The long-awaited Evil Dead Rise, the latest film in the Evil Dead franchise, has received an R rating for "bloody violence and gore" ahead of release. The latest sequel in the franchise will be written and directed by Lee Cronin, who was handpicked by series creator Sam Raimi. Raimi and original Evil Dead icon Bruce Campbell also serve as executive producers on Evil Dead Rise.
The fifth film in the overall Evil Dead franchise, Evil Dead Rise once more resurrects the terror of the Necronomicon Ex-Mortis and the Deadites that it brings forth. Following sisters Ellie (Alyssa Sutherland) and Beth (Lily Sullivan), Evil Dead Rise puts the pair, and Ellie's children, in the claustrophobic nightmare of a Deadite siege on her cramped L.A. apartment block when the flesh-covered book is found in the depths of the building. Following Cronin's announcement of the film's picture-lock status, Evil Dead Rise has officially received a rating fitting of Raimi's bloody franchise.
As reported by Comicbook.com, Evil Dead Rise was submitted to the Motion Picture Association and has since received an official rating ahead of its release later this year. The MPA awarded the film an R rating, stating that the film featured "strong bloody horror violence and gore, and some language." The R rating brings Evil Dead Rise in line with other releases in the Evil Dead franchise, as Evil Dead 2, Army of Darkness, and Fede Alvarez's 2013 Evil Dead reboot each received an R rating for their bloody and gory content. The only outlier is Raimi's original The Evil Dead, which has instead held an NC-17 rating since its 1981 release.
Filmed in New Zealand throughout 2021, Evil Dead Rise promises to be a bolder, more fresh entry in the Evil Dead franchise despite receiving a similar rating to prior installments, separating itself from many pieces of the film's iconography. The 2013 reboot created a new continuity inspired by the original film by retelling the horrors of the cabin in the woods, with a brief cameo of Campbell giving his approval. In contrast, Evil Dead Rise moves beyond both the familiar setting of the cabin and hero Ash Williams (Campbell) that other films and television series have explored and expanded upon. Despite having neither Raimi directing nor Campbell starring, the director and actor have taken up executive producer roles on the production, with Campbell previously highlighting the family dynamic as a stark contrast from any Evil Dead story that came before.
With a new director and writer helming the project, and a premise far removed from prior stories, many fans may have wondered whether Evil Dead Rise would maintain the series' expected levels of gore and violence. The franchise set itself apart from other films in the genre immediately from the original movie, which at the time of release was regarded as a notorious splatter movie, and met with controversy and even bans in some territories. While no other Evil Dead film has surpassed the original's rating, the series has still maintained its bloody legacy with each entry, and Evil Dead Rise promises to carry on the tradition when it releases on HBO Max later in 2022.
Source: Comicbook.com