Evil Dead Rise is insane. It’s easily the most brutal and violent movie of the year, and even though I expected this one to push things even further, I was still shocked by some of what I saw. Hi everyone, I’m Mariana. This is Impression Blend, and let’s get into this review because we have a lot to talk about, and there are some expectations that need to be said. The franchise really outdid itself with this entry. The official synopsis makes this movie sound like your basic grief is the monster horror movie. It is not.
After the loss of her husband, a woman seeks solace with her in-laws. No, she doesn’t. What makes this premise interesting is that it’s a story of a clearly broken family coming together after this tragedy, or trying to come together. And from the very beginning, nothing is going right. There’s some very dark humor that revolves around the awkwardness of it all, but the tension comes from all of these family members having very different feelings about what happened. It’s not just grief. There’s also anger, suppressed trauma, guilt.
There’s even some relief. There is resistance to following expectations, and then on top of that, people start transforming into Deadites and saying exactly what’s on their minds. It’s chaos. It’s brutal, unhinged, relentless chaos. We are back at a remote location again for this one. Even though it’s not the classic cabin, this time it’s a secluded old family home that’s really encompassing the state of this family. It’s falling apart.
It’s rotting. There are old memories and pictures scattered all over the place. And then the mom is there just trying to act normal, making dinner, pretending like this entire house and her family aren’t falling apart. It’s not as much of a the house is a character situation, but more of a the house is the reality of what things are really like. The culmination of it all in act one of the film is the dinner scene, which is something everyone is going to be talking about. This is where it truly becomes a family gathering from hell. To me, this dinner scene rivals the tension of the iconic dinner scene in The Texas Chainsaw Massacre for different reasons, and obviously a different dynamic here, but if I’m thinking of iconic dinner scenes from hell, Evil Dead Burn is somewhere at the top of that list.
It’s that feeling of waiting for something to go terribly wrong, and the tension is unbearable. There are a few different things you’re observing here. There is the established family drama and awkwardness. There is a family member who is clearly unwell and about to snap. There are sharp objects all around. There is a dog. This could go wrong in so many different ways.
One of the best things about this movie is that it understands tension. You know things are going to get dark and brutal, and the anticipation of all that carnage is making it even more intense. The other thing is that we’re building and building, and once that tension is released and things start getting crazy, it’s non-stop. It does not let go. You are in for a horrific ride, and it is not for the faint of heart. Let’s actually talk about the brutality of this film and the tone it’s going for. Evil Dead Burn is directed and co-written by Sebastian Vaniček, who is a very talented French writer-director.
And if you know anything about French horror, it’s not for beginners. Also, you have to check out Sébastien’s first feature, Infested. I’ve talked about it before. It’s one of the best horror films of 2024, very underrated. But back to Evil Dead Rise, this is the new French extremity meets Evil Dead, which I mean as a compliment, but it will absolutely be too much for some people. I can’t even show you a lot of the footage I have from the trailers and the clips because it would get flagged for violence immediately. I have no idea how they keep making these movies more brutal and more disgusting every time.
But Sébastien Vaniček took it to the next level. This movie is unhinged and unforgettable. It is uncomfortable, extremely violent, and sometimes straight-up deranged. It’s a very mean type of horror. If you remember, I really enjoyed Evil Dead Rise because I thought it was disgusting and twisted, but in a way that was also fun. Evil Dead Rise is a lot closer to Evil Dead 2013 in terms of how mean it is. Sometimes it’s meaner.
But it does have some pitch-black, well-placed comedy as well. Not a lot of it, and some of it may be more of an uncomfortable laughter than anything else, but it is there. I think if you enjoy the goofier aspects of the Evil Dead franchise, this one will feel too dark and too upsetting for you. But if you do enjoy some really intense horror, this will be right up your alley. What’s interesting is that it is far from being the bloodiest entry. Although, don’t get me wrong, there is plenty of gore, but the way the violence is done makes it so horrifying and so intense. I had to look away a couple of times, and I don’t usually do that.
But yes, the brutality of it is a lot because of the type of damage to the body that you see. And also there is some very upsetting self-damage that is hard to watch. What’s funny is that I was worried that the trailer most disturbing scene with the headrest going through someone’s head. It did not. There are not just one, but a few other scenes I would say are even more disturbing. This movie will also get under your skin with things you just don’t expect. For example, there is a kiss scene that I could not believe was happening.
And once again, it doesn’t just work because it’s horrific and it’s filmed in a very striking way, but also because you understand the emotional component that led to this, which makes it even more impactful. The other thing I was worried about is the look of fire because as you would expect, a movie titled Evil Dead Rise has a good amount of fire, and CGI fire never looks quite right, never as good as the real thing. But I am happy to report that they relied on practical effects here as much as they could, and what you see is mostly real fire. Things look pretty great visually in general. There was some blood that looked a little suspicious, and some aspects of the ending that looked a little bit CGI, but I was not too bothered by that because there’s plenty of realistic looking nastiness going on. My biggest issue with the visuals, and honestly the biggest issue with this whole movie is the color grading. It looks very gray and I understand that this is a stylistic and in a way thematic choice, but I needed a bit more color in there because some of it just looks very desaturated and I don’t understand why this is so common in movies these days.
The fire and the reds sometimes pop really well against that, but mostly it just looks gray unfortunately, but the cinematography does make up for that. Creative camera movement is a staple of this franchise and I love that Evil Dead Rise continues this tradition. There are some truly inspired choices that were made here. Also, I remember some of you complaining that Evil Dead Rise was a little bit too dark visually to see what was going on. You will see everything here including things you may not want to see. So, uh here you go. Enjoy.
Now, as much as I want to talk more about the characters and their arcs, I do want to keep this review spoiler free, but here’s what I’ll say. Almost everyone in this film is unlikable, but it works. Sometimes movies with unlikable characters can feel distant, but these characters aren’t just unlikable to be unlikable. They feel like real people. You know someone like this. Maybe you’ve been to a toxic family gathering. Maybe someone in your family is dating a man child.
Maybe you know someone keeping the family together even though there are deep issues that should be addressed first and that’s what makes it work. As for our lead, Alice, she might be a bit rough around the edges, but I I her very easy to root for, and Sue Layla Kube is fantastic. Her performance delivers on all of the emotional complexity and conflicting feelings she’s having, while also being so impressively physical. You really believe she is out there fighting for her life with everything she has. She gets tired, she gets hurt, she is not perfect, but she is giving it her all, and I loved watching that. The movie also just does a great job introducing the characters and their complicated dynamics. Sometimes with horror movies, that part can drag, and you’re just sitting there waiting for the action to kick in.
Not here. The setup is very effective. You learn what you need to learn first, but you continue discovering more and more as the movie goes on amidst the chaos. And speaking of learning, I did not expect Evil Dead Rise to add to the overall lore as much as it did. I am really looking forward to rewatching this movie specifically to pause during certain parts and learn more details about what’s being shown on screen. But in general, we learn some very interesting things here, which I loved. To wrap all of this up, I of course want to encourage you to see Evil Dead Rise in theater.
Horror in general is a genre that is so much fun to experience with a crowd, but movies like this in particular are satisfying because it is impossible for everyone not to react. Somehow, the filmmakers managed to take this franchise to the next level yet again, which is exactly what a lot of the fans want to see from Evil Dead. I doubt we’re ever getting back to the sillier, goofier tone of the original trilogy, but that’s also Sam Raimi’s territory, and franchises have to evolve. I hope they continue having different directors bringing something new to each installment, because this once again feels like a fresh approach, and it doesn’t feel like a tired legacy sequel, or a franchise trying to do the same thing over and over again. Sebastian Vaniček makes this into an insanely dark, uncomfortable, and violent experience. I will say it again, it’s new French extremity meets Evil Dead, and he directs the hell out of this film. He understands tension, he understands what makes violence feel impactful, and also he understands how to twist toxic family dynamics into something completely deranged.
I did not expect to love this movie as much as I did, because I usually don’t do well with horror movies that feel aggressively mean, but Evil Dead Rise just works, and everything lands so well. I think it’s going to hold up better than the previous two entries over time. It is easily the darkest and the most brutal entry in the entire franchise, and it is one of the best horror movies of this year.
