"EVIL DEAD RISE" (2023)

Frightening, deliciously evil and madly entertaining!

The new installment in the infamous “Evil Dead” franchise - “Evil Dead Rise” is stepping up the game a notch and treats us to a proper and hard-hitting adrenaline rush drenched in blood!

This time around we are not heading out to the infamous remote cabin in the woods, but to a rundown apartment complex in a moody and rainy Los Angeles. Here we meet with Ellie - a struggling single mom and her three children - Danny, Bridget and Kassie. They are soon joined by Ellie's estranged sister Beth who turns up on their doorstep - adding to Ellie's already growing list of life problems.

But it’s about to get worse than this, much worse, as Danny soon finds the good old Necronomicon that has been gathering dust in the apartment's basement, together with some old vinyls that the content of the book has been recorded on.

As Danny lowers the needle and spins the records, a familiar voice blasts through his speakers and begins reciting the incantations from the book of the dead. This kicks off a blood soaked, demon infested gore feast as evil demons are released and take possession of his mom Ellie. Now her beloved family is in grave danger and it’s up to Ellie’s sister Beth to try and defend them.

Even though the "Evil Dead” franchise has spawned two sequels, a remake,

a TV-series and a handful of video games through the years - “Evil Dead Rise” feels like a fresh and creative new installment, that also manages to stay true to the overall feel of the original film. It also swings up the door for more horrors to come in the future. The film is an adrenalin filled horror roller coaster with some visuals that will make even the more hardcore horror fans stomachs twist and turn.

It’s frightening, unpredictable, madly entertaining and leaves you dazed and trying to catch your breath in the theater seat. It really makes you feel like you just flew down a roller coaster for 96 minutes. "Evil Dead Rise" was initially set to be released on

HBO Max but since it performed so well in test screenings, it thankfully ended up on the big screen instead.

The sound design is absolutely on point and contributes strongly to the very intense and scary atmosphere of the film. It also quickly becomes obvious that cinematographer Dave Garbett has been doing his homework properly as the camerawork takes you back to that inventive style of Sam Raimi's original "The Evil Dead" (1981).

This is not the type of horror movie that crawls under your skin with a complex and deeply intriguing storyline - slowly and silently scaring you out of your mind. It’s more like the one that rips you out of your seat, whacks you across the face with a backhand slap, hurls you across the room, grabs you by your ears and screams “How’s that for starters huh!?” right in your face before casually walking away.

Among dry and pointless reboots, remakes and never ending "The Exorcist" (1973) spinoffs that seems to plague the majority of the horror genre these days, a fresh and creative film like "Evil Dead Rises" is a pure joy to behold and I just can't wait for more!

Title: The Evil Dead Rise

Release date: March 15, 2023

Runtime: 1h 32 min

Genre: Horror

Country: United States, New Zealand, Ireland

Director: Lee Cronin

Writers: Lee Cronin

Stars: Alyssa Sutherland, Lily Sullivan, Morgan Davies, Noah Paul