With Evil Dead Rise now streaming [read our review here], William Stottor ranks the Evil Dead franchise from worst to best…
5 – Army of Darkness (1992)
In a nutshell: absolutely balmy, even for this absurd film series. Army of Darkness is considerably lighter in tone than any other Evil Dead film and whilst it is amusing for the most part, the humour can sometimes wear thin and feel inane.
Bruce Campbell returns as Ash, after having been transported to the Middle Ages at the end of Evil Dead II. Army of Darkness is largely a comedic character study of this cultural icon, with more gleefully stupid one-liners than you can shake a stick at. Ash, again, just wants to get home, but he is ultimately too lazy and half-arsed in his attempts, not even able to correctly say the words that will return him back to the present: “Klaatu barada nikto”. It’s an amusing concept, setting and direction for the series, and a decent expanded exploration of Ash.
Army of Darkness feels messier than Sam Raimi’s first two films in the series and too light on Deadites, although it is impossible to hate a film this farcical, humorous and light-hearted. There is still a great iconicity to both Army of Darkness and Ash, whilst the film’s visual style remains refreshing, ensuring Raimi’s third and (so far) final film in the series is far from being a disaster.
4 – Evil Dead Rise (2023)
In 2023, Lee Cronin entered the directorial chair, becoming the third person to helm an Evil Dead film. The result is decent, if a little underwhelming in comparison to Raimi’s first two films and Fede Álvarez’s reimagining. Nevertheless, Evil Dead Rise feels like a strong amalgamation of those entries, with an absurd comedy balanced against an overarching creepiness – and don’t forget the inventive kills and devious violence.
Evil Dead Rise manages to stay just fresh enough to enter the series as a welcome addition, even moving the setting to a city apartment block, although it inevitably suffers from a predictability. Cronin’s fine eye for minute details are great though, with small details such as the scraping of fingernails across a surface or clacking of teeth really amplifying the horror aspects of Evil Dead Rise.
One thing the Evil Dead films have always done well are riotous finales, and Cronin’s iteration, which takes place in the basement carpark of the block, is no different. It is as deranged, gory, depraved, and beautifully ridiculous in its gore as anything else in the series. There might not be as iconic a moment as Ash’s hand amputation or the blood-rain shower in 2013’s reboot, but Cronin’s finale remains a triumph of intense, roaring horror.
3 – Evil Dead (2013)
21 years lay between 1992’s Army of Darkness and the fourth film in the Evil Dead series. News of Fede Álvarez’s soft reboot was perhaps not warmly welcomed by some Deadite devotees, who felt the original trilogy was better off left alone, but 2013’s Evil Dead is nothing short of a triumphant gorefest.
The set up is familiar: another film, another cabin in the woods, and more foolish people reading threatening books that house dangerous demonic forces. Evil Dead (2013) doesn’t reinvent the wheel by any stretch of the imagination, but it has some of the most wince-inducing violence in any film from the 2010s – a needle stabbing a face, for example, is a difficult image to both watch and forget.
Evil Dead (2013) is also considerably darker than the previous three films, doing away with much of the comedy and absurdity of those and doubling down on the terrifying notions of demonic possession. Álvarez’s reboot might alienate some diehard Evil Dead fans with this tonal change, but it still roars with respectful nods to Raimi’s films, such as the unforgettable, breathless finale involving an amputation, chainsaw, and intense rain storm of blood. Álvarez has gone on to direct other horrors such as Don’t Breathe (2016), but his directorial debut is the modern horror classic that stands out.
2 – The Evil Dead (1981)
Where the mayhem began. The first film in the series was well-received upon its release in 1981, but its stature as both an independent cult classic and horror film has only grown over the years.
Five friends travel to an isolated cabin in the woods and after four of them become demonically possessed, it falls to the fifth and final member to fight back. In Campbell’s priceless, unforgettable first performance as Ash Williams, a horror icon to rival the best – it’s on par with Sigourney Weaver’s Ellen Ripley from the Alien series – was born.
Tom Sullivan’s prosthetics, makeup and stop-motion animations add a special tone to The Evil Dead, whilst Raimi’s playful camerawork feels especially restless and energetic here. In addition, The Evil Dead is one of the most impressive filmic utilisations of a single setting in any horror film, endlessly creative in how it uses the surroundings. All poor Ash wants to do is escape, hounded by the increasing number of possessed humans around him.
A true milestone in graphic horror, The Evil Dead feels just as innovative and as entertaining as it did in 1981. It is with this film that longtime friends Raimi and Campbell become household names in the horror genre.
1 – Evil Dead II (1987)
It took six years in the 1980s for Sam Raimi’s follow-up to The Evil Dead, but it was worth the wait. Evil Dead II is considered both a remake and a sequel to that first film, and it takes all the glorious black comedy and unforgettable gore of its predecessor and elevates it onto an even more iconic level.
Most notably, Evil Dead II sees Ash Williams (Bruce Campbell) cut off his own demonically-possessed hand, attaching a chainsaw to his new stump and uttering the line now so synonymous with his character: “Groovy”. It is a line which indicates everything good about Evil Dead II; even in the face of all of its terror, there is still time for this cocky, self-assured humour from Ash.
Raimi and Scott Spiegel’s spectacular screenplay confines the events to one setting and one man, for a while at least. They keep things fresh and invigorating across Evil Dead II’s 84 minute runtime, with Ash fighting Deadites, his girlfriend’s decapitated head, and his hand. When other characters turn up, the violent mayhem continues. There is so much glorious gore here that the film will never disappoint horror fans, whilst Raimi’s visual style becomes even more refined and singular.
Evil Dead II is comedy horror at its finest. It is respectful to its predecessor but superior to it in every way, with Raimi, Spiegel and Campbell recognising and utilising the potential of the scenario and setting to the absolute maximum.
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