Evil Dead Rise Review: 6 Ups & 4 Downs

Downs...

4. The Laboured First Act

While the beauty of the Evil Dead movies is typically how quickly they get to the point and let loose with the demonic possession mayhem, Evil Dead Rise's first reel takes its time a little more, and not really for the better.

Before we reach the Los Angeles apartment where Ellie (Alyssa Sutherland), her sister Beth (Lily Sullivan), and her three children are assailed by the demon, we're served up a relatively tacked-on prologue sequence which more-or-less feels like a mildly amusing, mostly unrelated Evil Dead short film.

And even when we meet Ellie and her family, the first act takes its sweet time building to the events that need to happen in any Evil Dead film - namely, finding the Book of the Dead, reading the famous incantation, and unleashing the demon.

It doesn't help that the first half-hour-or-so of the film is overloaded with sentimental character development and forces the central characters to do some incredibly foolish things in order for the demon to be released.

It's not a deal-breaker, but considering that most of the Evil Dead movies hit the ground running and don't let their foot off the gas until the very end, this one has a slower, more sober build.