Evil Dead Rise (2023)

I was both excited to and dreading checking out this latest attempt at an Evil Dead movie. The original trilogy are some of my favorite horror flicks so that bar is a high one to clear. I didn’t like the first attempt, the remake of the original, though I should probably give it another look. Folks keep telling me that it has aged well. But I’m getting ahead of myself and need to focus on the task at hand. 

Evil Dead Rise kicks off the action as any proper Evil Dead movie should with a camera whipping thru the woods and across a pond towards a woman standing on the pier. Though in an unexpected and clever twist it turns out to be a drone piloted by the annoying boyfriend. The woman, the friend of annoying boyfriend’s lady, stomps off to the cabin where she is laying in bed sick. She hasn’t been feeling well since they arrived. Of course it is clear to deadite fans like myself what is going on. Sure enough she is possessed, and the mayhem starts off with a it of scalping and drone to the face action. Okay movie you have my attention. 

The story then switches to an apartment building in what I think is Los Angeles if the bumper sticker is supposed to be a hint. Here we meet Beth and her sister Ellie as well as Ellie’s three children. There are some other folks living on the same floor as them that basically serve to up the body count but aren’t terribly important to the actual plot. After an earthquake, the parking garage floor collapses into a hidden vault. Danny, one of Ellie’s kids, climbs down to check it out and finds some records as well as a very familiar book. He plays the record and reads the book. Some very familiar words echo from the speaker and the evil is unleashed. Ellie gets possessed and it is up to her sister Beth to protect the kids. Unfortunately, she is a bit of a screw up so that doesn’t go so well. 

I could say more about the plot, but I don’t want to spoil anything. This is a solid movie that is well written and while using some familiar props and themes from the existing franchise goes out of it’s way to tell a unique story. Well, I mean sort of unique. You have the ever shrinking group of survivors doing battle with an unspeakable evil that not only murders family and friends but also possesses them to return and torture the living. You know… deadite stuff. But the family dynamic between the sisters is a different take as is the mothering instincts of Beth kicking in. The urban setting was also a nice touch. They manage to create the sense of isolation that the original cabin in the woods setting had but in a completely different way. This is a clever script that someone with real talent put together. As someone who watches a lot of bad movies, I appreciate this level of effort. 

I know that a lot of fans complain about female lead horror or at least gender swapping characters, but this is how you do it. First of all our “final girl” Beth is flawed and in some ways fails miserably. Though in the end she sucks it up and does her best. That is what we call a character arc or hero’s journey. By the end of the movie, I was rooting for her and if Evil Dead Rise is the beginning of a new trilogy I’d be happy to see what happens to her next. Seriously guys if you do continue to make Evil Dead movies you need to include Beth. Don’t blow it! 

This is an Evil Dead movie, so we have to talk about the gore and special effects work. While it lacks the low budget practical effects charm of the original trilogy, they do a good job of leaning into genuinely scary effects. The deadite makeup on Ellie is creepy as hell and the actress does a wonderful job of selling it by moving unnaturally and twisting her limbs at odd angles. We get some decent kills with a head getting torn off, an eye is sucked out, the previously mentioned drone to the face, and a neat gag with a spear thru the mouth and out the back of the head. Though my favorite gag has to be the girl getting grabbed by the ponytail and getting scalped. Maybe not the most graphic but it got under my skin. Speaking of skin… the damn cheese grater to the calf was gruesome. The movie doesn’t skimp on the blood and I enjoyed every minute of it. 

Evil Dead Rise also has a much different tone then the earlier movies. They pull no punches putting kids in danger and then… honest to God… killing the shit out of them! This lets you know early on that no one is safe. There is a psychological nastiness to the dialogue as well with the mother speaking to her children in the most horrifying way. This feels like a much meaner flick, and I appreciated that the filmmakers decided to go their own way. 

I don’t want to give the impression that there isn’t any fan service. We do get some solid callbacks to the classics. All the characters are named after actors from the earlier movies. There is a point of view shot of an eyeball going down a throat. Of course our hero does eventually end up with a chainsaw in her hands. There are also some lines of dialogue like “come get some” and “dead by dawn” that fans will recognize. They do a good job of acknowledging what came before while doing something new.

I’m glad that I watched this and have to agree with all the other fans that have been recommending it. This is a fun movie that I think is worthy of the name Evil Dead. I do hope it was successful enough to spawn some sequels because I’d be down for them. If you get the chance, I highly recommend you check it out. 

© Copyright 2023 John Shatzer

Road Trip to the Drive-in – Coronavirus edition

Well this year has been crap as I’m sure you all know. Normally I have a few road trip posts here on Crappy Movie Reviews. This year not so much. All of my events have been cancelled and I’ve been locked up in my house only leaving for work and to pick up groceries. I’ve even avoided going to the drive-in as the idea of being around people just didn’t appeal to me. Though I’ve been waiting for an event that I couldn’t refuse. This Friday night they hit me with a double feature that I had to see.

Thursday I was checking on the internet and noticed that one of my favorite haunts, The Magic City drive-in was advertising a double feature that made me sit up straight in my chair in excitement. The original Evil Dead and Evil Dead II: Dead by Dawn paired up! I love both of these flicks and watch them during my annual horror movie marathon in October. I’ve been antsy, probably due to nothing else happening, to get my creepy on and this seemed like a good way to kick things off. After discussing it with my lovely wife I decided to go… with some additional precautions.

 

Mask up and Sanitize!

After fortifying myself with a tasty burger at a local carhop, luckily my hometown still has such things, I headed off. I arrived at Magic City early in case there was a big crowd. There was a short line to get in, but it wasn’t too bad. The turnout was decent, but it wasn’t too crowded so people could spread out a bit. Given the pandemic that made things a bit more comfortable. I found my spot setup my portable boom box and masked up for a trip to buy some candy. Returning to “old blue” which is what I named my Honda, I sat back and waited for the fun to start. Just as it was getting dark Bruce Campbell's face appeared and the fun commenced.

Now I’m not going to rehash the movies. I’m going to assume that if you are here reading this you have already watched Evil Dead and Evil Dead II. They are legit classics that all real horror fans have taken the time to check out. But if you haven’t and want more information you can check out my reviews here and here. Again, both movies are must watch for anyone interested in horror and horror comedy.

 

You must have a proper setup

Since I’m not going to go into detail on the movies, I thought it would be fun to talk about the experience. I’m of the age that I was old enough to have caught these movies on VHS release but not on the big screen. I did get to see the third entry, Army of Darkness, during its initial theatrical release when I was in college. I’ve also had the chance to see Evil Dead at a special screening called Twelve Hours of Terror. But this is the first time I’ve had the chance to see either of them at the drive-in. I’m a huge nerd so seeing them from the comfort of my own car under the stars was very special. In my mind this is how the movies were meant to be viewed and I never thought that I’d get to see them like this. Needless to say, I was a very happy camper.

I really needed this. I’ve had some fun hanging out with my friends in their backyard cinema watching movies outside, but the rest of this year has sucked. All of my conventions, Cinema Wasteland, Grossfest, and Ghoulardifest have been cancelled. The special screenings I normally attend at the Canton Palace Theater, Stoogefest, the Twilight Zone marathon, and Monster Bash have also been called off. Twelve Hours of Terror which caps off every October for me is also skipping this year. I’ve also heard rumors that some of the venues may not recover so some of these events might never return. That makes me very sad.

I’m so ready for January to roll around and hopefully we can put this pandemic behind us. Until then all we can do is make do with what we have. Thanks to Magic City and the companies who are dusting off some old favorites and giving us fans a chance to check them out at the drive-in. Hopefully I’ll have at least a couple more chances to make another trip out before the weather gets too chilly.

 

 

© Copyright 2020 John Shatzer

Army of Darkness (1992)

So here we are with the third and final installment in the Evil Dead movie franchise. And yes, I know there was a remake, but it doesn’t count. I’m not saying it’s bad, but I just don’t care about the rehashing of an already perfect movie. So as far as the movies go this is the end and what a good way to wrap things up… Until the T.V. show which is also pretty good.

At the end of Evil Dead II Ash is sucked into the portal and dumped in the middle ages where he shoots a deadite and the movie ends. For Army of Darkness they rewind things a bit and instead of killing a deadite he is captured by Arthur’s men and hauled off in chains. They toss him into a pit thinking he is one of Henry’s men, whom they are fighting with. But instead of being killed by the deadites in the pit he does his “Ash” thing and kicks some butt. He climbs out and sets Henry, who was also captured, free with the rest of his men. Then he seemingly takes over the castle. The wise man tells him that he needs to get the Necronomicon so they can send him back home and to save them from destruction. Of course, he screws it up, he is Ash after all, and following him back to the castle is an army of the dead lead by his own evil doppelganger.

This movie is awesome. The tone continues to shift from the horror of the original Evil Dead to the slapstick action that was part of Evil Dead II to eventually full on comedy in Army of Darkness. Here they full on “stooge” with eye pokes, slaps, and sound effects. I understand that many fans of the original Evil Dead are annoyed by this because they think it is too silly. Honestly, I can totally see where they are coming from. I love this movie and the other Evil Dead flicks equally, but for different reasons. To me that is what makes this franchise completely unique in that all three of the movies are able to change dramatically but yet are equally entertaining. I can’t think of another franchise that has pulled that off.

"Bad" Ash

In addition to the stooges gags the dialogue is cleverly written to give Ash as many quotable lines as possible. There is a lot of silly stop motion effects work that harken back to Harryhausen, as well as some actual puppets, and actors suited up as deadites. Is it seamless? No it isn’t, but that is part of the fun. The ending of the movie has Ash back in the present doing battle with the deadites at S-Mart. But why you might ask? Wasn’t the book supposed to banish the deadites once and for all? He screwed up the words again so now he has to protect housewares from the scourge of the dead.

I’m a huge fan of the Evil Dead franchise. While I love them all equally Army of Darkness is the first one that I saw in the theater on it initial release so it will always have a special place in my heart. It is also the movie where I personally feel Bruce Campbell became the personality that we all identify him as now. The silly, wisecracking character actor that we all love starts here. If you are a horror fan you have to watch this one at least once. It is recommended.

© Copyright 2019 John Shatzer

Evil Dead II (1987)

Before I begin the review, I need to explain something to the uninformed. This movie picks up at the end of the first one… sort of. It is my understanding that they couldn’t get footage from the first film as it was owned by a different company. So instead the beginning of Evil Dead II is a rehashing of that first story compressed down so that it only has Ash and his girlfriend going to the cabin and ignores the other characters from the first movie. I’m okay with that as it serves this movie just fine, but it annoys and/or confuses some viewers.

With that out of the way lets jump into the review. Ash and his girl go to the cabin and end up playing the recording of the doctor reading the Necronomicon passages out loud. This awakens the “thing” in the woods, aka. a demon, and it attacks them. Shenanigans ensue as Ash ends up killing and dismembering his lady before all is said and done. Then the doctor’s daughter and friends show up. At first, they think Ash is a crazy that murdered her parents, but soon find out that something is in the woods and it was to swallow their souls! Rednecks are stabbed, eyeballs swallowed, blood is sprayed, and time travel happens! I love this flick.

As I mentioned in my review of the original Evil Dead, I feel sort of silly covering it for the site. I mean if you are hanging out here then you’ve probably seen this one already. I consider the Evil Dead franchise to be on the list of must watch horror movies, almost like a primer for anyone wanting to get into the genre. But in case you haven’t watched this yet and are somehow on the fence let me tell you all the reasons to check out Evil Dead II.

From the very start the movie has a breakneck pace as it never lets up on the action and horror. After a couple minutes establishing Ash and Linda the tape is played and she is turned into a deadite. Not long after that the head goes off and things get rolling. Hah see what I did there? This pacing combined with frenetic camera work makes for a movie that is very exciting both in the action and visually. They even pull off a weird “fisheye” view where things get further distorted when the evil force is messing with Ash by animating objects in the cabin. Even more so than the first movie here Rami packs in every trick and gimmick he can think of to make this a trip to watch.

Some people are turned off by the humor in Evil Dead II. The first outing has some humor, but it felt a bit subdued and they lean more into the horror elements. Here while we have some bad things happening the filmmakers also revel in doing all sorts of terrible things to Ash, and to actor Bruce Campbell. He gets slammed into walls, smashed into furniture, breaks plates over his head, does battle with a possessed hand, and by God drops some great one-liners. This includes the famous arming up scene in the shed where Ash drops “Groovy” for the first time. For me this is where the character becomes the horror icon that we fans fell in love with.

I also dig that the violence is so over the top that it borders on slapstick. It doesn’t go full “Three Stooges” like Army of Darkness does, but it gets close. The fact that they also revisit some stop motion effects work makes me love the movie as well. The creature design is fun and we get plenty of gore effects work, though again it is way over the top and not realistic. Cartoonish violence appeals to me sometimes and that is exactly what we get in Evil Dead II.

I could keep going on and on with this one, but I won’t. If you haven’t seen this one, then check it out. If you haven’t seen it for a while, then this is the perfect time of the year to revisit it. Basically, fans new and old should watch this damn movie as often as they can!

© Copyright 2019 John Shatzer