A twisted tale of two estranged sisters whose reunion is cut short by the rise of flesh-possessing demons, thrusting them into a primal battle for survival as they face the most nightmarish version of family imaginable. A film by Lee Cronin, starring Alyssa Sutherland, Morgan Davies, Gabrielle Echols, Nell Fisher, Jayden Daniels, Anna-Maree Thomas, Mirabai Pease, and Richard Crouchley.

The film begins with a scene of camera moving through a forest across the lake towards a young woman sitting at a small pier like an evil spirit searching for its prey, then it’s revealed to be a drone controlled by Caleb (Richard Crouchley), boyfriend of Jessica (Anna-Maree Thomas) who’s feeling sick and staying at a cabin nearby.

Teresa (Mirabai Pease) is upset that Caleb doesn’t seem to care much about her cousin, so she walks back to the cabin to check on Jessica. But Jessican begins to exhibit strange behavior, she scalps Teresa and kills Caleb.

The film shifts its timeline back to one day earlier, in an apartment complex where a tattoo artist Ellie (Alyssa Sutherland) is living with her son Danny (Morgan Davies) and her two younger daughters Bridget (Gabrielle Echols) & Kassie (Nell Fisher). Ellie gets a surprise visit by her sister Beth (Lily Sullivan, a guitar technician who just discovers that Ellie’s husband had left, and the rest of the family is about to move because the building is scheduled to be demolished within a month.

Ellie asks Danny to take her car and get pizza with his sisters. But there’s an earthquake while they are still in the basement parking lot, it opens a hole on the floor revealing a room which looks like old bank vault. Danny climbs down the hole to investigate in hope of finding something valuable that may help his mom.

Danny discovers an old photo of three priests, one of the is holding a weird looking book. He takes some phonograph records and a strange book back to his room. However, Bridget (the most logical person in this story) has a bad feeling about this and insists that Danny should return the book to where he found it. But Danny is curious and wants to know more about the book, so he play the first phonograph recorded in 1923 which reveals a voice of Father Marcus Littleton, a priest who was rejected by Saint Patrick’s Cathedral for his research on Naturom Demonto, or the Book of the Dead. (Although I don’t understand why someone would record it in phonograph form instead of just writing or typing… but whatever.)

The second record contains the voice of the same priest saying that he continued his research with the help of Canon Damien Shanahan, and Father Hugo Cortez. They were able to translate the book and discovered ancient rituals and incantations which allows them to contact with supernatural forces. Before Danny realizes what’s he dealing with, all hell breaks loose.

A supernatural horror film written and directed by Irish filmmaker Lee Cronin. It is the fifth installment of the EVIL DEAD film series. There are several memorable moments, the director pushes the grotesque beyond what we usually see in this genre.

The film is a huge success, grossing over $146 million worldwide (on a $19 million budget), making it the highest-grossing film in the series. You can expect more EVIL DEAD sequels, prequels, and spin-offs.

Sadly, nothing new is contributed to the story or the characters. We’ve seen plot like this far too many times. The film’s pacing feels slow even though it’s only about 90 minutes long. Perhaps it doesn’t need a plot because that isn’t what people want in EVIL DEAD.

EVIL DEAD RISE premiered at SXSW on 15 March 2023. The film had its theatrical release in the United States on 21 April 2023.