen the other films, the tone plays like the first Evil Dead, where any humor comes from both how it presents and how far it is willing to go with the unrelenting horror and violence, but not from any reactions of the characters, who are forced to take it all seriously. This is a nasty little horror movie, where pain is inflicted and innocents die, but there’s a Grand Guignol quality to the violence that can make you laugh, even without an Ash Williams to accent the absurdity. Its best quality is that it continually escalates and propels you forward. There’s a bit of a mislead early on about the pacing, but it doesn’t take long to get going and never lets up once it does. And, yes, this is an Evil Dead film, so by the end you have characters swimming in blood.

The small cast is all good, including the child actors, and we get enough time with them before the chaos to establish them without the film dragging. Importantly, there’s no one here whom we are impatient for to die. There are thematic elements of motherhood, and its responsibilities and sacrifices, but it can be hard to see them through all the viscera.

Easier to spot than any themes are tons of fun callbacks to the original Sam Raimi movies, but none of them are so prominent they would make someone who has never seen the earlier movies assume they were missing something. There’s also plenty of Raimi-style camera work with close-ups and odd angles that all work towards building the atmosphere. Importantly, the film never overplays one note. Some horror films create an unsettling camera effect or sound design, but then use it throughout the film to diminishing returns. Evil Dead Rise keeps finding new ways to be creepy. The only issue I have with the look is that it is maybe too slick. A film like this could use graininess and a hand-held camera to match the uncertainty and lack of control on-screen. But it may be too much to ask of a big theatrical release to look like a 70s grindhouse movie.

So, what keeps this from being great? It never comes to more than the sum of its very effective and fun parts. There will probably be a younger audience who has watched a lot of Scream and A24 films for whom this movie will be a revelation with everything it doesn’t hold back. But if you have seen the original Evil Dead series and Dead Alive or Re-Animator, this doesn’t quite hit those heights of “I can’t believe they just did that!” Admittedly, those movies were a lot more uneven than this one, and that may have made their highs higher. What’s better in a horror film? A director with a steady, competent hand to guide you through to the other side, or one who seems to be as crazy as the maniacs on screen? How you answer might determine your ultimate feelings on Evil Dead Rise, but I had a great time.