Irish director Lee Cronin has stepped into the large and intimidating shoes of Sam Raimi to helm the latest installment of the Evil Dead franchise. Cronin was a big fan of the series, so it must have been daunting to come in and try not to mess it up. But he says that he got some simple and clear advice from Raimi.
“Make sure there’s scary Deadites, and use the book,” were Raimi’s short and sweet initial words, as Cronin revealed to Den of Geek. He did expand on this a little bit and advised Cronin to use his instincts and “do what you got to do.” What he had to do was “take it somewhere new.” Raimi, producer Rob Tapert and Bruce Campbell (who of course plays Ash) were all on board the upcoming horror movie as producers.
“I think placing horror in recognisable domestic circumstances is often a really great shortcut to connect with an audience, and I thought it’d be very interesting if we could take the malevolence of the Deadites into the city,” Cronin says. “Sam, Rob, and Bruce, being the protectors of all that is Evil Dead, were on board instantly and liked taking it into that space.”
Evil Dead Rise’s Book of the Dead is a “bastard cousin” to the other books we’ve seen previously in the franchise, with Celtic influences, Cronenbergian sketches, sharp teeth, and veins. This Evil Dead book also creates a pathway to “open up the door for more Evil Dead stories moving forward by changing it up.” The redband trailer is below, so only watch if you’re a horror fan!
Evil Dead Rise was filmed in New Zealand (as was recent horror hit M3GAN) and is set in a Los Angeles apartment building, which is a change from the cabin the woods setting we’ve seen in the series before. Cronin will be hoping to put his own stamp on the beloved and long-running franchise, and is probably looking to make more.
While we wait for the release of Evil Dead Rise on April 21, check out our guide to the best slasher movies.