Bruce Campbell, best known for his starring role in the Evil Dead horror franchise as Ash Williams, says that the official fourth entry in the series – Evil Dead Rise, has a family plotline that makes the entire film more painful for its characters. The first film in the series arrived in 1981 from Sam Raimi. The story of how that film came to be and its subsequent success, remains a point of inspiration for many up and coming filmmakers.
But in terms of its achievements as a horror film, the Evil Dead series has had a major impact on the genre. Even the gore that the films are known for continues to be in a league of its own. It’s also arguable that the Evil Dead films helped to create the horror comedy genre, which, while not the most popular sub-genre in existence, still retains a dedicated following. Yet, after Raimi concluded what was thought by many to simply be a trilogy with 1992’s Army of Darkness, some fans maintained that another Evil Dead film would materialize sooner or later. Unfortunately, by the time the fourth film does arrive, it will mark a thirty-year wait for more. The series received a soft reboot in 2013, and while director Fede Alvarez did an admirable job, what fans of the series really wanted was another sequel.
News of a fourth Evil Dead has understandably been welcome by fans, but the fact that Campbell isn’t going to star in it has disappointed some. Fortunately, however, Campbell is producing Evil Dead Rise, and during a recent interview with German horror site Blair Witch, Campbell spoke about the new film as well as how this time around, its plot focuses on a new group of people who make the rather unfortunate discovery of a book - otherwise known as the Necronomicon. As Campbell explains below, the fact that the main cast of characters in Evil Dead Rise are family makes the entire situation that much more painful. Read what Campbell:
“This family is not the same at the end of the movie. Well, they’re gutted, the whole family is destroyed, you know, these people get possessed – brothers and sisters, sons, daughters, you know. So yeah, it’s a family affair, this one’s a family affair. They’re all related in this one. I think that makes the possession and killing your siblings – things like that, even harder. Because in the original Evil Dead, there was only one brother/sister combo, Ash and his sister Sheryl. The rest were just friends. Now this is all, they’re all related in this household. Much more excruciating.”
The new film also marks the first time in the series that the setting is an urban one, with much of the action (if not all) reportedly taking place in a high rise. The original film was one of the first to make a cabin in the woods a popular setting for a horror film, but today, the trope has been used so many times that it’s now reached a cliched sort of status. For this reason, setting an Evil Dead film in the city, in a high rise is a bit of a breath of fresh air for the franchise. This being said, the successful (but ultimately relatively short-lived) Evil Dead TV series, Ash vs Evil Dead, did move beyond the forest, and fans seemed to greatly appreciate this change of pace and setting. But of course, that series still had Campbell as Ash.
Judging by what’s currently known about Evil Dead Rise, it’s clear that the franchise is aiming to set itself apart from the idea that it can only ever be about Ash’s ongoing fight against Deadites. As Campbell also explained in the above interview, the focus now is on the Necronomicon and how a new group of people react to having it and the Deadites in their lives. Ultimately, the book is what kickstarted the entire franchise, meaning those fans who feel betrayed that Ash isn’t involved this time around should take time to enjoy the bigger picture.
Source: BlairWitch.De