Lee Cronin’s “Evil Dead Rise”: Review, Ending & Creatures Explained

In the world of horror, Sam Raimi’s “Evil Dead” film franchise has always stood as a cinematic landmark when it comes to classic, fun gross-out thrills. The franchise has seen several movements from its quintessential roots as polished and engaging cabin horror films to fun, zany horror comedies with “Army of Darkness” and 2015’s “Ash vs Evil Dead” series. In 2013 though, the franchise gave us a modern retelling of five teenagers tampering with forces beyond their control and facing the gory consequences of playing with the dead. While the attempt to steer the franchise in a direction to revive its roots had admirable intentions, it didn’t quite capture the mind-blowing highs of the original 1981 forerunner. It was by no means unfaithful or disrespectful to the grizzly spirit of the franchise…it just felt more like a lingering corpse than resurrected Deadite.

This time, however, relative newcomer Lee Cronin steps in with a fresh vision for the franchise, moving the terror from the isolation of a creepy cabin to the descending perversion of a not-so-happy home. Will Cronin’s “Evil Dead Rise” propel the property to new terrifying heights or will it prove a gaudier, more effects-heavy ripoff of Ari Aster’s “Hereditary”? Let’s find out!

Review

Lee Cronin makes a bold statement in the opening scene of the film which sets the tone and expectations for the rest of it. He’s here to do one thing and one thing only: to severely unnerve you. To that effect, “Evil Dead Rise” is an absolute masterpiece. The plot of the film follows the story of Alyssa Sutherland’s Ellie, a single mother of three who has to deal with her prodigal now-pregnant sister, Beth who is played by Lily Sullivan. When Ellie’s son Danny stumbles upon a mysterious book in the aftermath of an earthquake, all hell is unleashed on the dilapidated apartment floor. Ellie is possessed by the Deadites and now the family must survive through the night.

Though simple in its premise, Cronin demonstrates a profound understanding of the horror genre. It isn’t just about stellar effects and intense creeps (which they are plenty of here), true horror comes from the violation of what is known and sacred. Here, Cronin plays on the pain and agony of watching a loved one be destroyed from the inside out before coming to terms that something else now wears their face. Something that mirrors a very familiar trauma of the real world all too well but this time it’s amped to eleven and you’re trapped with the victims. That being said, Cronin deftly balances the infinite cruelty of the Deadites with bone-chilling terror and jet-black humorous foreplay. We won’t lie, there are moments when we found ourselves laughing at the sick barbs thrown by the demons.

Actor Alyssa Sutherland’s performance as the possessed Ellie is hands-down the best part of the entire film. Right from the moment of her possession, Sutherland brings a relentless passion to her role as a demented, gleeful spawn from the pit of hell. Everything from her facial ticks to her unnatural contortions and movements serves to confront us with the terrifying biological reality of the situation. All done with minimal CGI and mostly practical effects. Simply astounding.

One gripe we had was with the three kids Danny, Bridget and Kassie played by Morgan Davies, Gabrielle Echols and Nell Fisher. When the proverbial shit hits the fan, the three of them are meant to serve as the emotional anchor for the audience. While we wouldn’t say that they were dispassionate, they were showing more poise and restraint than any sane human would if placed in such a diabolical situation. Fear not though because they become much more interesting near the end. Lily Sullivan does a decent enough job as the badass aunt struggling to save her family but she’s easily overshadowed by Sutherland’s demonic presence on screen.

All this glorious madness is made possible by Cronin’s skilled special effects team. The film has clearly not forgotten its roots, and proceeds to deliver a gore feast that will have you skipping meals for days! Through sharp and visceral camerawork and a rather nasty eye for detail and body horror, Cronin and company manage to wring so much power and versatility from the use of practical effects and performances in the horror sequences. Sometimes it’s played for dramatic tension. Sometimes it’s played to intimidate. And sometimes it’s just played for a sick laugh! We don’t want to give too much away but let’s just say, you won’t be looking at cheese graters the same way ever again!

Lee Cronin’s “Evil Dead Rise” boldly removes itself from the nostalgic comfort zone to bring us easily one of the best instalments in the franchise to date. So lovingly faithful to the spirit of the original films and yet so unapologetic in its approach to fright and fun, it is a stirring triumph for fans and a strong introduction for a new generation. It is as relentless, horrifying and sinisterly silly as any Deadite we’ve seen thus far and we love it!

Ending Explained

In the world of “Evil Dead”, there are no real happy endings because evil always returns. However, Beth does manage to save her niece Kassie and her unborn baby from the clutches of the Deadites who decided to pull a Rat King from “The Last of Us- Part II” and merge the three possessed members of the family to form a conjoined entity. Through the help of a wood chipper, Beth seemingly defeats the demons by destroying their possessed bodies. The two flee and survive the ordeal. Unfortunately, a young teenage girl named Jessica looking to go on a trip with her friend becomes the latest victim of the Deadites as she enters the bloody parking lot of the apartment. Thus, we now know how the rampage at the lake in the film’s prologue begins.

Based on the ending, it seems that “Evil Dead Rise” is hinting that a future sequel will most likely be set near the lake area and woods, much like the original film. If that’s the case, then we could also see a new version of Ash Williams and friends hanging out in the woods, only to be confronted by a possessed Jessica. The ending of the film also implies that Beth could take up the mantle of becoming the new Ash Williams, who becomes a renowned hunter of Deadites and slayer of evil!

Explaining the Evil Dead

Some of you might be wondering: What exactly were the creatures possessing Ellie and the residents of the apartment? Well, they’re sadistic demonic entities that used to reign over the Earth before humanity came along and they were banished to an alternate spiritual realm, sometimes known as Hell or the Deadlands. The only way they can manifest in the real world is through possessing a host. Unfortunately, the souls of their hosts are often dragged into that realm with them unless their still-living body is exorcised of the Deadite’s influence or someone goes to the realm to free their souls to enter into presumably Heaven. So yes, the souls of Ellie, Bridget, Danny and the residents of the apartment are trapped with the Deadites in the afterlife till further notice. Bummer.

Well, is there any way to truly destroy a Deadite once and for all? Officially speaking, the answer is no. Destroying or severely wounding their hosts’ bodies may slow them down for a second but they’ll either find a way to recover or just possess a new one. Deadites can be exorcised from the bodies of humans and sent back to their realm through various religious or holy tools but that doesn’t really solve the problem.

The Deadites are primarily linked to the Book of the Dead, so perhaps if someone found a way to destroy it, they would lose their main way of getting free on Earth. In any case, we’re interested to see how Lee Cronin and Warner Bros. Pictures plan to build on the legacy of Sam Raimi’s “Evil Dead” universe and where it’ll go from here!