The Evil Dead franchise has long been a female-oriented horror series and that's despite Bruce Campbell typically leading the charge. Ellen Sandweiss, Betsy Baker and Theresa Tilly from Sam Raimi's original The Evil Dead have been collectively called "The ladies of The Evil Dead," and the 2013 remake gave us a new character from Jane Levy's Mia.
The upcoming film Evil Dead Rise brings Alyssa Sutherland and Lily Sullivan into the mix as the most recent females of The Evil Dead, and Sutherland just shared a pretty stunning photo on Twitter over the weekend. Sutherland and Sullivan recently reunited with the film's remake star Jane Levy, the trio taking a photo together in the form of the latest "Evil Dead blood sisters."
To be clear, Jane Levy is NOT included in Evil Dead Rise, so don't read too much into the picture. It's a simple personal photo during a recent gathering with Three Evil Dead starlets.
Do you think it's been 10 years that Fede Alvarez's Evil Dead was released?! Lee Cronin's Evil Dead Rise is coming exclusively to theaters on April 21, 2023.
Here's the official plot synopsis to Evil Dead Rise...
"In the 5th Evil Dead film, a road-weary Beth makes an unplanned visit to her older sister Ellie who is raising three kids on her own in the cramped L.A apartment. The sisters' reunion is cut short by the discovery of a mysterious document hidden in the depths of Ellie's building, giving flesh-possessed monsters the chance to take over, and thrusting Beth into a struggle for survival as she confronts the most frightening mommyhood story you can imagine."
The shotgun and chainsaw (particularly Ashley's "Boomstick") are iconic weapons in the Evil Dead franchise. As we've seen in the Evil Dead Rise marketing material the two weapons are featured in the new film, but there's a new weapon in the mix, and it's bound to become a fan favorite. Meet Staffanie.
Lee Cronin's Evil Dead Rise relocates the franchise from the traditional cabin in the woods setting to a Los Angeles apartment building. Evil Dead Rise stream 's where Ellie (Alyssa Sutherland) lives with her three kids: Danny (Morgan Davies), Bridget (Gabrielle Echols), as well as Kassie (Nell Fisher). While their aunt Beth (Lily Sherwood) is visiting town for a visit, a Necronomicon appears and hurls its evil straight into Ellie. As the sole adult standing, Beth takes charge, but the kids do what they can to fend off their mother who is a skeptic, even the little Kassie. The weapon she uses? A creation she made herself called Staffanie which is a mix of dolls and a sharp staff.
While in Austin for the film's SXSW premiere Cronin took time to do an extended interview with Collider and also highlighted Staffanie during the non-spoiler part of our discussion. When he explained how he managed to strike such an impeccable balance between sheer terror and the classic Evil Dead humor, he utilized Staffanie as an example:
Want to know more about Evil Dead Rise? You should definitely watch the full non-spoiler half of my conversation with Cronin near the beginning of this post! Keep an eye out. We'll be able to reveal the spoiler portion of the conversation for you once the film hits theaters nationwide on April 21st.