Written by: Lee Cronin
Starring: Lily Sullivan, Alyssa Sutherland, Morgan Davies, Gabrielle Echols, Nell Fisher
Rating: [3.5/5]
While tragedy can strike anyone at a moment’s notice, for some they just ask for it with the nonsense they partake in. This appears with those messing about with a deserted cabin in the middle of the woods, playing with an Ouija Board, or in the case of Evil Dead Rise, it comes in the form of an obviously evil book causing quite the hectic night for this family and their neighbors.
After learning of her pregnancy, guitar technician Beth (Lily Sullivan) visits her sister Ellie (Alyssa Sutherland) in her Los Angeles apartment where she lives with her three kids. Following a devastating earthquake, the children find some disturbing religious artifacts and after looking at an evil-looking book it unleashes a demon, which finds its way to their mother, Ellie, taking over to cause mayhem.
When getting a new film from this franchise, we know we will receive blood in a healthy supply. Evidently trying to set the world record and defeat all past entries in the amount of fake blood in a singular scene or entire film exists as the reason they keep it going. Continuing to top their feat evidently keeps them going and in this feature, we get an abundance of blood but amongst it all we an equally fun and gory horror film utilizing its setting perfectly to create this sense of dread and fear of impending death for all involved in this situation.
In the process of setting the table for this story, we have a dark and drab Los Angeles apartment complex serving as the background for what will occur when the earthquake causes major damage where these individuals cannot safely leave through the elevator or any fire escape. These characters sit high above the street with no way down other than certain death or the assistance of emergency personnel who are unavailable. It makes for the perfect feeding ground for a demon to wreak some havoc, and we see this through poor Ellie, who just wants to be a strong mother, but has her body taken over. Once Ellie shifts into this demon-possessed monster, the fun well and truly begins for this nasty tale.
Having this demon take over a motherly character flips the script of someone meant to nurture and care for others into the destroyer making it truly difficult for her kids and sister to fully comprehend. The initial hesitation in understanding gets cleared up with one of my favorite lines in the entire movie where the possessed Ellie tells the kids “Mommy’s with the maggots” leaving no further need for clarification that their mother is dead and this demon wants to kill them all utilizing her body. Sequence after sequence in trying to avoid this demon within this cramped apartment and exterior hallway will make you look away, especially a moment involving a cheese grater. Seriously, you will never look at one the same way ever again. This I can absolutely guarantee. With these characters having no escape, staying and fighting serves as their only option with any hope of survival.
Containing this mixture of horrific gore, jumpscares, and tongue-in-cheek jokes makes for something wholly entertaining giving us various different avenues to enjoy this story. Certainly, some will not like the lengths to which this feature truly relishes in some terrifying body horror but when watching a film in this franchise, one must come in with the appropriate expectations. Through all of the terror, we also get some neighbors involved as well where you just know they exist as fodder for this demon to kill, which in their own way provide some great entertainment.
Thoroughly entertaining and appropriately scary, Evil Dead Rise comes in as a welcomed entry to this franchise delivering some incredibly funny but also terrifying sequences. We get a solid cast with Alyssa Sutherland as the possessed mother truly having some fun with what this character represents and needs to elicit. This performance likely will not allow me to see her again in the same way because she does that good of a job acting like a demon. The story does not carry much substance but certainly does just enough to complement everything else the film seeks to accomplish.
Films with Josh 
