Evil Dead Rise

Evil Dead Rise is a 2023 American supernatural horror film written and directed by Lee Cronin. It serves as the fifth installment in the Evil Dead film series. The film stars Lily Sullivan and Alyssa Sutherland as two estranged sisters trying to survive and save their family from Deadites. Morgan Davies, Gabrielle Echols, and Nell Fisher (in her film debut) appear in supporting roles.

The film's development was preceded by scrapped plans for direct sequels to Evil Dead (2013) and Army of Darkness (1992), and a fourth season of Ash vs Evil Dead (2015–2018). By October 2019, Sam Raimi announced that a new film was in development, with Rob Tapert producing, Raimi and Bruce Campbell executive producing, and Cronin writing and directing the project. New Line Cinema, the first film's distributor, was announced as a production company involved. Principal photography took place in New Zealand from June to October 2021. The film was originally set to premiere on the streaming service HBO Max, but distributor Warner Bros. Pictures opted to release the film theatrically first after positive test screenings.

Evil Dead Rise had its premiere at South by Southwest on March 15, 2023, and was released in the United States on April 21 by Warner Bros. Pictures. The film received positive reviews from critics and grossed $147 million worldwide, becoming the highest-grossing film of the series. At the 51st Saturn Awards, it was nominated for Best Horror Film and Best Make-up.

Plot

Cousins Teresa and Jessica, and Jessica's boyfriend Caleb, are vacationing at a lakeside cabin when a possessed Jessica scalps Teresa and decapitates Caleb before levitating above the lake.

One day earlier, guitar technician Beth discovers she is pregnant and turns to her estranged sister, Ellie, for help. Ellie informs Beth that her husband has left the family, leaving her to take care of her three kids – Danny, Bridget, and Kassie – alone in their L.A. apartment. After the siblings return from dinner, an intense earthquake uncovers a hidden chamber beneath the parking lot. Danny investigates, discovering religious artifacts, three phonograph records from 1923, and a strange book that he takes up to his room, hoping to sell it to help Ellie. The initial record details a priest's unsuccessful attempts to research the book, which was revealed to be one of three volumes of the Naturom Demonto. The subsequent record reveals that the priest continued his research in secret and recited an incantation that summoned demonic entities known as Deadites.

The building's power fails, and an unseen force possesses Ellie. She returns to the apartment in a trance, menacingly threatens her family, and dies after pleading with Beth to protect her children. Ellie's neighbors help lay her to rest in her bedroom and search for a way out. They find that the staircase has collapsed, the elevator is damaged, and they are unable to access the fire escape before Ellie revives and attacks the family, wounding Beth and Bridget. Beth and the children lock Ellie outside the apartment after she pursues and massacres the neighbors.

Danny confesses to Beth his recovery of the Naturom Demonto, and Ellie tricks Kassie into unlocking the door before attacking her. While Danny and Beth are distracted rescuing Kassie and locking Ellie out, Bridget's wound festers, and she is possessed. Bridget attacks Beth before turning on Danny and Kassie, with the latter inadvertently impaling her through the mouth with a broken broom handle.

Beth listens to the third record to learn how to exorcise the Deadites, but discovers the priest failed and his allies were all possessed, and that only the complete destruction of the host stopped the Deadites. Bridget revives and fatally stabs Danny, who sets Bridget on fire before dying as Ellie infiltrates the apartment using the vents. Realizing Beth is pregnant, Ellie attempts to rip the fetus out of her, but Beth and Kassie incapacitate her with scissors. Ellie fails to emotionally manipulate Kassie, who accepts the fact that her mother is gone.

Danny and the bodies of the neighbors are all possessed, leading Beth and Kassie to take shelter in the damaged elevator. Ellie, Bridget and Danny then all merge into a multi-limbed creature known as the Marauder and climb atop the elevator to attack the pair as the elevator fills with blood. The combined weight causes the elevator to plummet to the ground floor, allowing Beth and Kassie to flee into the parking lot. The Marauder captures Kassie and attempts to behead her with a chainsaw, but Beth returns and distracts it. She and Kassie destroy the Marauder's body by forcing it into a wood chipper. Ellie's severed head taunts Beth, saying she will fail as a mother, prompting her to kick Ellie's head into the chipper. Beth and Kassie escape the building together.

The next morning, Jessica heads to the parking lot to leave for her vacation when she is attacked by an unseen force.

Cast

Bruce Campbell is featured in an uncredited voice-only cameo role heard in a recording on one of the phonograph records from 1923; Campbell voices an unnamed character who forewarns the priests of the dangers of the demon resurrection ritual, and demands they destroy the book. Writer-director Cronin stated that he had Campbell voice this role intentionally, stating that he considers it to be a time-displaced Ash Williams.

Production

Development

At the film's South by Southwest (SXSW) premiere, Fede Álvarez announced that his film Evil Dead (2013), a remake of The Evil Dead (1981), would be getting a sequel. In addition, Sam Raimi confirmed plans to write Evil Dead 4 with his brother Ivan Raimi; it was later specified that the film would be a sequel to Army of Darkness (1992). At a WonderCon panel in March 2013, Bruce Campbell and Álvarez stated that their ultimate plan was for Álvarez's Evil Dead 2 and Raimi's Army of Darkness 2 to be followed by a seventh film which would merge the narratives of Ash Williams and Mia Allen. Campbell confirmed that he would reprise his role as Ash in Army of Darkness 2. Álvarez later that month tweeted to his followers that Raimi would serve as director on Army of Darkness 2. By November, Campbell expressed doubts in a fourth Evil Dead film, with Raimi's Army of Darkness 2 ultimately being redeveloped as a sequel television series, Ash vs Evil Dead, starring Campbell and airing on Starz from October 31, 2015, to April 29, 2018.

Following the cancellation of a fourth season of Ash vs Evil Dead in April 2019, that November, speaking on the future of the Evil Dead franchise, Álvarez announced that "They're just ideas right now. Nothing to announce officially. We do have a script for Don't Breathe 2. That's the only difference. We don't have a script for Evil Dead 2. But we do have a script for Don't Breathe 2 that we wrote." He also said that "When I tweeted that I was interested in seeing what people prefer. We were having some internal debates about what people would be interested in most. Unfortunately, Evil Dead 2 won. Which, I guess I would have preferred Don't Breathe 2 to win because it's one of my own creations. Obviously Evil Dead has the bigger following." In July 2019, Raimi discussed the future of the Evil Dead franchise, saying that "We'd like to make another Evil Dead feature [film] and in fact we're working on some ideas right now." Raimi said that he would be interested in making another film with Campbell; however, Campbell earlier claimed that he had retired from the role of Ash. He said another option would be a sequel to the 2013 reboot, but was unsure if Álvarez would want to make a sequel at this point because the director is a successful "artist in demand" now. Despite this, Campbell would appear in the film in a "teeny, tiny, little cameo" as a character identified by the film's writer-director Lee Cronin as a time-displaced Ash Williams.

Pre-production

In October 2019, Raimi announced at New York Comic Con that a new Evil Dead film was in development. Robert G. Tapert was set to produce, while Raimi and Campbell served as executive producers only, all under their Ghost House Pictures banner. In June 2020, Campbell revealed that Lee Cronin was handpicked by Raimi to write and direct the film, then titled Evil Dead Now, after Cronin previously collaborated with Raimi on the horror streaming series 50 States of Fright. In May 2021, New Line Cinema (who distributed the first film) had picked up the film, with it scheduled to be released on HBO Max and retitled Evil Dead Rise.

Casting

In May 2021, it was reported that Australian actresses Alyssa Sutherland and Lily Sullivan had been cast in the lead roles. In June 2021, Gabrielle Echols, Morgan Davies, and Nell Fisher were added to the cast. In July 2021, Mia Challis was reported to have joined the cast.