I received the greatest opportunity recently and was part of the Evil Dead Rise roundtable where I was granted early access to the movie and the chance to interview the director and the two female leads: Alyssa Sutherland who plays Ellie and Lily Sullivan who plays Beth. In case you don’t know, Evil Dead is a popular franchise that consists of a film series, television series, and a video game. Ash vs Evil Dead (the television series) was even a haunted house at Universal Orlando’s Halloween Horror Nights in 2017!
I am a big horror fan; I love scary movies so being able to take part in this roundtable was an amazing experience as I got to hear about the behind-the-scenes of this film. Evil Dead Rise does not stray away from being extremely gory and bloody, the movie used 6,500 liters of blood on set! That number alone should put into perspective what you should expect to see when seeing this film. The film takes place in a Los Angeles apartment where Ellie and her three children are currently residing in. Beth, Ellie’s younger sister, comes over to visit her and the family and within the first 20 minutes of the film, all hell begins to break loose. This film wastes no time getting straight to the point and is very fast-paced which I enjoyed as I felt transported into the movie as it grasped my attention the whole time.
Evil Dead Rise stands out from the rest of the franchise as Director Lee Cronin, a longtime fan of the Evil Dead series added his own spin and elements while working alongside Rob Tapert, Sam Rami, and Bruce Campbell — the people behind the franchise. Cronin was able to fulfill his dream of being involved in the Evil Dead universe and he does not disappoint. Rather than setting the film in a cabin like the previous ones. Cronin creates an even more frightening and disturbing environment in which places like our homes and people like our moms, who are supposed to be our safety and protection, become our worst nightmares.
There are so many cool shots in this film despite the duration of the movie taking place in a single location. According to property master Elise Kowitz, “Lee wanted every shot to be bespoke, so we would rarely, if ever, use the same shot twice—every frame was designed and composed and to serve a distinct purpose for the story. There was nothing left to accident.” Lee Cronin has a lot of talent and potential in this industry, so I’m also eager to see what else he does.
Cronin does an amazing job of demonstrating real family stressors occurring in the character lives. It provides a sense of realism when filming a supernatural horror film as every family has issues but not every family has a possessed mom who wants to kill you.
I’ve recently found contemporary horror films to be hit or miss, but this movie was incredibly entertaining and engaging. The cast does a fantastic job of expressing a range of emotions and pushing their physical limit when performing these impressive stunts. There were a bunch of shocking moments that made me audibly gasp and had me thinking “WTF.” Any film that involves a cheese grater, like this one does (IYKYK), is not afraid to push limits and leave audiences shocked.
Watch Evil Dead Rise when it hits theatres on April 21.
Want to see more HCFSU? Be sure to like us on Facebook and follow us on Instagram, Twitter, TikTok, YouTube and Pinterest!