Parents' Guide to

Evil Dead Rise

By Jeffrey Anderson, Common Sense Media Reviewer

age 17+

Kids in peril, extreme gore in horror series' fifth entry.

Movie R 2023 97 minutes
Evil Dead Rise Movie Poster: A demonic-looking woman caresses her three children, while the tagline reads "mommy loves you to death"

A Lot or a Little?

What you will—and won't—find in this movie.

Community Reviews

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age 15+

Based on 7 parent reviews

Mr Reviews
Mr Reviews Adult
May 21, 2023
age 14+
This movie is entirely gory, but they make it in a comical way. almost every scene either has buckets of gallons of blood, people getting dismembered or else. There’s not much language but a 13 year old can handle this.
Yiaaw
Yiaaw Adult
October 22, 2023
age 15+

Good but

Damn this movie is violent.
See all 7 parent reviews

What's the Story?

In EVIL DEAD RISE, Ellie (Alyssa Sutherland) is a newly single mom living in a dilapidated apartment building (soon to be condemned) with her three children: budding teen deejay Danny (Morgan Davies), activist Bridget (Gabrielle Echols), and young Kassie (Nell Fisher). After getting some alarming news, Ellie's errant sister, Beth (Lily Sullivan), shows up unexpectedly. Not long after, an earthquake rocks the building, and Danny discovers an opening that leads to the old bank that stood on the site before the apartment building went up. He uncovers an old book and a few vinyl records. The book is filled with horrific images, and the records contain some kind of incantation that unleashes a horrible evil force. Soon Ellie is possessed and trying to kill her own family. It's up to Beth to protect her nieces and nephew from the unpredictable and chaotic force.

Is It Any Good?

Our review:
Parents say (7 ):
Kids say (16 ):

This fifth entry in the classic horror franchise unfortunately relies on kids in peril, but it ramps up the terror with its great use of creepy settings, potent characters, and extreme gore effects. Written and directed by Irish filmmaker Lee Cronin (of the creepy 2019 horror movie The Hole in the Ground), Evil Dead Rise starts confidently, with an excellent joke involving camerawork and a teasing prologue. Then the main story, set on the 13th floor of a truly impressive high-rise apartment building, makes full use of its physical space. Inside, the family apartment is cozy, full of art projects, but the hallways, elevators, and underground garage are all ominous, with stark, flickering lights and a sense of decay. (One sequence, shot entirely through the peephole in the front door, is inspired.)

The movie also takes time to set up its characters in a fully rounded way, upping viewers' emotional involvement. References to the earlier classics are handled slyly, both as a gift to fans and as a way of suggesting the eternal, ongoing quality of this brand of evil. The fact that the movie places children in danger -- especially Kassie, who, in real life, is only 11 -- creates a slight, unpleasant distraction from fully enjoying the wild ride, but overall Evil Dead Rise will make fans say "groovy."

Talk to Your Kids About ...

  • Families can talk about Evil Dead Rise's violence. How did it make you feel? Was it exciting? Shocking? What did the movie show or not show to achieve this effect? Why is that important?

  • How does the inclusion of teens and kids in this story change the way viewers might experience it?

  • Is the movie scary? What's the appeal of horror movies? Why do people sometimes like to be scared?

  • Why has this franchise endured? What's interesting about its "evil force"?

  • Is Beth a sympathetic character? Is she heroic? Why, or why not?

Movie Details

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