Evil Dead: Awakens July 14 on Blu-ray and DVD

The appetite for gory horror has reunited the team of producers of the original and subsequent Evil Dead films : producer Rob Tapert, Sam Raimi and Bruce Campbell. Enriched by the experience and perspective of the excellent filmmaker Lee Cronin, they now decide to move the action to a new place to achieve a completely new quality.

Since 1981, when Sam Raimi’s now cult classic Evil Dead was first presented to the public, a great phenomenon has been born that has gathered a crowd of fans that today exceeds a generation. Planning to create the highly anticipated new film in the series, Raimi met with the producers in 2018 and introduced the idea of ​​doing something different in cinema, using the legacy of the series, but at the same time taking the narrative in a completely different direction.

Tapert recalls:

The idea of ​​making a new movie so different from anything that had come before, to bring the action to the city was something that everyone was excited about. One of the things we wanted to do with Evil Dead was to change what we’ve done in the past. Additionally, what sets this particular film apart from the previous ones is that the whole action is driven by women.

Campbell says:

The restoration and development of this series is the result of the success of previous projects. Whatever we’ve done in the past, the fans have always said, “We want more!” You can never satisfy Evil Dead fans, and that’s a beautiful thing. Once we agreed and brought in Lee Cronin, he wrote the script and we got to work on the whole film.

This iconic horror franchise was no unfamiliar territory for Cronin, having grown up with it from an early age:

I got to know this world when my father showed me Evil Dead and Evil Dead II on VHS. I was nine then. I also remember the storm and power outage that made watching these movies a special experience. They left an indelible mark on me. Then I came back to them when I was a teenager, so they really stuck with me.

A few years later, when he began to build his film career, Cronin recalls rather prophetically:

I remember thinking: Something I’d really like to do is make Evil Dead or be involved in some sort of sequel to that series.

For the creators, it was very important to take the action away from the (mainly) male characters and place it in the hands of women armed with a chainsaw. As Tapert notes:

Lee Cronin introduced elements not found in other films in the series. The plot is incredibly engaging, but also includes many familiar tropes – dedicated fans of the series will be more than satisfied.

Cronin explains:

Just when I thought the story would be about family. I knew there had to be children in this story. And since we’re talking about the Evil Dead movie , that of course meant that no matter what, some of these kids had to be possessed. This leads to even greater consequences. I really wanted to see what would happen to these children. I mean, you rip off a kid’s limb and throw it into space, and for the audience, all bets are off at that point and anything can happen.

For sisters Beth and Ellie, two major roles took shape as Cronin delved into the characters’ psyche and the impact of selection on life:

I thought it was really interesting to explore the different choices people can make. And the story just seemed perfect to be told through the eyes of these two characters.

Evil Dead: Awakening is, after all, the story of two quarreling sisters whose meeting after many years is interrupted by the appearance of demons. Women forced to fight together in the face of danger begin to cooperate. They meet in the face of family and personal crises: Ellie has just separated from her husband and is struggling to raise and support three children alone, Beth, having no one else, decides to renew her relationship with her sister and thus shows up unexpectedly at the door of her house. For Ellie, it’s just another worry on an already long list.

The tension between the sisters is masterfully portrayed on screen, partly due to Beth’s jealousy, who has always wanted the family and shelter that Ellie has created for herself – and she looks longingly at the freedom that Beth’s lack of parental responsibilities gives her. Both actresses look like real sisters in the film, which is also evident in the warmth with which they recall working together on the set of the film.

As Raimi recalls:

The entire cast was really great. All the actors gave a real show. I think it’s very important because Lee Cronin tells a horror story about family. How much viewers care about these characters is directly proportional to the effectiveness of the film. It has to do with the script, but mostly with the performances and skills of the actors.

In Poland, Evil Dead: Awakening will be released on July 14 on Blu-ray™ and DVD. You can see our review of this production at this link .