Evil Dead Rise 4K Review (Warner Bros)

Evil Dead Rise is a 2023 supernatural horror film written and directed by Lee Cronin (The Hole in the Ground, 50 States of Fright, Minutes Past Midnight, and Ghost Train). It was produced by Sam Raimi (The Evil Dead franchise, Spider-Man franchise, 65, Umma, The Grudge franchise, Don’t Breathe 1/2, Crawl, Poltergeist, Time Cop, Hard Target, and Drag Me Into Hell) and Bruce Campbell (The Evil Dead franchise, Burn Notice, Black Friday, My Name Is Bruce, Jack Of All Trades, and Crimewave). It is the fifth installment of the Evil Dead film series. The budget was an estimated $19 million and it grossed $146.7 million at the box office!!!! One day earlier, upset at learning she is pregnant, guitar technician Beth (played by: Lily Sullivan from Barkskins, Picnic at Hanging Rock, and Mental) visits her sister Ellie (played by: Alyssa Sutherland from The Mist, Vikings, and Blood Vessel), a tattoo artist and single mother to teenagers Danny (played by: Morgan Davies from The Hunter) and Bridget (played by: Gabrielle Echols from Reminiscence), and child Kassie (played by: Nell Fisher from Northspur), in their home at Monde Apartments, a condemned Los Angeles apartment complex. The building is shaken by an dangerous earthquake while the children are in its basement parking lot, uncovering a concealed chamber. Danny investigates it, discovering religious artifacts, three phonograph records from 1923, and a strange old book that he takes up to his room, believing he could possibly sell it and use the money to help Ellie. The initial record details rejected efforts by a priest to research the book, revealed to be one of three volumes of the Naturom Demonto. The subsequent record reveals the priest continued his research in secret and recites an incantation that summons demonic entities known as Deadites. The building’s power fails and Ellie is possessed by an unseen force. She returns to the apartment in a trance, menacingly threatens her family. They are forced to fight against the person that they all love the most. They want to save her from this evil but is it even possible at this point? They are struggling to defend themselves as Ellie’s army of Deadites start to outnumber them, can they win this brutal battle???? I personally think Evil Dead Rise should have been called something else because it honestly doesn’t feel like a real Evil Dead movie to me. It does feature some traditional elements that allows it to be connected to the legendary horror series but it just comes off as a completely different film. I wish it was more like the opening to this which was great. That had the most Evil Dead vibe when it comes to Rise. This just feels like very gruesome possession flick to me. Don’t get me wrong, I really enjoyed this one. It’s one of goriest and most brutal mainstream horror movies of the year. It doesn’t hold back when it comes to violence, kills, and blood. The script definitely delivers when it comes to the suspense and thrills. The isolated apartment complex works well when you take in it’s atmosphere. The cast is really solid in this especially the two leads Alyssa Sutherland and Lily Sullivan. Evil Dead Rise has excellent special fx, production design, cinematography, and music. It’s one of the better horror films of the year but please do not go into expecting a traditional Evil Dead feature because this one is very different. This is the type of movie that you appreciate a little more after a revisit since you know what to expect while checking it out again. It’s now available for streaming on HBO Max if you are curious before making a purchase. RECOMMENDED!!!! Let’s discuss this high definition presentation from Warner Bros Pictures and New Line Cinema!!!! This 2160p (2.39:1) transfer with HDR10 looks great in 4K. Evil Dead Rise has one main location and it really shines here with it’s quality production design and cinematography. The gore and violence really pops in HD. It has a big variety of audio options which includes English: Dolby Atmos, English: Dolby TrueHD 7.1, English: Dolby Digital 5.1, French (Canada): Dolby Digital 5.1, Spanish: Dolby Digital 5.1, and German: Dolby Digital 5.1 on this UHD. All of the dialogue is very clean, the bloodshed is elevated, and the music has a killer boost to it. It has English SDH, French, German SDH, Spanish, Czech, Danish, Finnish, Korean, Mandarin, Norwegian, and Swedish subtitles. This is a fantastic technical home video release. You know the biggest shocker about this 4K? Absolutely no special features at all. That’s definitely a head scratcher because I don’t see a big collector’s edition or director’s cut coming out anytime soon. It does include a slipcover, a digital code, and a blu ray copy of the release. Like I said before, it’s currently available for streaming on HBO Max. It’s available everywhere right now, CHECK IT OUT!!!!