10 Moments In Evil Dead Rise That Make No Sense
Contains spoilers for "Evil Dead Rise"
The "Evil Dead" franchise is amorphous. Sam Raimi's original "The Evil Dead" was a touchstone genre masterpiece, though its follow-up, "Evil Dead II," is still hotly debated. Is it a remake or a sequel? There are the bonkers yet sensational "Army of Darkness," a television series (gone too soon), and Fede Álvarez's slick 2013 remake. Now, there's Lee Cronin's "Evil Dead Rise," which shifts the action from the woods to a Loa Angeles apartment building. No two "Evil Dead" movies are alike. Each is a gruesome springboard for new filmmakers to try their hand at Deadite mayhem.
They are some of the greatest scary movies ever made and arguably the most consistent franchise in horror history. Unlike several other recent remakes (including David Gordon Green's "Halloween" trilogy or the two new "Scream" entries), "Evil Dead" isn't bound to a strict chronology. There's no canon to be mindful of. If one entry directly contradicts another, it doesn't matter. As long as limbs are ripped and blood is spilled, fans won't mind. Still, that doesn't mean there aren't some nagging questions, and "Evil Dead Rise" is no different. We're looking at 10 moments in the latest entry that make no sense.
Walking around after getting scalped
"Evil Dead Rise" is a sensational horror outing that brings the franchise "back to bloody life" after a decade away from theaters. While the apartment brutality is excellent, "Evil Dead Rise" is bookended by two of the best sequences the franchise has seen. In the first, the action is a day ahead of the movie. Teresa (Mirabai Pease) is at the lake with her friend Jessica (Anna-Maree Thomas) and Jessica's new boyfriend, Caleb (Richard Crouchley). Caleb is annoying Teresa, so she heads inside to check on Jessica, who has been sick since they arrived.
Naturally, "Evil Dead" mayhem ensues. Jessica develops a demonic grin and starts reciting passages from "Wuthering Heights," the book Teresa is reading. Ever the naïve soul, Teresa gets a little too close to check on her friend. Jessica springs into action, wrapping Teresa's braid around her hand and swiftly yanking it off, scalping Teresa. The trauma and blood loss should be enough to kill Teresa or, at least, render her immobile, but by the next scene, she's walking outside to warn Caleb. Of course, the franchise is no stranger to victims surviving despite grave injuries, but the unique brutality of the scene renders it all the more perplexing.
Elevator cables
Accounting for the aforementioned lack of chronology, "Evil Dead" lore isn't necessarily gospel. It's at the whim of the filmmaker behind the camera to develop their own take on the established formula. Lee Cronin even delivers a never-before-seen monster guaranteed to excite fans everywhere. Yet, there is one key moment in "Evil Dead Rise" that strains franchise credulity.
Following the expected formula, someone reads from the book, and all hell breaks loose. This time, it's Morgan Davies' Danny. His mother, Ellie (Alyssa Sutherland), takes the elevator, and as she reaches the lobby, the flying camera reaches her. Mirroring the infamous tree scene from the original and remake, she is bound and possessed via elevator cable. Yet, while this has happened, it's never really explained how possessing inanimate objects works. Ash's hand, a mounted deer, or woodland trees are one thing — they're composed of organic matter. An elevator cable isn't. Once more, the franchise muddies the possession waters. There's no clear delineation of what's off-limits. Consider the following: If the book can possess elevator cables, why can't it possess a simple door lock?
Where did the blood come from?
One of "Evil Dead Rise's" best beats comes just before the chainsaw-ripping finale. Survivors Beth (Lily Sullivan) and Kassie (Nell Fisher) have been cornered by the possessed corpses of family and neighbors. With nowhere left to run, they make a last-ditch escape attempt via a ramshackle elevator. It's arguably the movie's tensest moment, with Cronin opting for old-fashioned suspense instead of grisly body horror. Presumably safe inside, the pair soon find blood pouring in from every angle, slowly filling the elevator. Coupled with a Deadite monster atop the car, there seems to be no escape.
However, the collective weight is enough to snap the cable, and as the car lands in the garage, the doors open, spilling Beth and Kassie out in a sensational homage to "The Shining." Yet, for as visually striking as the scene is, it begs the question: Where did all the blood come from? Much like the elevator cables, it's an unclear use of the "Book of the Dead's" power. Did it conjure the blood from thin air, or did it originate elsewhere? And, if so, why not make use of it before? It's a fantastic scene I wouldn't change for the world, but it's wholly removed from "Evil Dead Rise's" internal logic.
Where are the neighbors?
"Evil Dead Rise" makes a big show of how the central family isn't alone. Neighbors are dispatched with gruesome, reckless abandon. Elevator cars collapse. Entire stairwells crumble, trapping the family on their floor. To punctuate the isolation, cell service is inexplicably unavailable. They truly face the Deadite threat alone.
Yet, it makes little sense how they're actually alone. The parking garage is full of cars, suggesting residents on other floors. Even Jessica from the opening scene is revealed to be a tenant who lives nine floors below them. General shrieking and cheese-grater attacks might not alert anyone else, but an entire stairwell has collapsed. Surely, someone in the building has notified the authorities of that, right? There are gunshots, ear-piercing screams, and actual demolition, yet no one ever arrives. No one ever escapes. It's hard to believe this family would be as alone as they're portrayed.
Arbitrary possession
As an addendum of sorts to the possession of inanimate objects, it's worth acknowledging (to the franchise's credit) that human possession has always been arbitrary. It's always dependent on what the plot demands. David, for instance, plays the passage from the book, but it's his mother who is first possessed. However, as the bodies pile up and the body horror starts in earnest, it's curious to note the lack of possessive urgency on "Evil Dead Rise's" part.
In the past, most notably in 2013's "Evil Dead," an attack meant possession. As Deadites pounced and spewed blood, it was only a matter of time before the victim succumbed to the possession as well. In "Evil Dead Rise," however, some characters change instantly, and others take hours. David's possession is almost immediate, but his sister Bridget (Gabrielle Echols) is around for several scenes before she starts showing signs. Plus, protagonist Beth is never at risk. Despite enduring the same level of brutality as the others, she never succumbs. It works on a narrative level — there'd be no movie otherwise — but on a logic level, it's a little too convenient. It's not like the "Book of the Dead" is capable of distinguishing between main and secondary players. Or maybe it is.
Old records in peak condition
As with 1981's "The Evil Dead," The inciting incident is a demonic incantation via recording. In the first, Scott (Richard DeManincor, aka Hal Delrich ) plays an archeologist's tape. In "Evil Dead Rise," David plays a record he found in a hidden bank vault (more on that later). While vinyl records can last up to 1,000 years, presuming they're made with polyvinyl chloride, most will degrade within a few years if not kept in optimal conditions. Buried underground is certainly less than optimal.
And, sure, it's a demonic incantation related to a "Book of the Dead," so the rules of the organic world might not apply. Yet, there's no telling how long the record was buried beneath the apartment before David discovered it. Realistically, there was no way David was getting that record to play at all. They're sensitive things, and a priest's ramblings aren't exactly preserved the same way an exclusive Mondo release might be. Like possession, it works on a narrative level, even if it doesn't pass the record smell test.
Investigating the vault
"Evil Dead Rise" makes a big show of having the characters fear aftershocks of a recent earthquake. No aftershocks occur, though there are at least four mentions of characters needing to be mindful of them. That doesn't stop Ellie from taking the elevator after urging her children not to. It certainly doesn't stop David from slipping into a random hole in the parking garage.
Beyond the incredulity of anyone thinking that might be a good idea, David does so immediately post-quake. While his sister warns him, David descends into the parking lot tomb to explore. There, he finds both the records and the "Book of the Dead," taking them without question. That the vault he's in is littered with frightening religious iconography doesn't strike him as odd in the least. Here's a book bound tight with what looks to be demonic teeth. Why not take it from the spooky tomb? David, watch a horror movie. Any horror movie. Please.
What's for dinner?
It might seem petty, but as the three siblings return to the building with pizzas for dinner, they're frightened by the earthquake. Bridget drops the pizzas, and when they're upstairs safe with Ellie, she even makes a note of valuing her children's lives over some silly pizza. It's a sweet moment that nicely juxtaposes with the impending brutality, but shortly thereafter, everyone is wrapping up their evenings without having had anything to eat. Ellie is taking boxes downstairs, Kassie is taking a bath, and both Bridget and David are doing their own thing.
What did this family eat for dinner? It has no bearing on the plot or trajectory of "Evil Dead Rise" at all, but the three pizzas the kids nabbed looked pretty good. Ooey and gooey and cheesy. It's devastating to not only lose them but to then have nothing to eat? That's simply cruel. Plus, given what we see of the eggs in the kitchen later, it's almost guaranteed no one whipped up a quick omelet. The Deadites in "Evil Dead Rise" vomit like no other, but what's really in their systems? It's not pizza.
Investigating the bloody aftermath
Poor Jessica. The introductory Deadite gets a brief, expository beat just before the end credits of "Evil Dead Rise" roll. As Beth and Kassie leave the complex, the camera cuts to the fifth-story hallway the following morning. The audience, by now, knows that somehow, the evil isn't dead. After all, the opening beat happens after the main events of the movie. So how the evil makes it lakeside is more a matter of how, not if. If only that "if" wasn't so obvious.
As Jessica loads into the car, she successfully goads her friend Teresa into coming to the lake. Teresa wants to bail, but Jessica entraps her via car. She'll be there in 15 minutes. She then hangs up. As she adjusts her mirror, she spots the bloody aftermath of the night's events. Jessica, rather than leaving and phoning the police, gets out to investigate — on foot. Naturally, she is possessed by what latent evil remains. It's not a shock, necessarily, though given the ingenuity on display elsewhere, one can't help but wish Cronin had something more fiendishly clever in store beyond a hoary horror cliché.
Patriotic Deadites
The "Evil Dead" franchise could use a little transnational flair. It's not like the Deadites conjured from hell are especially patriotic. However, in the history of the franchise, several iterations of the "Necronomicon" have existed chiefly in the United States. In "Army of Darkness," Bruce Campbell's Ash Williams finds three different versions of the "Necronomicon." "Evil Dead Rise" director Cronin has suggested the third of these books is discovered in the events of his film. The other two correspond to the volumes in the original series and Fede Alvarez's 2013 remake.
The record in "Evil Dead Rise" also mentions that the "Book of the Dead" is one of three tomes, yet director Lee Cronin hints at the possibility of a fourth book. While not confirmed, it's almost guaranteed to be somewhere in the United States. Granted, domestic studios are going to prioritize domestic audiences, though earlier this year, Fabián Forte's Spanish-language "Legions" was released. Forte crafted a gleeful and heartfelt "Evil Dead" homage, showing the sheer depth of possibilities in the broad concept. It would figure that not every "Book of the Dead" is hidden stateside. Maybe it's time to expand the scope and see what possession might look like elsewhere.