Most horror movies nowadays settle for the cliché trope of providing more elements of jump scares than building character, tension and atmosphere. This causes horror fanatics to lose interest in watching the horror genre as it easily becomes just another predictable, stereotypical and generic film.
However, with the upcoming Philippine release of “Evil Dead: Rise” on April 21, 2023, the horror scene will drastically change as the newest installment of the 1981 trilogy will revive what it means to watch a great horror flick these days.
From the beginning, the Evil Dead franchise has always centered around the Necronomicon Ex-Mortis, a book written in Sumerian text that is bound in human flesh and inked in blood that contains all of the evil entities from the underworld and will wreak havoc when released. Basically, a forbidden book not meant for the world of the living.
Its origins date back to the early 1300s in medieval England with the main protagonist of the trilogy, Ash Williams, fighting the Kandarian demon army to restore peace and order all for once.
The war lasted for some time and fast forward to modern times, the book is in an isolated cabin which we now move on to the setting of “The Evil Dead” (2013) reboot.
The reboot was a huge outbreak towards fans of the franchise as it was the first of the three films to be directed by Fede Alvarez instead of Sam Raimi. However, it still lacked the punch to be considered a successful revival.
With “Evil Dead: Rise,” fans are thrilled to see what writer-director Lee Cronin has in store, especially given its impressive 98 percent ranking on review aggregator Rotten Tomatoes — the highest of any film in the franchise to date.
With recent reviews, it is considered the most thrilling continuation to the cult-favorite franchise while honoring the legacy and tradition of Sam Raimi, as well as heading its own path forward.
“Cronin successfully delivers a new chapter of the Necronomicon and slays the screen with artistic rigor until the credits roll,” said top critic Marisa Mirabal.
In addition, it has also surpassed 2018’s horror-thriller, “Hereditary,” directed by Ari Aster, which was considered the year’s most unsettling film beyond its closing credits.
“A perfect onboarding movie for newer audiences who’ve never seen an ‘Evil Dead’ movie, but for longtime fans, it breathes a new air into a classic horror-comedy franchise, mixing Raimi’s old-school approach with the new school of gruesome horror,” added Mirabal.
Since 1981, “Evil Dead: Rise” is the most highly anticipated horror flick to date, shedding light that there is really a golden standard towards the future of the horror genre. S