“Evil Dead Rise” wants to be a family drama and a horror movie at once, and mostly succeeds because it never forgets which side of the equation matters more. Lee Cronin directs and writes the film, which stars Lily Sullivan and Alyssa Sutherland as Beth and Ellie, two estranged sisters forced into a fight for survival against Deadites rising through their Los Angeles apartment building. It is a sequel to the 2013 remake and the fifth entry in the franchise, and it plays fast, loud, and mostly very funny.
The setup is simple. Beth, a guitar technician, finds out she is pregnant and calls her sister Ellie for help. Ellie has been raising her three kids alone since her husband left. Then an earthquake opens a hidden chamber beneath the parking lot, and Danny, the eldest child, pulls up a strange book and three phonograph records from 1923. The records trace a priest’s doomed attempt to study the book, which turns out to be one of three volumes of the Naturom Demonto, better known as the Necronomicon Ex-Mortis. The second record reveals the priest’s secret research and the incantation that summoned the Deadites. The third record brings in Bruce Campbell, playing an unnamed character who warns the priests to destroy the book. Cronin says he had Campbell voice this role intentionally, calling it a time-displaced Ash Williams.
“Mommy loves you to death.”
That tagline sums up the whole movie. The Deadites are not just monsters under the bed. They are family, twisted and hungry. Beth and Ellie are the ones who have to kill them, and the film spends real time establishing why the sisters are estranged before it lets the demons in. That choice pays off more often than it misses.
Trailer, via Warner Bros..
Beth and Ellie Carry the Weight
Sullivan and Sutherland anchor the film. Beth is the practical one, Ellie the haunted one, and both actors play the tension between grief and terror with a lightness that keeps the horror from collapsing into camp. Their scenes together, especially the ones where Ellie returns from the dead and tries to get back inside the apartment, are the best stretches of the movie. Davies, Echols, and Fisher round out the family, and Fisher’s performance as Kassie stands out as a child caught between fear and curiosity.
The supporting cast fills out the building. Jayden Daniels plays Gabriel, Mirabai Pease plays Teresa, Tai Wano plays Scott, and Noah Paul plays Bruce. Melissa Xiao appears as a newscaster, and Billy Reynolds-McCarthy plays Jake. The neighbors help lay Ellie to rest in her bedroom after she dies, only to find the staircase collapsed, the elevator damaged, and no way to reach the fire escape. The film’s strength is its willingness to let the characters breathe before the next wave of Deadites arrives.
The Horror Is Fast, Not Slow
The film runs 96 minutes and moves quickly. There is no time for lingering dread here. Deadites arrive, people die, and the survivors move on. That pace works in the film’s favor. It keeps the audience off balance, and the frequent cuts between Beth and Ellie’s apartment and the lake cabin where cousins Teresa and Jessica are vacationing with Jessica’s boyfriend Caleb create a sense of constant threat. The cabin scenes, where Jessica becomes possessed and decapitates Caleb while levitating over the lake, are the film’s most visually striking moments, though they pale beside the apartment building sequences.
The film’s international co-production between New Zealand, Ireland, and the United States shows in the sets. The apartment building feels lived-in, worn down, and easy to lose your way in. The earthquake opens a chamber beneath the parking lot, and the film uses that space to stage some of its best action. Danny’s discovery of the book and the records sets the plot in motion, and the film spends enough time with those artifacts to make their significance land.
Bruce Campbell’s Voice Returns
Campbell’s cameo is a small but effective touch. He warns the priests about the dangers of the demon resurrection ritual and demands they destroy the book. It is a brief scene, but it ties the new film back to the older ones in a satisfying way. Cronin’s framing of Campbell as a time-displaced Ash Williams makes the cameo feel less like a stunt and more like a genuine callback.
The film’s development history is worth noting. Plans for direct sequels to the 2013 remake and the 1992 film “Army of Darkness” were scrapped, along with a fourth season of the TV series “Ash vs Evil Dead.” Sam Raimi announced a new film in October 2019, with Rob Tapert producing, Raimi and Bruce Campbell executive producing, and Cronin writing and directing. New Line Cinema, the distributor of the first film, was involved early on. Principal photography took place in New Zealand from June to October 2021.
The Film’s Critical Reception
The film premiered at South by Southwest on March 15, 2023, and released in the United States on April 21, 2023, through Warner Bros. Pictures. Its theatrical release followed positive test screenings, reversing a plan to debut on HBO Max. Critics responded positively, and the film grossed $147 million worldwide, becoming the highest-grossing film in the series.
That success is notable because the film does not lean on spectacle. It leans on character and timing. The jokes land, the scares land, and the final act, which forces Beth and Ellie to fight the Deadites while protecting their children, holds together. The film’s ending leaves the door open for more, but it also respects the story it has told.
A Family Battle Worth Watching
“Evil Dead Rise” is not a reinvention. It is a continuation, and a confident one. Cronin knows what the series is about, and he builds on it without losing the thread. The film’s strength is its commitment to making Beth and Ellie’s bond the engine of the story. The Deadites are the threat, but the real nightmare is the family they come from.
The film is not perfect. Some of the middle stretches drag, and the pacing occasionally sacrifices clarity for speed. But the leads carry it, and the final act earns its stakes. This is a film about sisters who refuse to let their past tear them apart, even when the dead are trying to pull them apart.
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