Evil Dead Rise starts with one of the coolest title reveals in film before bouncing from the typical cabin (A-Frame) in the woods to a high rise apartment building. I guess that’s why it’s called Evil Dead (High) Rise… or maybe they were just tacking on a title in line with the chaotic naming conventions of this franchise.

All the not-at-all-recommended evil book reading, demon possessing, and buckets and buckets of blood are back for this entry. They are keeping to the classics that’s for sure, just relocated to somewhere less mosquito-infested. But we do get a big significant change to the cast of characters, going from adult friends to a family, complete with two actual teenagers and a pre-teen. Given how hard the movie goes, it’s safe to say it doesn’t pussy-foot around the kids.

This is a particularly good entry into this weird and random franchise that has yet to deliver a stinker. It definitely takes more after the 2013 remake in that it continues to eschew Sam Raimi’s campier, low-budget take and goes hard on the darkly grim and serious (but still fun) style. It’s a brutal, violent film full of little moments of corrosive glee. And references to other horror films, including, of course, its own franchise.

I think this is a fantastic horror film. It got under my skin in a way that the other films, even that 2013 film, did not. The wanton carnage was welcome and the creepy visage of the Evil Dead Mom (perhaps the proper title of the film) was genuinely creepy. Yeah, it’s playing in all the usual necronomicon sandboxes, but it does it so effectively.

This is up there with one of my favorites in the franchise. It’s probably the best at being a pure horror film, though not as good as the campy fun of Raimi’s best. If this franchise is your bag, definitely check it out.

Score: 87