Evil Dead Rise doesn’t fully rise to the occasion

Is too much of a good thing real when it comes to this film series? spoilers ahead

BABE CORNER Crybaby

BRIDAL PARTY Cool Down

EMERALD OSAGIE What The Heart Sounds Like

LITTLE SIMZ NO THANK YOU

MAUVEY Before The Album 2: A Brief Overview

SKYE WALLACE

Terribly Good

GAYANCE

Mascarade

ANDY SHAUF Norm

YOUNG FATHERS Heavy Heavy

BOYGENIUS The Record

UNKNOWN MORTAL ORCHESTRA V

DEBBY FRIDAY GOOD LUCK

THE NEW PORNOGRAPHERS

Continue As A Guest

WINONA FOREVER Acrobat

Cody

Does the video for this song glorify smoking cigarettes, or is the female lead evoking a Euphoriainspired callback to Patricia Arquette's Alabama Whitman Worley from the Christian Slater classic True Romance? Two better questions: 1. Is San Araya an actual place? 2. Was this video shot in Vancouver? Probs.

Mauvey - 1+1=THR33

I usually hate misinformation. But in this case, I'm imagining it's just tongue-in-cheek and not mathematical fake news intended to confuse and obfuscate the masses of well-intentioned and trusting young music lovers. The opener to Mauvey's Fall mixtape thus recalls Radiohead's opener from Hail to the Thief

This song is an upbeat and almost funky little ditty that almost recalls "we got the beat" and other 1980s catchy, punky pop tunes. Not very 1980s, the key line: "Goin' on tour, and everything's expensive / but we're built to spill, and it's gotta happen." Featuring a musical car crash!

Devours released this single a couple months back, and treats it like an updated calling card.

"I guess we're mainstream now, let's move out to the 'burbs," reflecting on the status quo-ing of gay men compared to the relative marginalization felt by queer folk pre-Stonewall, relishing “freedom that you died for.”

I sat down with my popcorn and orange soda ready to be scared, or considering the franchise, I was about to at least be entertained. Except, in the end, the scariest part of watching Evil Dead Rise was the fact that a lady brought her children (who were clearly too young to be watching this movie), into the screening. While the movie isn’t the worst thing I have ever seen, it’s also not the best by any means. This isn’t director Lee Cronin’s first rodeo into horror, but it is his first time he is credited for an Evil Dead movie, and it shows. Cronin seems to be given creative freedom for this installment in the franchise, and I would argue that this is a huge benefit.

Viewers begin the movie in the woods, where we meet a female character that is slightly off (spoiler: she's possessed). Where I thought we would be getting the typical cabin-in-the-woods beat, instead, viewers get one of the best openings in horror I have seen in a long time. If you’re like me (someone who did not watch any trailers going into this viewing), then you will be surprised at how things unfold. Seeing a possessed woman rise from a lake with the title card behind her seemingly mimicking oozing blood got me incredibly excited for what the next 90 minutes had in store.

The core setting for this film is really genius. Instead of an isolated cabin — a staple in the franchise — it takes place on a single floor of an aging apartment complex. With barriers and obstacles leading to lack of escape routes (demolished stairs, bloody haunted elevators, and an inaccessible fire escape), the characters seem just as isolated as they would be deep in the woods. This setting does wonders for making the characters and the audience feel claustrophobic. Normally when I watch horror I can think of a few ways to escape; to think of loopholes in every scenario to get out of there! Yet, I left thinking, Wow! I would’ve given up! There is no way! I think the setting really served the story. It made the non-possessed ready to fight with everyday objects they knew like the back of their hands, and it gave the possessed a leg-up by mostly seeing all the defences coming.

Of course, the film has lots of moments where you want to yell at the characters for being so incredibly stupid, but at this point it’s almost fun to see characters be dumb in new, non-typical ways. My biggest complaint with this movie was that it felt half-baked. Maybe if it had gotten a little more time on the editing table, perhaps it would carve out a name for itself in horror rather than just serve as another installment. For many, there’s a certain humour that comes with the borderline camp feel of the Evil Dead franchise, but Rise has too many instances where the one-liners fall flat, or are trying to rely on people thinking this movie will be camp too. They forget that the originals are a cult classic for a reason, and Evil Dead Rise has the challenge of being its own thing while also paying just enough debt to the originals. I wish this movie found its ground more. A few tweaks and it would be great; sadly it is just plain okay.

To end on a positive note, the acting is the strongest part of this movie. Alyssa Sutherland as Ellie (the possessed) and Lily Sullivan as Beth (the non-possessed) bounce off of each other incredibly well. Sullivan played both the caring motherly role and that of the demonic killer, yet managed to pull off both of them. Sutherland deserves a roster of movies where she plays horror villains — she plays them that well — and Sullivan has cemented herself as a final girl in my books. When she walks away drenched in blood with only her eyes visible, I practically got chills and wanted another movie just to see her in this role again.

Like Evil Dead? Go into this with low expectations and you’ll be alright. Enjoy notso-scary scary movies? You’ll love this one… but maybe close your eyes once you see a cheese grater pop up. Trust me.