Evil Dead Rise features a hidden Bruce Campbell appearance, says director Lee Cronin. Sam Raimi made the original 1981 The Evil Dead for just $375,000, but the movie went on to become a horror classic that launched a whole franchise. The star of the original Evil Dead, Raimi’s friend Campbell would come back for every subsequent movie in that long-running franchise, even making a post-credits appearance in 2013’s Evil Dead reboot.
Campbell’s Ash Williams is obviously not a main character in the newest Evil Dead movie, Cronin’s Evil Dead Rise, but he does make an appearance in the new film according to the director. Speaking to Empire, Cronin teased that Campbell himself may not physically be in the movie, but there is a tip of the cap to the original Evil Dead star hidden somewhere in the film. Cronin even promises a small cash prize to anyone who can spot this nod to Campbell in Evil Dead Rise. Check out what the director said in the space below:
“It felt like in order to move the franchise somewhere new and to unlock the potential of the universe to tell more stories, it needed to break free [of Ash]. But Bruce is hidden in the movie somewhere. Bruce has a small presence in the movie. The first person to figure it out and send me a tweet, I’ll give them 50 bucks.”
How Evil Dead Rise Tweaks The Franchise’s Formula
Campbell not appearing in Evil Dead Rise, beyond the hat-tip teased by Cronin, is indeed a big development for the franchise. But it sounds as though Cronin truly wanted to put his own stamp on the newest Evil Dead film, which in his mind meant getting entirely away from the character of Ash and all the accumulated Evil Dead lore that goes with him.
Getting rid of Ash Williams as an actual character is indeed not the only way Evil Dead Rise changes up the franchise formula. Another big switch is the movie’s setting, as the action takes place not in a creepy cabin in the woods, but an apartment in Los Angeles. Cronin does assure fans that though Evil Dead Rise has left the woods behind, the new movie still hinges on the sense of being trapped in a small space that was a hallmark of the original films. The new movie also delves into themes of family, something that was not a major aspect of the earlier films, which featured groups of friends being beset by demonic forces.
Those demonic forces obviously are the key element Evil Dead Rise retains from earlier entries in the franchise, as it just wouldn’t be an Evil Dead movie without the Necronomicon, and someone foolishly uttering the magic words that bring forth the Deadites. Ultimately, it is possible to have Evil Dead without Ash Williams as a major character, as the 2013 movie proved. But Ash isn’t necessarily gone from the franchise forever, as Raimi himself just indicated his desire to eventually make another Evil Dead movie with Campbell. For now though, Evil Dead Rise is in Cronin’s hands, and it will be fascinating to see what he does with the franchise.
Key Release Dates
Evil Dead Rise
Release Date:2023-04-21
