“Evil Dead Rise” director Lee Cronin promises fans all the blood and carnage we expect from an “Evil Dead” film. Since its inception in 1981, the franchise has been known for its blend of gore and undead violence. While the 1st three entries focus much more on “splat stick” style horror by blending gore with Ash Williams’ (Bruce Campbell) very physical slapstick style of comedy. A style that carried on to the show “Ash vs The Evil Dead.” The 2013 remake from Fede Álvarez took a far more serious approach to the Sam Raimi-created universe, but it still kept the gore intact.
According to the director, who was hand-picked by Raimi himself, “Evil Dead Rise” will continue the deadites’ violent legacy. “It straps you onto a rocket that’s fueled by blood,” he said. “You can either get off or you stay on ’til it explodes.”
“I had to hire an industrial kitchen to create the amount of blood we needed,” Cronin explained, claiming he ran through 6,500 liters of it. Some of it even made its way home with him. “When I was checking out, I had to warn the landlord, ‘You’re going to find bloody handprints all over the apartment – but they’re not real, honest!’”
With that being said the new film will deviate from the previous entries in a few ways. But the director assures fans this is still “undoubtedly an Evil Dead movie, but it takes the lore and pulls it in a new direction”. This time the creaky old cabin in isolated woods is being replaced with the bustling city of Los Angeles, California. The beloved Ash Williams-style character will be replaced by reunited sisters Ellie (Alyssa Sutherland) and Beth (Lily Sullivan). But that doesn’t seem like it will change much in terms of tone for these films. But you can see for yourself in the first-look image below.
“Evil Dead Rise” will hit theaters April 21st, 2023, we’ll keep you update on any new developments.
