Evil Dead Rise might just be the best installment in the Evil Dead film franchise since its debut in 1981. Since the film’s premiere at SXSW on March 15, horror fans have been blown away by the movie’s suspense and praised the film for its gruesome and horrifying moments.
Evil Dead Rise received an average critic score of 89 percent on Rotten Tomatoes, the highest score that the film franchise has ever received. Following the fifth installment is the 1987s Evil Dead 2, with an average critic score of 88 percent. Alongside its high praise, the film also received the “certified fresh” label after critics praised the fifth installment for keeping its original charm, while also being able to scare an audience.
While critics gave the film high appraisals, the same could be somewhat said for the audiences who saw the film upon release. As of writing, audiences gave Evil Dead Rise an average score of 86 percent. It’s not as high as Evil Dead 2‘s average audience score of 89 percent, but fans claimed it paid homage to its predecessor. However, some claimed that the fifth installment was “predictable” and “had no plot.”
One thing that both fans and critics unanimously praised about Evil Dead Rise is how Warner Bros. decided to give the film a theatrical release rather than keep it locked behind HBO Max. According to Deadline, Warner Bros. originally intended to have Evil Dead Rise be released on their streaming platform. But on August 2022, Warner Bros. Discovery CEO, David Zaslav announced that the horror film, alongside other films, would receive an official theatrical release.
Evil Dead Rise had its theatrical debut in SXSW and the Fantastic Film Festival in Australia and will be hitting US theaters on April 21, 2023.