Evil Dead Rise Review

Possession is nine-tenths of the law

BY ALEX DE VORE alex@sfreporter.com

Writer/director Lee Cronin (The Hole in the Ground) picks up the Sam Raimi/Evil Dead mantle and runs with it in Evil Dead Rise, the newest chapter (offshoot?) in the enduring horror franchise that always expertly merges real scares with a certain silliness.

Here, Cronin trades Raimi’s more pastoral cabin-based environs for the stuffy confines of a small Los Angeles apartment on some high-up floor of a former bank building. There, estranged sisters Beth (Australian import Lily Sullivan) and Ellie (Alyssa Sutherland, The Devil Wears Prada) reunite as the former faces a pregnancy scare and the latter prepares her three children for a move following the collapse of her marriage. Nobody feels OK. But then an earthquake reveals an entrance to a bank vault, where Ellie’s kid Danny (Morgan Davies) discovers the freaking Necronomicon (that’s the book that unleashes them demons, n00bs). The Deadites rush in, possessing Ellie and wreaking havoc. The already fractured family finds themselves stuck on their floor as the demon in charge starts picking off other residents and Beth is thrust into a de facto protector role; gore and frights abound.

7 + CAGE SLAYS; SILLY IN THE RIGHT WAYS - ORIGINAL PREMISE BUT UN-ORIGINAL EXECUTION

Some might be surprised to see Walking Dead creator Robert Kirkman’s name scroll by in the credits for new action/comedy Renfield, but if we remember all the way back to Kirkman’s 2000 comic series Battle Pope, it starts to make more sense. Turns out Kirkman was funny once, and his story/writing credits for Renfield—what with its over-the-top comedic gore and wry take on the over-stuffed horror genre by way of Universal movie monsters—proves that big time. It isn’t that this new one’s a capital-G Good movie per se, more like it’s exactly the kind of thing in which you want to see Nicolas Cage.

Renfield flips the script with the character Robert Montague Renfield (played by Tom Waits in the campy 1992 Francis Ford Coppola Dracula movie if that helps you picture who we’re talking about; here played by The Menu’s Nicholas Hoult). The plot turns the familiar character into a neurotic type struggling with his toxic relationship to his boss, Dracula (Cage), in modern day New Orleans. Our hero, as it were, stumbles into a support group for people in similar relationships, and uses their tales of woe to source bad guy meals for his convalescing vampire boss. Working this angle, however, puts Renfield at odds with the city’s most nefarious crime syndicate, the Lobos, which in turn leads him into a new world of good and evil, prompting him to join forces with dogged cop Rebecca (Awkwafina, who notably ditch-

Cronin’s film is at its best when paying tribute to Raimi’s shooting style and pacing. In some aspects, the homage feels almost like hero worship, and why shouldn’t it? Even in his later works with blockbuster properties, Raimi always managed to insert his signature beats into things. The man’s a master and a visionary and Cronin knows this well—he also lets the omnipresent oppressive bleakness permeate the air in everything from the reality of being trapped to the horrors of your parent, or something that looks just like them, out to consume your soul.

Evil Dead Rise is Sutherland’s show. As much as Sullivan seems to revel in her character’s rise to agency, and as well as how the kids (Davies, plus Gabrielle Echols and Nell Fisher) handle tears and frights and hard-swallowing lines about, “I don’t think you should open that book,” Sutherland’s es the AAVE speaking patterns that landed her in hot water some time ago). They fight gangsters while Renfield works out how to get himself out from under Dracula’s thumb.

Renfield is, at times, very funny—like in an exchange of ska joke one-liners between support group members or in how director Chris McKay (The Lego Movie) faithfully sends up scenes from the 1931 Bela Lugosi Dracula. Hoult, meanwhile, keeps leaning further into comedy following roles in things like Hulu’s The Great. He has a knack for it, though he tends to play funny the same way across whatever he’s doing. Awkwafina is awkwa-fine as the cop with an over-inflated sense of justice, though it’s odd that her idea of right and wrong seems cherry-picked based on whom she likes personally or not. Parks and Rec alum Ben Schwartz is just plain bad as the heir to the crime family; Shohreh Aghdashloo as the matriarch, however, carries gravitas, brief though her scenes may be. Cage, meanwhile, for all his bluster in interviews about the film being Hoult’s thing, is at the height of his powers as the legendary movie/lit monster. Somehow, he straddles a bizarre sincerity within his over-the-top performance. Renfield is undoubtedly better when he’s on screen, unless, of course, we’re talking about the absurd gore; including a rather gruesome homage, presumably, to Mortal Kombat that we shan’t spoil here, but which made our entire audience groan, “Ohhhhhhhh!!!! Ewwww!”

And so it goes, all the way through to the predictable conclusion. Perhaps Renfield could be described as a formulaic buddy cop flick, like Lethal Weapon meets Dracula, but its players relish in its silliness,

+ FUN AND WEIRD; DRIPPING WITH STYLIZED GORE - QUESTIONS UNANSWERED committed dive into contortionist mayhem and bad-ass demon lines like, “Mommy’s in hell with the maggots,” steals every scene she’s in. Otherwise, Cronin’s bloody pastiche hits cinematographic highs (like a sequence shot through an apartment door’s fisheye peephole or the absolutely stunning opening credit reveal that flips a mainstay Raimi technique into the most metal thing in the world) and lows (why does that elevator magically work again?) on its quest to gory greatness. Horror fans shouldn’t miss it, but those with weaker stomachs or possession phobias might wanna just move on and forget the whole thing.

Evil Dead Rise

Directed by Cronin particularly under the learned craftwork of Cage. Don’t expect a transformative experience, obviously, but do expect a super-fun time at the movies. (ADV) Violet Crown, Regal, R, 93 min.

With Sullivan, Sutherland, Davies, Echols and Fisher Violet Crown, Regal, R, 97 min.

THE SUPER MARIO BROS. MOVIE

5 + STUNNING ANIMATION AND SOUND - BARELY-THERE STORY; SUBPAR VOICE ACTING; TOO CUTE AT TIMES

OK, yeah, sure—The Super Mario Bros. Movie is made for and aimed at children. But just like most animated properties since the dawn of animation, a contingent of adult moviegoers will certainly see the thing. Don’t forget, either, the parents who will have to take their kids; there should be things in there for them, too. And yet...ugh.

Animation studio Illumination (makers of the Minions movies) would surely know the very concept of a Mario Bros. film would speak to various generations. For so many of us, Mario, Luigi, Princess Peach, Bowser and all the rest have been ubiquitous characters as far back as we can remember. Why, then, does this movie work so hard to be devoid of originality? Dimensional characters? Why does it eschew much of anything outside of repeated jokes from other films, Easter egg nods that feel less like sly winks than they do hammers emblazoned with “remember when...?” on them and celebrity voices less interested in crafting characters than sounding as much like themselves as possible?

In The Super Mario Bros. Movie, we follow brothers Mario and Luigi as they embark upon a new plumbing venture in New York City. No one believes in them, though, which proves an especially damning reality to endure when they’re swept into the alternate dimension Mushroom Kingdom through a pipe located deep within the sewers of Brooklyn. Seems a big ol’ fire-breathing turtle guy called Boswer (Jack Black; the only truly fun element of the movie) is hell-bent on domination and has taken over parts of the realm. Separated and forced to rely on the expositional facets crammed down our throats in the film’s early minutes, Mario (Chris Pratt) sets off to do brave stuff and make quips about heart or whatever, while Luigi (Charlie Day) drops Scooby-Doo-esque lines about g-g-g-g-ghosts or, in this case, k-k-k-k-koopas! Mario teams up with the Mushroom Kingdom’s Princess Peach (Anya Taylor Joy in what is just plain a mind-numbingly boring performance), Toad (Keegan-Michael Key, who, like Black, actually tries acting) and Donkey Kong (Seth Rogen doing his best impression of Seth Rogen) to find his brother and stop Bowser. Spoiler alert? They win.

As for recycled humor from other movies and a whole heck of a lot of assuming most people will just know who the Mario characters are, well, let’s just say that if a kid who never had video games wandered into a theater, they’d be baffled. Oh, but look—there’s Rainbow Road from Mario Kart! There’s Kranky Kong from Donkey Kong Country! Flashing lights! Yoshi the dinosaur in the background! Love conquers all while the 50th slo-mo moment stands in for anything the least bit clever! (ADV) Violet Crown, Regal, PG, 92 min.

JONESIN’ CROSSWORD

Psychics

Mind Body Spirit

Rob Brezsny Week of April 26th

ARIES (March 21-April 19): According to a study by Newsweek magazine, 58 percent of us yearn to experience spiritual growth; 33 percent report having had a mystical or spiritual experience; 20 percent of us say we have had a revelation from God in the last year; and 13 percent have been in the presence of an angel. Given the astrological omens currently in play for you Aries, I suspect you will exceed all those percentages in the coming weeks. I hope you will make excellent use of your sacred encounters. What two areas of your life could most benefit from a dose of divine assistance or intervention? There’s never been a better time than now to seek a Deus ex machina. (More info: https://tinyurl. com/GodIntercession)

TAURUS (April 20-May 20): After the fall of the Roman Empire, political cohesion in its old territories was scarce for hundreds of years. Then a leader named Charlemagne (747–814) came along and united much of what we now call Western Europe. He was unusual in many respects. For example, he sought to master the arts of reading and writing. Most other rulers of his time regarded those as paltry skills that were beneath their dignity. I mention this fact, Taurus, because I suspect it’s a propitious time to consider learning things you have previously regarded as unnecessary or irrelevant or outside your purview. What might these abilities be?

GEMINI (May 21-June 20): I’m turning this horoscope over to Nigerian poet Ijeoma Umebinyuo. She has three messages that are just what you need to hear right now.

1. “Start now. Start where you are. Start with fear. Start with pain. Start with doubt. Start with hands shaking. Start with voice trembling but start. Start and don’t stop. Start where you are, with what you have.” 2. “You must let the pain visit. You must allow it to teach you. But you must not allow it to overstay.”

3. “Write a poem for your 14-year-old self. Forgive her. Heal her. Free her.”

CANCER (June 21-July 22): Historical records tell us that Chinese Emperor Hungwu (1328–1398) periodically dealt with overwhelming amounts of decision-making. During one ten-day phase of his reign, for example, he was called on to approve 1,660 documents concerning 3,391 separate issues. Based on my interpretation of the planetary omens, I suspect you may soon be called on to deal with a similar outpouring. This might tempt you toward over-stressed reactions like irritation and selfmedication. But I hope you’ll strive to handle it all with dignity and grace. In fact, that’s what I predict you will do. In my estimation, you will be able to summon the extra poise and patience to manage the intensity.

LEO (July 23-Aug. 22): Is it even possible for us humans to live without fear—if even for short grace periods? Could you or I or anyone else somehow manage to celebrate, say, 72 hours of freedom from all worries and anxieties and trepidations? I suspect the answer is no. We may aspire to declare our independence from dread, but 200,000 years of evolution ensures that our brains are hard-wired to be ever-alert for danger. Having provided that perspective, however, I will speculate that if anyone could approach a state of utter dauntlessness, it will be you Leos in the next three weeks. This may be as close as you will ever come to an extended phase of bold, plucky audacity.

VIRGO (Aug. 23-Sept. 22): “Dear Sunny Bright Cheery Upbeat Astrologer: You give us too many sunny, bright, cheery, upbeat predictions. They lift my mood when I first read them, but later I’m like, “What the hell?” Because yeah, they come true, but they usually cause some complications I didn’t foresee. Maybe you should try offering predictions that bum me out, since then I won’t have to deal with making such big adjustments. —Virgo Who is Weary of Rosy Hopeful Chirpy Horoscopes.” Dear Virgo: You have alluded to a key truth about reality: Good changes often require as much modification and adaptation as challenging changes. Another truth: One of my specialties is helping my readers manage those good changes. And by the way: I predict the next two weeks will deliver a wealth of interesting and buoyant changes.

LIBRA (Sept. 23-Oct. 22): Poet Pablo Neruda wrote, “Let us look for secret things somewhere in the world on the blue shores of silence.” That might serve as a good motto for you in the coming weeks. By my astrological reckoning, you’ll be wise to go in quest for what’s secret, concealed, and buried. You will generate fortuitous karma by smoking out hidden agendas and investigating the rest of the story beneath the apparent story. Be politely pushy, Libra. Charmingly but aggressively find the missing information and the shrouded rationales. Dig as deep as you need to go to explore the truth’s roots.

SCORPIO (Oct. 23-Nov. 21): We’ve all done things that make perfect sense to us, though they might look nonsensical or inexplicable to an outside observer. Keep this fact in your awareness during the next two weeks, Scorpio. Just as you wouldn’t want to be judged by uninformed people who don’t know the context of your actions, you should extend this same courtesy to others, especially now. At least some of what may appear nonsensical or inexplicable will be serving a valuable purpose. Be slow to judge. Be inclined to offer the benefit of the doubt.

SAGITTARIUS (Nov. 22-Dec. 21): I completely understand if you feel some outrage about the lack of passion and excellence you see in the world around you. You have a right to be impatient with the laziness and carelessness of others. But I hope you will find ways to express your disapproval constructively. The best approach will be to keep criticism to a minimum and instead focus on generating improvements. For the sake of your mental health, I suggest you transmute your anger into creativity. You now have an enhanced power to reshape the environments and situations you are part of so they work better for everyone.

CAPRICORN (Dec. 22-Jan. 19): In the 17th century, renowned Capricorn church leader James Ussher announced he had discovered when the world had been created. It was at 6 pm on October 22 in the year 4004 BCE. From this spectacularly wrong extrapolation, we might conclude that not all Capricorns are paragons of logic and sound analysis 100 percent of the time. I say we regard this as a liberating thought for you in the coming weeks. According to my analysis, it will be a favorable time to indulge in wild dreams, outlandish fantasies, and imaginative speculations. Have fun, dear Capricorn, as you wander out in the places that singer Tom Petty referred to as “The Great Wide Open.”

AQUARIUS (Jan. 20-Feb. 18): We often evaluate prospects quantitatively: how big a portion do we get, how much does something cost, how many social media friends can we add? Quantity does matter in some cases, but on other occasions may be trumped by quality. A few close, trustworthy friends may matter more than hundreds of Instagram friends we barely know. A potential house may be spacious and affordable, but be in a location we wouldn’t enjoy living in. Your project in the coming weeks, Aquarius, is to examine areas of your life that you evaluate quantitatively and determine whether there are qualitative aspects neglected in your calculations.

PISCES (Feb. 19-March 20): “Dear Dr. Astrology: Help! I want to know which way to go. Should I do the good thing or the right thing? Should I be kind and sympathetic at the risk of ignoring my selfish needs? Or should I be a pushy stickler for what’s fair and true, even if I look like a preachy grouch? Why is it so arduous to have integrity?

—Pinched Pisces.” Dear Pisces: Can you figure out how to be half-good and half-right? Half-self-interested and halfgenerous? I suspect that will generate the most gracious, constructive results.

Homework: If you could change into an animal for a day, what would you be?

Newsletter.FreeWillAstrology.com

Go to RealAstrology.com to check out Rob Brezsny’s Expanded Weekly Audio Horoscopes and Daily Text Message Horoscopes . The audio horoscopes are also available by phone at 1-877-873-4888 or 1-900-950-7700.

© COPYRIGHT 2023 ROB BREZSNY

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Santa Fe Reporter 4/26/23 & 5/3/23