Director: Lee Cronin
Starring: Lily Sullivan, Alyssa Sutherland, Morgan Davies, Gabrielle Echols, Nell Fisher
Certificate: 18
Run Time: 97 mins

Evil Dead Rise is the long-awaited fifth instalment to the popular supernatural horror series around an ancient Sumerian text that wreaks havoc upon a group. The original trilogy cemented director Sam Raimi’s career with its fusion of grotesque horror and comedy, as well as later sequels’ use of stop-motion and prosthetic makeup effects. Fede Alvarez rebooted the franchise in 2013 with more of a straight-edged, gory agenda to a more muted but still ultimately positive response. 

Irish filmmaker Lee Cronin assumes the director’s chair for Evil Dead Rise, which moves the concept from a cabin in the woods to a dingy block of flats in the city (although the film opens on a rural slaying). Beth (Lily Sullivan) and Ellie (Alyssa Sutherland) are two estranged sisters. Ellie is a single mother to teenagers Danny and Bridget, and a child Kassie. When Beth comes to visit the family and an earthquake shakes the building, Danny discovers a strange book in a concealed chamber and unleashes a supernatural terror on the block. 

Unfortunately, Evil Dead Rise is a complete misfire and makes virtually every mistake possible in the horror rulebook. Cronin seems content to just go through the motions and the film lacks a gleeful edge or any kind of personal stamp. I didn’t connect with any of the characters and Cronin fails to make use of the urban setting. While we get to briefly meet a handful of the neighbours, they’re cordoned off pretty quickly and Cronin fails to convey the feeling of a family being ripped apart. Evil Dead Rise also criminally seems to go against the franchise logic in how only one character can be possessed at a time. The score by Stephen McKeon is disappointingly anonymous and the cinematography is crushingly dull, lazily resorting to quick cuts.

The film earns its 18-certificate with lashings of blood and guts, although the overreliance on CGI lessens its impact. It’s a shame Cronin didn’t pursue the use of practical effects and even Evil Dead (2013) respectably shunned CGI. Still, there’s some mild fun to be had in the film’s final blood-drenched set-piece which slightly elevates the turgid mess one has to endure beforehand.

Evil Dead Rise is by far and away the worst of the series and I fail to understand the largely positive critical reception. Cronin fails to demonstrate an understanding of the qualities that made the other films work. It’s a shame he doesn’t make the most of the urban setting and centres the story around a rote carousel of characters. If a sequel is commissioned (the film’s ending sets one up), it would be wise to head back to the drawing board to avoid further tarnishing this long-enduring series.  

⭐⭐ (Poor)