TheEvil Deadfranchise is back and gorier than ever with the long-awaited release ofEvil Dead Rise.Evil Dead Risetakes the action to a Los Angeles apartment building. Despite leaving the woods behind,Evil Dead Risehas all the blood, violence, and chainsaws thatEvil Deadfans have come to expect from this series.Evil Dead Risehas been a big hit at the box office, making back its budget in its opening weekend alone, and on top of that, it’s been well-received by critics. ButEvil Deadis a beloved horror franchise – almost every previous entry is a classic of the genre – so where doesEvil Dead Riserank in comparison to its blood-soaked predecessors?
Army Of Darkness (1993)
The final chapter ofSam Raimi’s originalEvil Deadtrilogyfollows on fromEvil Dead II’s cliffhanger ending with Ash Williams trapped in the Middle Ages.Army of Darknesshas plenty of the slapstick humor that made the previous movies so much fun, but it falls short on the grisly bite that made them so terrifying. WhereasEvil Dead IIbalances its horror and comedy elements perfectly,Army of Darknessis much more horror than comedy. Still, just becauseArmy of Darknessis arguably the weakestEvil Deadmovie, that doesn’t mean it’s a bad movie. Bruce Campbell is charismatic and hilarious as usual and Raimi brings his signature gonzo visual flair to every frame.
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Considering it was his feature-length directorial debut,director Fede Álvarezknocked hisEvil Deadreboot out of the park. The 2013 reimagining ofThe Evil Deadput a fresh spin on the cabin-in-the-woods formula. Since Jane Levy’s character Mia is a drug addict trying to go cold turkey, the group actually has a reason to isolate in the middle of nowhere – and any time Mia sees evidence of deadites, her friends can just shrug it off as a withdrawal-induced hallucination. Whereas CGI often lessens the effect of a scare, Álvarez used modern technology to enhance the terror of set-pieces like the tree attack and basement possession.
Writer-director Lee Cronin hasn’t quite reached a new peak for theEvil Deadfranchise with its latest entry, but he has reinvigorated a four-decade-old franchise with an exhilarating satanic thrill-ride.Evil Dead Risedelivers all the gruesome carnagethatEvil Deadfans have come to expect, and its focus on a family as opposed to a group of friends means that the connections between its characters are even stronger – and, as a result, their one-by-one deadite possession is more heartbreaking. Unlike the last reboot,Evil Dead Risedoesn’t just rehash the same cabin-in-the-woods story that fans have seen before. As much fun as the 2013 movie is, it’s basically just a more expensive version of the original film.
Evil Dead Risetries something completely new as it brings the Necronomicon and its demonic henchmen to the halls of a dilapidated L.A. apartment complex. It swaps out the misty forest for an earthquake-stricken parking lot; it swaps out the possessed tree vines for possessed elevator cables – but, in spite of the setting switch-up,Evil Dead Riseremains true to theEvil Deadspiritto the very end. After taking just long enough to make the audience care about its characters,Evil Dead Riseplunges them into a relentless 90 minutes of hellish terror. It doesn’t let up until its gloriously blood-drenched final battle against a mishmash demon monster that makesThe Last of Us Part II’s “Rat King” look like an adorable pet.
The original indie masterpiece that started it all – and inspired a generation of young horror fans to pick up a camera and make their own scary movies – still holds up as one of the finest entries in the series.The Evil Deadcreated a subgenre of its own with its deceptively simplistic story of a group of friends going to a cursed cabin in the middle of nowhere and contending with devilish demonic spirits. Raimi instantly establishedhis uniquely bizarre and campy vision of horror cinemain his breathtaking debut feature. There’s a charming homemade quality to the movie’s DIY effects and Campbell carries the movie with the effortless charm that would go on to define his career.
With around 10 times the budget and a few more years of filmmaking experience behind him, Raimi managed to outdo himself withEvil Dead II. This zany, outlandish horror comedy gem is a rare example of a sequel that improves on its predecessor.Evil Dead IIset the pitch-black comedic tone for the rest of the franchise. It’s essentially a remake of the first movie, but with more blood, more craziness, and more slapstick humor. There’s no other movie quite likeEvil Dead II. It arrived as a breath of fresh air in 1987 and remains one of the most bonkers, mind-bending movies ever made.
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