It’s hard to believe that it’s been a decade since we’ve seen a proper “Evil Dead” movie. After the fantastic remake—boot (?), Warner brought in newcomer Lee Cronin to lend a new flavor to the universe. What was originally intended as an exclusively streaming release on their subscription service, Warner chanced it by bringing their movie to theaters exclusively. Thankfully their risk pulled off beautifully as their low budget return to the horror universe that Sam Raimi built ended up being a box office and crucial powerhouse. For good reason, too.
A road-weary Beth pays an overdue visit to her older sister Ellie, who is raising three kids on her own in a cramped L.A apartment. The sisters’ reunion is cut short by the discovery of a mysterious book, the Necronomicon Ex Mortis deep in the bowels of Ellie’s building, giving rise to flesh-possessing demons, and thrusting Beth into a primal battle for survival as she is faced with the most nightmarish version of motherhood imaginable.
“Evil Dead Rise” is a brand new twist on the “Evil Dead” movie series that takes the whole pomp and circumstance out of the cabin in the woods and in to the inner city. “Evil Dead Rise” effectively transforms a run down tenement in to the cabin in the woods, ushering in a battle for survival that is just fantastic. “Evil Dead Rise” is easily one of my top five movies of 2023, it’s a movie I can’t stop talking about, and a movie that I love for its overtones and themes. While the original “Evil Dead” movies are wonderful in their own right, “Evil Dead Rise” brings something to the table in the sense of taking heroine Beth’s battle for survival in to an allegory on motherhood and family.
Beth is weary to have a child, is thrust with protecting a child against their mother, and has to relinquish all self-doubt and safe guard children in the face of the rising tide of Deadites. “Evil Dead Rise” is just a bonkers, vicious, and creepy entry in to the “Evil Dead” series, and it’s one I fully intend on re-visiting as much as I’ve re-visited the prior films in the series.
Sadly there are no bonus features. None. Nada. Nil. Goose egg. What the frick, Warner? There is so much you could have put in this new release. No bloopers? No behind the scenes? No interviews? No Easter Eggs? No sit down discussions with Bruce Campbell and or Sam Raimi? No looks at the special effects? No cheeky features highlighting the Book of the Dead? No audio commentary with the kids? No discussion with Lee Cronin on his experience working on the film? Nothing?! There’s literally nothing on this release, not on the 4K Disc or the Blu-Ray, which is a damn shame. It is downright lazy. I’d think Warner would have packed this release for the fans, rewarding them for making their reluctant theatrical release a huge hit, but no. I’m not mad, I’m just disappointed. There is the Digital voucher for consumers, at the very least.