Evil Dead Rise: Empty Shock Value or Modern Classic?

Light spoilers for Evil Dead Rise

An emerging trend amongst modern horror films is the usage of shock value in some way to get the point across. Usually in the form of gore, this shock value can either heighten a film, or highlight the film’s insecurity by constantly attempting to redirect the viewer’s attention.

In recent movies like “Terrifier 2”, which paired gore with satirical horror or “Smile” and its dead cat scene, shock value has been used to embolden the story that’s being told. But in other films, like 2022’s “Choose or Die”, it’s easy to see when a film has nothing to offer outside of shock value.

“Evil Dead Rise”, the fifth installment of esteemed horror director Sam Raimi’s evil dead franchise, noticeably fights with the concept of empty shock value as it tells its tale.

The main story, deriving much of the motive for conflict from the original Evil Dead, follows Beth’s (Lily Sullivan) family as they get plagued with a supernatural curse. During Beth’s visit to her sister Ellie’s (Alyssa Sutherland) apartment, all hell breaks loose.

During an earthquake, while out to get pizza, Ellie’s son Danny (Morgan Davies) stumbles across old books and vinyl records. Upon playing the vinyl record, the curse is activated, and the family must fight to stay alive.

From here would be my biggest criticism depending on what you seek out in a horror film. While certainly a fun watch, being both intentionally and unintentionally hilarious at times, the film doesn’t do enough to leave me satisfied with its plot.

Despite deriving from cult-classic source material, Evil Dead Rise feels like a really generic paranormal-slasher. The roots of the curse aren’t thoroughly looked at, and the focus on the movie is much more on Beth than on the paranormal. The movie pretty much just follows Beth and her journey to get out alive with as much of her family as possible.

Due to how the movie starts, the ending also left a sour taste in my mouth. Opening in the future with characters we never even got to meet, the beginning of the movie takes place directly after the end. Leaving the issue of a literal demon on the loose unresolved, this ending simply felt like either a severe misstep or a blatant setup for a sequel. Either way though, it still leaves a hint of unsatisfaction with the viewer for this specific film.

To answer my original question, I’ll give an anti-climatic answer of “neither”. The shock value isn’t empty; it’s paired with memorable characters and palpable humour. But this also certainly isn’t a modern classic. The surface-level take on 40+ year old cult horror lore is sort of unforgivable.

While it is a fun watch, don’t expect Evil Dead Rise to blow your mind in any meaningful way. 7/10