A Reboot Worthy of the ‘Evil Dead’ Name

2023s 'Evil Dead Rise' hits all the marks in just the right spot, to keep both horror and comedy fans happy.

Evil Dead has been loved by millions since its first release back in 1983 with the legendary Bruce Campbell as Ash Williams, and we're happy to say that after all these years the series still has its charm. It’s still gory, funny, creative, and full of an absurd amount of blood and vomit, creating a similar feel to the original back in the 80s.

Even though this is a reboot of the franchise, Ash is not in it, but instead replaced by a new Character accidentally being thrown into the demon's mess.

Here’s the plot: After a mother reunites with her sister, one of the kids finds an old book that causes the mother to become possessed by a demon, which puts the rest of the family at the risk of death.

Doesn’t sound like the typical evil dead movie, does it? There's no cabin in the woods, no group of dumb teens, and no Ash. So, what makes it worthy of the iconic title? Five words: Gore, performance, comedy, chainsaw, and shotgun.

The gore in this film wasn’t as over the top as all the other movies in the long-running franchise, sure, there are some disgusting bits, such as when the mother vomits everywhere and a pole to the head, but it isn’t too over the top. It feels more uncomfortable than disgust, such as in the scene with the girl eating a wine glass. You see her chew it and watch it slowly go down her throat, it piercing through the skin as it travels, and of course, the cheese grater to the leg which was painful to watch. The final is when that uncomfortably turns into disgust, which I will leave for you to see if you decide to go watch this.

The performances in this movie were also knocked out of the park great! Especially from Alyssa Sutherland, who plays the mother of the kids. She is unbelievably freaky in this movie going from a caring mother to a sadistic demon in a matter of seconds. It’s like the shape of her face changes into this sharp look with a contorted evil smile. The way she stumbles and crawls throughout the house is like the girl from ‘The Ring’, and the look in her eyes is always pure joy making her smile even worse.

Obviously, an evil dead movie isn’t complete without at least a little bit of comedy, and this delivers every time. You never expect the jokes to come as they are often at the height of tension, but the movie has a good mix of verbal and slapstick humour, always managing to get a laugh out of the audience despite the circumstances in the movie.

And finally, the two things that need to be in every single Evil Dead movie imaginable... The chainsaw and shotgun combination. This movie has both but sadly the shotgun doesn’t get as much love as the chainsaw, only appearing for a minute or two before being holstered. The chainsaw on the other hand gets a great introduction and action until the end of the movie.

The ‘Evil Dead’ franchise is an amazing addition to the series. It's full of blood, gore, and groovy moments that will be engraved in your skull for years. Go see this in the cinema. You will not be disappointed.