Evil Dead Rise (2023)
Three films in, and I'm starting to think Evil Dead and I are just not meant for each other. I went into Lee Cronin's Evil Dead Rise having already sat through both the original and Evil Dead II, neither of which exactly set my world on fire. I'll be straight with you: I wanted this one to be the one that finally made it click. It wasn't.
That's not to say it's a disaster. Evil Dead Rise is a loud, bloody, unapologetic horror film that does exactly what it says on the tin. The special effects and prosthetic makeup work are absolutely brilliant, as you'd expect from a franchise that's essentially built its entire identity around gore and demonic mutilation. Alyssa Sutherland, as the possessed mother at the centre of it all, is doing genuinely unhinged, physically committed work. She throws herself into the role with a ferocity that demands attention, and she's easily the best thing in the film.
But here's the thing. Strip away the visceral splatter, and what you're left with is a beat-for-beat retread of everything that came before it. Find the book, play the tape, watch someone get possessed, survive the chaos. The only meaningful change is the setting, swapping a remote woodland shack for a crumbling Los Angeles apartment building. That's a genuinely interesting idea on paper, trapping characters vertically, hemmed in by floors above and below, nowhere to run. In practice, though, the film doesn't do nearly enough with it. The claustrophobia that should be suffocating just sort of... sits there.
What really dragged me out of it, more than anything else, was the supporting characters. The young actors playing the kids are among the most grating I've encountered in a horror film in years. They spend most of the runtime either screaming or making decisions so bafflingly stupid that any tension the film builds up evaporates on the spot. Horror asks you to care whether people live or die. I found myself not particularly fussed either way, which is a significant problem.
And then there's the question of genuine suspense, which is where Evil Dead Rise really falls flat for me. This is not a film interested in slow-burn dread or psychological unease. It's a relentless, exhausting slog from one set piece to the next, and after a while it all blurs into noise. The possession itself lacks any real terrifying angle. There's nothing beneath the surface, nothing that gets under your skin. It's just a demon that wants to chop everyone up, and the film is content to leave it at that.
If you want to see how demonic horror can be genuinely suffocating and grounded, go and watch When Evil Lurks. Same broad territory, handled with a far more unsettling, suffocating grip. That film left me genuinely shaken. This one left me checking how much runtime was left.
I'm aware that hardcore fans of the franchise will likely have a brilliant time with Evil Dead Rise, and fair play to them. It is technically impressive, and it delivers exactly what the series has always promised. But for someone who's never quite gelled with Evil Dead to begin with, this was a noisy, carbon-copy exercise that confirmed my suspicions rather than converted me. Two and a half stars, and I suspect I'm being generous.
Rating: ★★½ | Year: 2023 | Watched: 2026-06-17
Where to watch
Watch in the UK
Stream: Sky Go · Now TV Cinema · Studiocanal Presents Amazon Channel
Rent: Apple TV Store · Rakuten TV · Amazon Video · Google Play Movies
Buy: Apple TV Store · Rakuten TV · Amazon Video · Google Play Movies
Physical: Amazon UK · Zavvi
Watch in the US
Stream: HBO Max Amazon Channel · YouTube TV · HBO Max
Rent: Amazon Video · Apple TV Store · Google Play Movies · YouTube
Buy: Amazon Video · Apple TV Store · Google Play Movies · YouTube
Physical: Amazon US
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