Evil Dead Rise writer/director, Lee Cronin, recently posted on Twitter confirming that they are halfway done filming the new movie. The horror series originally began with Sam Raimi's The Evil Dead, which was released in 1981. It follows a group of college students who decide to spend some time away in a cabin in the woods. When they unknowingly release dangerous supernatural entities, they start falling victim to possession. Ash Williams (Bruce Campbell) must fight to survive, if he ever hopes to escape the woods.
The film received an X-rating at the time, despite not being sexually explicit, due to its extreme level of violence. Despite its controversy, it went on to generate an entire franchise and become one of the most successful cult series in history. The following two installments are titled Evil Dead 2: Dead by Dawn and Army of Darkness, followed by a reboot simply titled Evil Dead in 2013. The series also went on to inspire video game adaptations. From 2015-2018, the franchise continued with the television series Ash vs. Evil Dead. The upcoming film is set to take place in an urban setting, swapping out the cabin in the woods for a skyscraper.
Cronin posted on Twitter to update fans on the status of Evil Dead Rise. He originally tweeted on the first day of filming in early June and today, he updated his social media officially confirming that the shoot is halfway done. With one-hundred rolls and 597 slates, the horror film is well underway. See below for Cronin's tweet:
Click here to see the post on Twitter
While the set photo doesn't reveal anything new about the plot or the characters, it's exciting to see that the film is officially halfway completed. Before making Evil Dead Rise, Cronin made his directorial feature debut with The Hole in the Ground in 2019, which premiered at the Sundance Film Festival. The new installment to The Evil Dead franchise sees Raimi as an executive producer, alongside Campbell.
The film is expected to be released in 2022 with distribution being handled by HBO Max. The horror genre has been performing rather well on streaming platforms, such as the recent Fear Street trilogy on Netflix, which is being released weekly. While it would be a blast to see the franchise return back to the silver screen, this particular release plan isn't too surprising, given that the movie theater business is still recovering from the coronavirus (COVID-19) pandemic. If Evil Dead Rises performs well on HBO Max, it's likely that horror fans will get the opportunity to see the franchise continue.
Source: Lee Cronin