Evil Dead Rise - 4K Blu-ray Review

[Michael Scott]

Evil Dead Rise



Movie:
4K Video:
Video:
Audio:
Extras:
Final Score:


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Movie
Sequels are always such sticky things. Especially when they come decades after the original. Sam Raimi’s Evil Dead trilogy is one of the most seminal horror (or horror/comedy depending on how you look at them) sets of all times. Raimi crafts a world that is both horrific, and yet darkly comedic at the same time, shifting tone with each sequel to bring a different aspect of the evil of the deadites to fruition. I was one of the HUGELY skeptical people when the 2013 remake (or really, side film in the same universe) of Evil Dead came out, only to love the twisted gore fest for what it was. A tangential flick that was tied to the original in theme, but survived on it’s own merit. I was even skeptical when Bruce Campbell came back as Ash in Ash vs. Evil Dead the TV series a few years back. Only once more to come out surprised and entertained. Now, I think you get where I’m going with this when I say I was SUPER skeptical of Evil Dead Rise. Yeah, I’m going to spoil it right now by saying it once again surprised me, much like the 2013 film.

I was actually mostly skeptical with Evil Dead Rise from the trailer. We’re long gone from a weird cabin in the woods and deadites coming out of the ground. Instead we shifted to a grungy apartment in Los Angeles where a mother is turned into a deadite and tries to go full demon on her family. It just didn’t FEEL like an Evil Dead movie at all from what I could see. But at the same time the red band trailer was intriguing and I was proven wrong once more.

The film opens up with what seems like a weird throwback to the original films, with a couple of young adults having a blast at a cabin in the woods, only for one of the girls (played by Anna-Maree Thomas) to turn into a deadite and attack her friends. Fade to the opening credits, the film switches gears in a complete 180, introducing us to Ellie (Alyssa Sutherland) and her young children Bridget (Gabrielle Echols), Danny (Morgan Davies) and Kassie (Nell Fisher) trying to cope with Ellie’s husband leaving them. When their roadie aunt Beth (Lilly Sullivan) comes looking for advice, things suddenly go into overdrive. As Beth and Ellie have a heart to heart about their adult issues, an earthquake cracks a floor in their slummy apartment building basement, opening up an ancient vault with a mysterious and creepy looking book inside. Naturally curious, Danny takes the book up to his apartment and listens to the instructions that were included on Vinyl Record, only for the unthinkable (or plainly obvious if you’re an Evil Dead fan) to happen.

I don’t need to delve much deeper into the plot as you can already guess what happens next. Ellie gets incidentally transformed into a deadite, and now it’s up to her sister Beth to keep what’s left of the family alive as they try to escape the dilapidated building. Needless to say this is one of the most gruesome, and crazy films in the entire series. I’m a HUGE fan of Sam Raimi’s take on horror comedy, but the 2013 film went in a completely different direction. Instead focusing on the macabre and more brutal body elements of demon possession and the steps to defeat them. I always felt that the 2013 remake was a BRUTAL film gore wise, but Lee Cronin hits the ground running and amps up the gore from level 11, to full on 15 on a scale from 1-10. I’m not exaggerating here, but this one of THE goriest and blood soaked horror films I’ve ever seen. I never let gore get under my skin (even with torture films like Saw), but to its credit, Rise actually got under my skin. We jokingly refer to counting the kills with “gallons of blood” spilt in movies like these, but you’re LITERALLY taking measurements in “swimming pools of blood” here (and no, I’m not exaggerating).

Outside of the absolutely savage kills, the film simply works by taking the core elements of the deadites and running with them. There’s no mercy, no survival (for the most part), and no attempts to overly tie the film to the rest in the series. HOWEVER, if you’re a fan of the originals (and/or Ash vs. Evil Dead) you’ll find more than a few homages and tie ins to said flicks. I’m not going to go full on Charlie Day here and make over the top tie ins to prove how every one of the films are connected, but there are distinct hints that make you wonder just HOW connected to the originals each of the newer ones are. Take for example the priest on the record describing how there were 3 copies of the Necromicon made (1 that Ash has in the series, the 2nd found in the cabin in the 2013, and the 3rd is what we run across here in L.A. by my guesstimations). Also, Bruce Campbell makes a slight cameo in the recording as well (you can hear his voice screaming if you listen), as well as little throwbacks and winks to the camera about previous jokes (such as vomiting milk from the second film). All in all, I was highly impressed. Not to say that Evil Dead Rise is going to be a masterpiece horror flick, but that it actually turned out to be a well done gore fest that actually takes a line from the 2013 film, and EARNS its right to have the Evil Dead name attached to it.




Rating:

Rated R for strong bloody horror violence and gore, and some language




4K Video: Video:

Evil Dead Rise is utterly dark and grim, with a teal blue color grading that just accentuates the inky blackness that it takes place in. While the Blu-ray was a solid contender, it was hampered by the limitations of the 1080p disc format and showed some typical banding and crush issues that are typical of a black level demanding image like Rise is. Luckily the 4K UHD handles the darkness a lot better, and handily outclasses the 1080p Blu-ray without even breaking a swear. A solidly calibrated HDR/DV 4K set is going to make this film really shine, as it showcases incredible details levels, dark blood primaries, and a a moody atmospheric tone that just swelters in the low light. Black levels are greatly enhanced with the HDR/Dolb Vision here, more so than the colors will due to the low light. Blacks are deep and inky, but still reveal everything in the shadows almost perfectly. I did notice some lost detail levels in some of the CGI heavy scenes (Bridget puking maggots, or the final beast form at the end), but overall this is vastly superior to the Blu-ray.









Audio:

I’m calling it right here. Evil Dead Rise is the definitive audio track of the year. Yeah, I may be proven wrong later in the year, but so far this is probably one of the single best Atmos tracks I’ve ever heard, and is singularly the best part of this entire package (both the 4K UHD and Blu-ray have the same audio tracks). This goes all in with sonic atmosphere, just smothering the listening in an omni-directional assault that never once lets go. The film is pure claustrophobic creepiness, saturating the entire sound stage with an eerie score that just slides through and around the listening position on a low level. Atmos heights and surrounds channels are literally teeming with all sorts of ambient energy, and I had this weird sensation of not being able to detect in cracks in the location shifts. It literally was just me hearing noises from every single direction and having a hard time localizing the sounds to a specific channel. The bass is just pure punishment, dolling out wave after wave of LFE that just crushes the listening position with some of the most brutal assaults I've heard this year. Not to mention that they said LFE wasn’t even remotely boomy or over powering. Simply put, this is perfection. Nuff said.







Extras:

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Final Score: ​

Evil Dead Rise is a solid entry into Nu-Evil Dead. Once again, it’s not going to be an instant classic, but it’s nasty, gory beyond believe, and takes unique directions on old tried and true tropes to keep the audience engaged. Word of warning though, this is NOT for the faint of heart. The gore is top tier and over the top to an extreme the series has never seen before, andi is not hesitant in the least to show insane violence with children. That being said, I was grinning from ear to ear the entire time. The 4K UHD and the Blu-ray disc sadly have ZERO extras on board, but the audio and video experience is more than worth the expenditure along with the fun story. Personally, I’m giving it a solid thumbs up, and it doesn’t hurt that it comes with probably the single best Atmos track of the year to date (yes, it edges out Avatar: The Way of Water, and John Wick: Chapter 4).


Technical Specifications:

Starring: Mirabai Pease, Richard Crouchley, Anna-Maree Thomas, Lilly Sullivan, Noah Paul, Alyssa Sutherland, Gabrielle Echols
Directed by: Lee Cronin
Written by: Lee Cronin
Aspect Ratio: 2.39:1 HEVC
Audio: English: Dolby Atmos (Dolby TrueHD 7.1 Core),English, French (Canadian), Spanish DD 5.1
Subtitles: English SDH, French, Spanish
Studio: Warner Brothers
Rated: R
Runtime: 97 Minutes
Blu-ray Release Date: June 27th, 2023

Recommendation: Fun Watch

 

[tripplej]

Thanks for the review. First time, hearing about this one. I will check it out.