Evil Dead Rise

Evil Dead Rise is a 2023 American supernatural horror film written and directed by Lee Cronin. The film serves as the fifth installment in the Evil Dead franchise. The film stars Alyssa Sutherland, Lily Sullivan, Gabrielle Echols, Morgan Davies, Nell Fisher, and Mia Challis. The film follows two sisters trying to survive and save their family from demonic creatures known as Deadites.
The film's development was preceded by scrapped plans for sequels to Evil Dead (2013) and Army of Darkness (1992) that would have led to a crossover. By October 2019, Sam Raimi announced that a new film was in development, with Robert G. Tapert producing, while Raimi and Bruce Campbell executive produce, and Cronin writing and directing the project. New Line Cinema (the first film's distributor) was announced as a production company involved, alongside Ghost House Pictures, Raimi's production company. Principal photography began in New Zealand on June 6, 2021, and wrapped on October 27, 2021.
Originally intended for a digital release on HBO Max, Evil Dead Rise had its premiere at South by Southwest on March 15, 2023, and was released in the United States on April 21, by Warner Bros. Pictures.
==Premise==
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 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.
==Cast==
*Lily Sullivan as Beth
*Alyssa Sutherland as Ellie
*Morgan Davies as Danny
*Gabrielle Echols as Bridget
*Nell Fisher as Kassie
*Mia Challis as Jessica
*Tai Wano as Scott
*Jayden Daniels as Gabriel
*Billy Reynolds-McCarthy as Jake
==Production==
===Development===
At the South by Southwest premiere, Fede Álvarez announced that his film Evil Dead (2013), a remake of The Evil Dead (1981), would be getting a sequel and was in the works. In addition, Sam Raimi confirmed plans to write Evil Dead 4 with his brother Ivan Raimi; it was later specified that the film would be a sequel to Army of Darkness (1992). At a WonderCon panel in March 2013, Bruce Campbell and Álvarez stated that their ultimate plan was for Álvarez's Evil Dead 2 and Raimi's Army of Darkness 2 to be followed by a seventh film which would merge the narratives of Ash Williams and Mia Allen. On October 30, 2013, co-writer Rodo Sayagues confirmed to DesdeHollywood that he and Álvarez would not return for the sequel. That same month, Álvarez took to his Twitter that the rumor was not true. Campbell confirmed that he would reprise his role as Ash in Army of Darkness 2. Raimi was later confirmed to serve as director on Army of Darkness 2. By November, Campbell expressed doubts in a fourth Evil Dead film. In September 2017, during a panel at Fan Expo Canada, Campbell stated that he believes the only successful future for the franchise is via a premium cable network, citing Ash vs Evil Dead on Starz as an example.
In November 2018, Álvarez announced that "They're just ideas right now. Nothing to announce officially. We do have a script for Don't Breathe 2. That's the only difference. We don't have a script for Evil Dead 2. But we do have a script for Don't Breathe 2 that we wrote." He also said that "When I tweeted that I was interested in seeing what people prefer. We were having some internal debates about what people would be interested in most. Unfortunately, Evil Dead 2 won. Which, I guess I would have preferred Don't Breathe 2 to win because it's one of my own creations. Obviously Evil Dead has the bigger following." On July 10, 2019, Raimi discussed the future of the Evil Dead franchise, saying that "We'd like to make another Evil Dead feature and in fact we're working on some ideas right now." Raimi said that he would be interested in making another film with Campbell, however, Campbell earlier claimed that he has retired from the role of Ash. He said another option would be a sequel to the 2013 reboot, however, he is unsure if Álvarez would want to make a sequel at this point because the director is a successful "artist in demand" now.
===Pre-production===
In October 2019, Raimi announced at New York Comic Con that a new film is in development. Robert G. Tapert was set to produce, while Raimi and Campbell will serve as executive producers only, all under their Ghost House Pictures banner. In June 2020, Campbell revealed that Lee Cronin was handpicked by Raimi to write and direct the film, then titled Evil Dead Now. In May 2021, New Line Cinema (who distributed the first film) had picked up the film, with it scheduled to be released on HBO Max and retitled Evil Dead Rise.
===Casting===
In May 2021, it was revealed that Alyssa Sutherland and Lily Sullivan had been cast in the lead roles. In June 2021, Gabrielle Echols, Morgan Davies, and Nell Fisher were added to the cast. In July 2021, Mia Challis joined the cast.
===Filming===
Principal photography began in New Zealand on June 6, 2021, with Dave Garbett serving as cinematographer. Garbett previously served as a cinematographer on several episodes of Ash vs Evil Dead. On July 14, 2021, Cronin revealed that filming was officially half way done. Filming officially concluded on October 27, 2021, with Cronin stating the film used over 6,500 liters (about 1,717 gallons) of fake blood.
===Post-production===
In April 2022, Stephen McKeon was announced to be composing the score, after collaborating with Cronin on The Hole in the Ground (2019). Bryan Shaw served as editor on the film, who previously edited 2013's Evil Dead.
==Release==
Evil Dead Rise had its world premiere at South by Southwest (SXSW) on March 15, 2023, before its theatrical release on April 21, 2023, by Warner Bros. Pictures.
The film was originally set for a streaming-only release on HBO Max, but was moved to a theatrical release in August 2022 as part of a restructuring plan for film distribution at Warner Bros. that would see the studio relying less on HBO Max-only releases and more on theatrical releases.
==Reception==
On the review aggregator website Rotten Tomatoes, 100% of 10 critics' reviews are positive, with an average rating of 8.1/10. Metacritic, which uses a weighted average, assigned the film a score of 69 out of 100, based on 6 critics, indicating "generally favorable reviews".
==Videos==
Evil Dead Rise – Official Trailer (Green Band)|Trailer 1 (Green Band version)
Evil Dead Rise – Official Trailer (Red Band)|Trailer 1 (Red Band version)
==References==
==External links==
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Category:2020s American films
Category:2020s English-language films
Category:2023 films
Category:2023 horror films
Category:American horror thriller films
Category:American splatter films
Category:American supernatural horror films
Category:Dark fantasy films
Category:Demons in film
Category:The Evil Dead (franchise) films
Category:Films about spirit possession
Category:Films set in apartment buildings
Category:Films set in Los Angeles
Category:Films shot in New Zealand
Category:Ghost House Pictures films
Category:Remakes of American films
Category:Warner Bros. films
Category:Works by Lee Cronin
Category:New Line Cinema films
Category:2:35:1 Aspect Ratio Films