See Bruce Campbell Tease Evil Dead Rise
Ash Williams may not be returning to live action, but Bruce Campbell is an important part of Evil Dead Rise. The proudly B-list actor shared a picture of the presumably doomed cast of the new installment on Twitter, and Movieweb shared a few more details about the tweet. The fifth installment of the franchise moves out of the woods and into the city, taking place in a highrise in Los Angeles.
The new movie stars Lily Sullivan and Alyssa Sutherland as sisters who are trapped in the tall building when Deadites are suddenly unleashed through its halls. The picture Bruce Campbell tweeted from Evil Dead Rise shows the two of them in a split shot from what appears to be two separate scenes. Lily Sullivan is standing in front of co-star Morgan Davies, with the young Nell Fisher just barely visible on the left.
The two starring actresses play estranged sisters Ellie and Beth, who are reunited when Beth visits Ellie and her children in their Los Angeles highrise apartment building. When a mysterious book appears in the basement, Deadite chaos reigns as the zombie demons take over the building. Previously, Bruce Campbell has shared pictures of the Deadites and the gore from Evil Dead Rise, but this picture is the first look at the cast in their roles.
The Evil Dead franchise was an instant cult classic upon the release of the first movie in 1981, especially when Stephen King, already the “Master of Horror” after several bestselling novels, referred to the film as “the most ferociously original film of the year” after catching it at the Cannes Film Festival. Two more movies, chronicling the battle between Ash Williams and the Deadites, would follow, bringing with them memorable lines and slapstick horror-comedy. Bruce Campbell began his movie career playing Ash and has given his blessing to Evil Dead Rise by co-producing the film and enthusiastically sharing tidbits like the cast picture on his social media.
Bruce Campbell retired from the role after three seasons of Ash vs the Evil Dead revived the character on Starz, but Evil Dead Rise is not the first time someone other than Ash has fought the Deadites. He made a very short cameo appearance in a post-credit scene in the 2013 Evil Dead film directed by Fede Alvarez, but the movie followed five other young people into a different cabin in the woods with a Book of the Dead that was covered in warnings and Appalachian folk magic. The sole survivor of that Deadite attack was a girl, played by Jane Levy, and it is presumed that if anyone survives the new movie, it will be either Ellie or Beth.
Aside from its location, there is another thing that separates the new movie from its predecessors. The picture features Nell Fisher, a child, which is the first time someone so young has been present for a Deadite attack. Even in Ash vs the Evil Dead, the youngest victims Bruce Campbell’s Ash was unable to protect were teenagers, but Evil Dead Rise is raising the stakes as Ellie must protect her little girl as well as herself.
HBO Max was slated to premiere the movie, but Bruce Campbell announced that test audiences enjoyed Evil Dead Rise so much that it wound up with a theatrical release date. The film will premiere in theaters on April 21, 2023. Until then, “Hail to the king, baby,” for giving us these glimpses into the next installment of the Evil Dead franchise.
