Evil Dead Rise: Neon NZ Review

Cast: Lily Sullivan, Alyssa Sutherland, Gabrielle Echols, Morgan Davies, Nell Fisher
Director: Lee Cronin

Grubby and grimy, the latest Evil Dead entrant is more interested in abusing its claustrophobic setting than painting a wider canvas for the Deadite series - and that's no bad thing in parts, but it does lead to a third act where the film's clearly running out of space for ideas and execution.

After a cold credits open that's possibly one of the most impressive of the genre (complete with a blasting soundtrack that promotes dread), Evil Dead Rise shifts to a decaying apartment complex where Alyssa Sutherland's under pressure single mum Ellie is forced to reunite with her estranged sister Beth (Lily Sullivan).

But when a major earthquake strikes the soon-to-be-condemned building, Ellie's oldest son discovers a creepy book beneath the basement along with some creepy sounding records. Despite being urged to leave them there, he plays the records and the book comes disturbingly to life...

There's plenty to admire in Evil Dead Rise, and it's fair to say, there's plenty to leave you cold if you're not a fan of the horror genre.

The whole project is so underlit that at times, it becomes increasingly difficult to see what is happening - but perhaps this is a perverse choice of Cronin, who uses the apartment to create a sense of claustrophobia, and the resultant atmosphere of an earthquake something that gives the blackness and bleakness its MO.

Equally, the side supporting characters outside of the core family members who live in other apartments seemingly solely exist to be taken out during an impressive peephole led slaughter sequence that's cleverly executed.

Central to Evil Dead Rise's success though are Sutherland and Sullivan, who prove to be more than capable of taking the mantle handed to them by the franchise. While Sutherland's role is more demonic and unhinged, Sullivan manages to battle demons of a more human nature as well with a tried and tested plot about being a mother to a family she doesn't really know while grappling with the possibility of becoming one too.

But it's the unsettling sequences of Evil Dead Rise which linger long in the memory after the film's released its grip. Many of them are psychologically upsetting and play to family fears of children, and the young actors make great fist of what's handed to them - which in some parts are as bloody as can be.

While Evil Dead Rise may have an oppressive grimy feel that's uncomfortable, it does feel like it's lacking some of the franchise's trademark horror and a decent third act finale. That's not to dismiss Cronin's handling of the material, more a comment on how the script paints itself into a corner that's narratively tricky to escape.

However, for fans of the Raimi series, the re-setting of the movie to other confines opens up new possibilities - but there are enough eye-winking moments to know it's not moved on too far from what it always was.