Evil Dead Rise 4K Ultra HD & Blu-ray Review

THE MOVIE — 3½/5

Plot Synopsis: A reunion between two estranged sisters (LILY SULLIVAN, ALYSSA SUTHERLAND) gets cut short by the rise of flesh-possessing demons, thrusting them into a primal battle for survival as they face the most nightmarish version of family imaginable.

Review: The Evil Dead franchise has been churning along for the better part of 40 years now with two direct sequels, a popular television show in Ash vs. Evil Dead, a 2013 quasi-remake and now this, Evil Dead Rise. This is a fine addition as it primarily takes place in a rundown high-rise apartment complex and has the demonic spirit taking on a family.

Admittedly, I’m not the biggest fan of this series though can appreciate what Sam Raimi and Bruce Campbell brought, especially with the 1981 original, shoe-string budget. There are elements that were creepy but other moments, unintentionally goofy before Rami and Campbell really leaned into the horror-comedic aspect with Evil Dead II and Army of Darkness while the 2013 version gave us the more modern-day horror. Evil Dead Rise meanwhile does play it more serious however the demon does have some sickly dark humor sprinkled in. The film also does, particularly in the finale, have the most amount of blood I’ve seen in quite a while, hell maybe ever to the point it turned around what otherwise was a forgettable film.

The film was made on a respectable sub $20 million budget and makes up a mostly unknown cast headed by Lily Sullivan and Alyssa Sutherland (TV series “Vikings”), the latter whom embodies the Deadite. Also included are three kids who at least weren’t overly obnoxious and, in the case of the young girl, overly precocious, something I generally hate about kids in movies. No real standouts with the acting but considering they spend the better part of acts two and three running from Deadites, I can’t fault their commitment especially when they get drenched with blood.

Evil Dead Rise was written and directed by Lee Cronin marking his first studio film following accolades for his work on The Hole in the Ground and like many other indie filmmakers tipping their toes into studio horror films, this one has some interesting shots but most of all, the blood/gore effects were pretty impressive. I don’t know what hard core Evil Dead fans will think, but for myself I found it entertaining enough, albeit not sure when I’d ever revisit it.

SPECIAL FEATURES – 0/5

This release comes with a matted slip cover but unfortunately no features were included.

4K VIDEO – 4½/5, BLU-RAY VIDEO – 4¼/5

Evil Dead Rise comes to 4K Ultra HD and Blu-ray where it’s presented with a 2.39 widescreen aspect ratio and a 2160p and 1080p high-definition transfers, respectively. Having watched the movie in its entirety on 4K, I will focus on that format and as such, I found the picture to look good but not exceptional. Detail at least was decent while colors are very much muted considering how darkly lit the film was, so there were times I couldn’t even see what was going on, though perhaps that was a way to hide certain effects (visual and makeup alike) given the limited budget. Meanwhile, sampling the Blu-ray disc, it still looked fine, with maybe not as great of detail in comparison, but otherwise the two are pretty similar.

AUDIO – 4¾/5

The 4K UHD and Blu-ray discs include a Dolby Atmos track which really showcase the horror elements with screams, blood spewing everywhere and provide good depth for the off screen action while every channel is put to the test rather well.

OVERALL — 3/5

Evil Dead Rise is a decent entry into the franchise that features some great gore effects, during the finale especially. As someone who is only a moderate fan of the series, I found this was to be entertaining but nothing terribly memorable.