Lee Cronin’s Evil Dead Rise is its own diabolical concoction, mindful of its cinematic legacy yet happy to override the rules in any way it sees fit. It’s the fifth instalment in the long-running horror franchise but not really a sequel. Nor is it a fully-fledged reboot of Sam Raimi’s electric 1981 original. Though Fede Álvarez took largely the same approach in his efficient and brutal “re-imagining” from 2013, Cronin’s is the more daring film. Álvarez still tied his story to a cabin in the woods, five oblivious young adults and a dark cellar concealing ageless malice. Cronin borrows only a few familiar cues from Raimi’s original – some familiar chanting, the same insidious sound design, the favoured chainsaw of Bruce Campbell’s final boy, Ash – while relocating events to downtown Los Angeles.
Tattoo artist Ellie (Alyssa Sutherland) is close to finally moving out of the dilapidated bank turned apartment complex she shares with her three kids, Danny (Morgan Davies), Bridget (Gabrielle Echols) and Kassie (Nell Fisher). They’re a mildly bohemian clan, their household busy with vinyl records and protest signs, though the film never overstates their unconventionality. In fact, they’re just about as emotionally oppressed as the average suburban, nuclear family – a dynamic that becomes crystal clear upon the arrival of Ellie’s semi-estranged sister, guitar technician Beth (Lily Sullivan).
