As I said last week, we would get back to the movies. My brother Aaron and I actually did a double feature. We saw both Renfield (Nicolas Cage as Dracula) and Evil Dead Rise. I won’t dive into Renfield too much, but I thought it was a solid film but not great. If Nicolas Cage wasn’t in it it would be very forgettable. I’d give it 3 stars. However, I will spoil this right now. Evil Dead Rise was REALLY, REALLY, GOOD! This is also coming from someone who isn’t a big fan of the franchise. Yes, we have another franchise. The Evil Dead Universe is made up for 5 movies and a tv show that features the original hero Ash Williams (Bruce Campbell) The original film came out in 1981 and became a cult classic. You then had Evil Dead II in 1987, which was a sequel/remake with the same cast. A little weird. You have Army of Darkness also starring Bruce Campbell as Ash Williams and then we had Evil Dead that was released in 2013. Ash isn’t really in it. There is a new protagonist. I enjoyed this one and then obviously 10 years passed. So how would this film hold up? Would I be bored and unimpressed…No

Onto the film.

We open a couple and the woman’s friend at a cabin by the lake. Immediately the score is creepy. You are immediately on edge. We see the camera flying through the sky and it turns out it’s the man’s drone. He’s playing pranks and trying to scare one of the girls. Then things get crazy. I don’t want to give any more of this opening because I was so impressed. I will say this opening will put you on your toes and I was immediately invested. This segment alone is worth the price of admission.

We then meet are main cast and our heroine named Beth (Sullivan) who is having a hard time in life. She’s coming to see her sister and Ellie (Sutherland) three kids. Its clear that they have estranged relationship. We get to know the kids a little bit and can tell they are like typical teenagers, not listening to anyone. The younger girl Kassie (Fisher) is the best actor of the bunch, but they are all good. So, we have a typical family drama and then…an earthquake happens. A hole opens up in the ground and you can

see the family lives in an old skyscraper (hence the Rise in the title) but it used to be a bank? There’s a vault in the basement. Of course, the kids explore when they shouldn’t, and Danny (Davies) takes a book and some old records. If you are a fan of this series, you know this is the Naturom Demonto (the book of the dead) which is never good. We can all see where this is going but I will leave it at that.

This film is crazy but in a good way. If you’re a fan of horror films, you will absolutely love it. I have a quote from my brother regarding this, “ This movie is not for the faint of heart. Fans of the franchise will definitely not be disappointed.” He also said he hasn’t had this much fun since he saw the movie Gangster Squad in theaters! He’s right though. The film is very gory. I was shocked and winced several times. That being said, the director and cinematography excel in unique shots to intrigue the viewer so its not just gore and death. There is a scene looking through a peephole in the door. It works. The actors go in and out of the shot and adds to the tension. Nice work!

However, I can’t give this 5 stars unfortunately. My ONE complaint is the movie force feeds you “important” items. Hey, let’s show these scissors. Let’s linger on it, well obviously those will be important. This happened 5 or 6 times which was slightly frustrating. Let the viewer be in the dark. Do show your hand so much before you play it. It doesn’t ruin the movie, just a slight ding on a fantastic horror film. If you’re a fan of the genre and/or the franchise run to see this! I hope there is more!! 4 ½ stars out of 5