228. Evil Dead Rise; movie review

 

EVIL DEAD RISE

Cert 18

97 mins

BBFC advice: Contains strong bloody violence, gore

Incredible. On a budget of less than $20m, Lee Cronin's Evil Dead Rise has made $150m at the box office.

Why? It is the same old schlock horror we have seen dozens of times before. 

Vats of fake blood and demon-possessed characters growling obscenely before maiming and murdering.

My only partial interest was how its makers managed to prevent nine-year-old actress Nell Fisher from being traumatised.

Nell plays Kassie, the youngest child of a family trying to move forward after the father walked out of their Los Angeles apartment.

Tattoo artist Ellie (Alyssa Sutherland) is juggling work and trying to find a new home with her testy kids including teenagers Danny (Morgan Davies) and Bridget (Gabrielle Echols).

A further complication arrives in the shape of her flakey sister (Lily Sullivan) who needs a place to stay.

And the family drama quickly shifts up a notch during an earthquake which shakes their building and exposes a long-hidden cellar.

Therein are near centuries-old artefacts which are linked to demons and have been hidden to prevent them from re-emerging.

Anyway, this wouldn't be Evil Dead Rise if the genie weren't released from the bottle and no surprise that bloody mayhem ensues after they are.

Apparently, there are nods to past incarnations of the Evil Dead franchise but in all honesty, even though I have read my review of Fede Alvarez's most recent remake of the original, I can't remember it.

Once you have seen one bucket of fake blood or spike through the head, you've seen 'em all - but as long as they make the sort of money this one has, there will be many more.

Reasons to watch: If you are an ardent horror fan

Reasons to avoid: So many cliches

Laughs: None

Jumps: None

Vomit: Yes

Nudity: Drawings in a book

Overall rating: 3/10

Did you know? British cinema release of the original Evil Dead, on 16 January 1983, came after the British Board of Film Censors passed it with an X certificate and 49 seconds of cuts. 

The final word.  Lee Cronin: "I wasn’t gonna reboot a reboot. And if you’re gonna change it up, you may as well go to the other end of the spectrum. The top floor of an apartment in downtown LA is about as far as you can get from a cabin in the woods without leaving the planet." Indie Wire

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