It’s time for the Evil Dead to rise once more, as the return of the Necronomicon promises a brutal, bloody show.
We’ve been excited to see this movie since it was first announced. Quite understandably so, as it’s poised to be one of the best horror movies of 2023 (which is saying something when you consider all of the scary movies on the horizon this year). The Evil Dead Rise trailer only confirmed what we’d suspected; this movie looks incredible.
Need a primer on all things Evil Dead? Then head over to our Deadites 101 article here!
It premiered at SXSW on March 15th to stellar acclaim from critics everywhere. Amidst all the appreciation and accolades, it’s necessary to revisit the hoops and bounds this film traversed to become possible.
The Long Road to Evil Dead IV
Fans had been pining for more Evil Dead content since Army of Darkness in 1992. Since it was not a box office success, Sam Raimi had difficulty procuring funding to make a sequel. The problem in creating a sequel was heightened by the fact that the director ran into a legal battle with Universal Studios over the rights to the film.
Into the millennium, Freddy vs. Jason fans may remember the rumors circulating that a sequel was planned; this time, it would be Freddy vs. Jason vs. Ash. Though there was a comic book series with this name, the movie seemed destined never to happen.
It was unfortunate because, due to the insistence of Jason Goes to Hell director Adam Marcus, Jason Voorhees is a Deadite. Therefore, bringing Ash into the equation makes sense if you take the Deadite sideline as canon (I don’t, for the record, but our Editor-In-Chief does, so that’s all a discussion for perhaps another day.)
Sam Raimi’s Evil Dead IV Dreams
In 2009, news broke of a potential Evil Dead IV directed by Sam Raimi, co-written by brothers Ivan and Sam Raimi. Though this film seemingly disappeared into the ether, horror fans shouldn’t give up hope for a Sam Raimi-directed Evil Dead film, as Bruce Campbell recently went on record with Fangoria to say that if Sam Raimi directs another Evil Dead movie, he’ll come back as Ash. Though he has not indicated this will happen, Fangoria shared that Sam Raimi is interested in directing another horror movie. Maybe Sam Raimi will find this commitment inspirational? Fingers crossed.
In 2013, we finally received a new Evil Dead film. The Evil Dead requel, directed by Fede Alvarez, was a creepy watch, though its re-imaginative nature deemed it not considered Evil Dead canon. He was set to reprise the directorial seat for Evil Dead 2 but instead chose to direct Don’t Breathe. Thus, the film was relocated to the void until further notice. It began to crawl back out again with the premiere of a horror series and the return of Bruce Campbell.
Ash vs. Evil Dead
In 2015, Deadites everywhere, who knew, rejoiced as Ash vs. Evil Dead aired as a Starz Original series. It has an astounding 99% on Rotten Tomatoes and was beloved by fans of the franchise. However, creators sensed the end was coming prematurely, as Bruce Campbell said in an interview with Collider, “We knew the ratings were bad after the end of the second season. We just knew it. No one knew what Starz was.” After the third season, it was canceled.
An interview with the actor two years later would be much more positive.
The Evil Dead Sequel Confirmed
A 2020 interview with Empire would have Bruce Campbell reveal that a new Evil Dead movie was rising. He shared that Lee Cronin would be taking over as director, and Bruce Campbell would not be appearing in it, though he would be working behind the scenes in production. (Since the film’s release, Lee Cronin has said that there is a glimpse of Bruce Campbell in Evil Dead Rise and that he’ll give fifty dollars to the first person to spot him.)
By the Spring of 2021, Evil Dead Rise was announced as a straight-to-streaming release by HBO Max.
Evil Dead Rise on HBO Max
The hype grew over the following year, with a promo poster circulating online. However, as the summer of 2022 neared its end, anxiety over whether the film would be released grew. The release date had yet to be confirmed, and HBO Max had abruptly canceled other Warner Bros collaborations, Batgirl and Scoob!: Holiday Haunt despite production being almost complete.
There was additional worry surrounding the film’s fate, as there were rumors that the film would release theatrically after test screenings went remarkably well. It was debatable how executives at HBO Max may feel if they lost the right to premiere the movie exclusively.
Lee Cronin tweeted for horror fans to “Keep the faith,” while other horror fans came through with the plan if it did end up slain along with the other productions.
Finally, at the end of August 2022, the much-awaited news was announced—Evil Dead Rise releases on April 21st, but in theaters instead of on streaming.
What to Expect from Evil Dead Rise
A decade after the last Evil Dead film was released, Evil Dead Rise is finally here. Sam Raimi and Bruce Campbell worked as executive producers, with Robert Tapert producing; the original trio worked together to make the first three Evil Dead films possible. Digital effects were used sparingly; even the wall-crawling scenes are the real deal. Evil Dead is back.
Lee Cronin shared in a SlashFilm interview that he used 6500 liters of blood (or approximately 1,717 gallons) to make Evil Dead Rise. For comparison, Stanley Kubrick used about 300 gallons of blood to make the elevator blood waterfall scene in The Shining. In fact, the film used so much blood that they had to utilize an industrial kitchen to make it all.
Evil Dead Rise Cast and New Elements
Evil Dead Rise stars Lily Sullivan, Alyssa Sutherland, Morgan Davies, and Gabrielle Echols. One significant difference between this release and the many appearances of Evil Dead that have preceded it is the incorporation of children as main characters into the franchise.
Following a single mother’s exposure to the evil book during a reunion with her sister in her high-rise New York City apartment building, a prominent cast member (Nell Fisher) is only ten years old- a first for an Evil Dead movie.
In an interview with Fangoria, Bruce Campbell said: “We wanted to show audiences the next generation of Evil Dead, which is way more horrifying now. I mean, the shit that you can do and the tricks that you can play now? This audience is doomed!”
Why Evil Dead Rise Tops 2023 Horror Movies
With outstanding reviews, Evil Dead Rise looks to rank high amongst top contenders for the best horror movie of 2023. I doubt we will need to wait another decade for another installment in the franchise after the success of this film’s debut.
Watch Evil Dead Rise yourself in theaters on April 21st, 2023! Expect it to release to HBO Max sometime later.