However, the sisters’ reunion is cut short by the rise of flesh-possessing demons which thrust them into a primal battle for survival as they face the most nightmarish version of family imaginable.

We sat down with Alyssa Sutherland who plays Ellie about working on a horror movie, working with the three young actors who play her children in the movie and how Lee Cronin kept morale up with a quiz night…

Had you watched any Evil Dead movies before you were cast in Evil Dead Rise?

I hadn’t seen them when I auditioned, but then when I found out that Lee [Cronin] wanted to have a chat and meet with me, I did some watching. I like to do my homework!

I think it’s helpful to know what’s come before but at the same time, I really trusted Lee’s vision. So when it came to actually filming, I was very confident in Lee’s version of what he wanted to do. He was so skilled in linking back to the previous films while also creating something that was of its own kind at the same time.

Speaking of which, how does Evil Dead Rise fit in with the rest of the Evil Dead films, and how does it stand out?

There are some really fun callbacks. One of my favourite gags is the eyeball gag. When I first read that I was like, ‘okay’!

I had actually watched the first two films by that point, so I’d seen Evil Dead II. It’s just so crazy. It’s so outlandish and what Lee managed to do is bring that absurdity, but also, there’s more of a realism. He just spun magic, I feel.

I really trusted what he did. I really liked his first film. I also watched that before I spoke with him and I was really into the performances in that film – they were so grounded and I thought, ‘well, this is interesting’, because that’s the kind of work that I like to do, but with this outlandish script, this could be really cool. Maybe that’s it, maybe there’s a groundedness and absurdity all at the same time!

How would you describe Ellie?

I would describe her as a demented psychopath, crossed with the Tasmanian Devil! I liken playing her to being in (what I would imagine because I haven’t actually done it) one of those rooms that you go into with a baseball bat and you just whack things and get out all of your stressed shit! I think that might be why I enjoyed it so much…

Who is more fun to play: mum Ellie or possessed Ellie?

Possessed Ellie, hands down!

There is a lot of physicality to the role – at one point you’re on the ceiling – what was it like shooting those scenes?

I loved doing it. I went through a weird phase in my 20s where I got really obsessed and addicted to aerial circus arts. I spent a lot of my time exploring that and I did gymnastics when I was a kid. So I was all about it: Put me in a harness. Throw me around. Put me upside down. That’s really fun for me. I really enjoyed all of that.

I love doing the stunt choreography as well. I’m really into boxing. So I enjoyed bringing a physicality to a role that I hadn’t really had the opportunity to do before.

Ellie goes to some really dark places. How did you get yourself in the right headspace? We’re envisioning a Slipknot playlist…

I did have a playlist of stuff. Not Slipknot but I know there are Slipknot fans out there that like the “Mommy’s with the maggots now” line. So shout out to them!

I had a playlist but honestly I think I’m really good at believing it’s real between action and cut. I just go “well, this is real now” and my brain, I think, is just good at doing that. Making that switch.

Is it creepy working on set of a horror movie?

No, it’s a workday. It’s like going to the office. There are so many people around, it’s like “morning Dave, how are you doing?” so it’s kind of hard to make that creepy.

That’s a feeling of being on set that I love because I love to collaborate with everyone and doing a horror film is so much fun because you’re seeing every department be so creative. It’s incredible. So you can nerd out on all that stuff and then nothing’s a surprise to any of us. We’ve all read the script, we’ve had the rehearsal, so we know the moving parts of all of it. So it’s kind of hard to be creeped out by something when you’ve been so thorough.

What was it like working with the children in the movie, especially little Nell Fisher who plays Kassie?

For me, it’s another day at the office and I’m covered in blood but this is what I do. For Nell [Fisher] we did have her see some of the makeup application while that was happening and because the sets were really quite dark, we never had her see me for the first time that day on set. We would always have her come and see me and see what I looked like in a pretty bright light. Again she knows what’s happening. Nothing is a surprise to her.

Working with her was wonderful. She’s so talented. The proof is in the pudding. She’s so wonderful and so darling and just oh my gosh those big eyes! She’s adorable. And really smart.

We had a COVID lockdown for two months and Lee was so sweet trying to keep morale high and we had a Zoom trivia night. He came up with some trivia questions for all of us and of course, Nell at nine years old blew us all out of the water!

So Nell won the Trivia night?!

Okay, just because of my own ego, technically, it was a tie between me and Nell [haha]!

Evil Dead Rise is available to buy on UHD Blu-ray, Blu-ray and DVD. Win a Evil Dead Rise horror bundle with our latest competition. Enter here.

The post “There’s a groundedness and absurdity at the same time!” Star Alyssa Sutherland on Evil Dead Rise appeared first on Sci-Fi Tips.

Evil Dead Rise is one of the most talked-about horrors of 2023 and now, Lee Cronin’s continuation of the Evil Dead franchise is available to buy on UHD Blu-ray, Blu-ray and DVD!

Not only that but we have an Evil Dead Rise bundle to give away, which includes UHD Blu-ray, a T-shirt, a signed poster and a temporary tattoo.

Moving the action out of the woods and into the city, Evil Dead Rise tells the twisted tale of two estranged sisters, whose reunion is cut short by the rise of flesh-possessing demons, thrusting them into a primal battle for survival as they face the most nightmarish version of family imaginable.

Written and directed by Lee Cronin Evil Dead Rise stars Lily Sullivan (I Met a Girl), Alyssa Sutherland (The Mist), Morgan Davies (The End), Gabrielle Echols (Reminiscence) and introducing Nell Fisher (Northspur). The

The 4k UHD, DVD, Blu-ray’s special features include audio commentary with Lee Cronin plus Lee Cronin’s horror short film Ghost Train.

Want to win our awesome bundle of horror goodies? Of course you do! To be in with a chance of winning, simply answer the question below…

This competition closes on 31 July, good luck!

Evil Dead Rise is available to buy on UHD Blu-ray, Blu-ray and DVD

The post Evil Dead Rise: Win horror bundle with our competition appeared first on Sci-Fi Tips.

In Cronin’s Evil Dead Rise, the action has moved from a cabin in the woods to an LA apartment and follows a family in peril who have to confront the evil force.

Here we run down Five Things with Lee Cronin…

1) Setting the record straight on that SXSW premiere

When the film screened at SXSW earlier in 2023, Bruce Campbell had to shut down an angry heckler who proclaimed the film sucked… “This is actually a good chance to clear up the story. When I sat down to do the Q&A I looked up at this balcony box and there was this set of sneakers poking over the top and I was like, is that real? I thought someone might have passed out from watching the movie.

“This guy was passed out drunk in the box, so he got woken up and like a big baby started to scream and shout and didn’t want to leave. I think he works in gonzo film marketing and promotion, but I think he’d been barred from coming to the screening. He had wormed his way in and he had a chip on his shoulder about the movie before he arrived. What an asshole!”

2) Horror Family Values

Cronin watched the first two Evil Dead films on VHS with his dad around the age of nine. Cronin also watched a lot of horror films with his siblings too. “There’s an eight-year age gap between me and my sister. I’m the youngest. I’m the late lamb. I was exposed to stuff at a young age because my sister was 15 years old and wanting to watch A Nightmare on Elm Street.

“I got to see things I really shouldn’t have at a really young age. I saw The Shining really young! If I could be half the filmmaker [Stanley] Kubrick is, I’d be very happy. I do think one of the things I took from Kubrick in a way, and it is in both of my movies, is precision and control. I like audiences to have to submit to what I’m doing, and let me hold their hand and take them on the journey.”

3) The Sound of Evil

Cronin takes sound very seriously and worked with sound designer Peter Albrechtsen to create an atmosphere of pure dread using a combination of practical and digital sound effects. “If you take the book for example, when you hear those pages being turned on the book, that is Peter recording the turning of pages on 100-year-old books. Of course you always dig into digital, but as much as we could it was practical new sounds.

“Also we snuck in a bunch of the original analogue Evil Dead sound effects which I had on file. The fly that you hear at the beginning and end of the movie is the fly from the first movie. The wind you hear in the underground vault with Danny is the wind that Sam Raimi recorded that’s in the first movie. We wove a little bit of the past into the film.”

4) Mummy Issues

So far, both of Cronin’s feature films navigate themes of fear of motherhood and family in peril. “I don’t think you ever know the root of why these themes are important. Part of it comes from influences and movies like The Shining or even E.T. which I watched when I was growing up.

“The family wound, everyone has one. No family is perfect. I think it’s important to look at that. It’s important to look at that through the context of a horror movie. My family is not perfect. As I said no one’s is. We’ve had our traumas and our bumps along the way in life. I guess as a writer and trying to be an artist you end up analysing and creating and writing about the things that you’ve observed along the way.”

5) Sam Raimi and Bruce Campbell’s Advice

Sam Raimi and Bruce Campbell gave Cronin their blessing for this reboot and acted as executive producers. “They come from humble roots in how they made movies. They understand the importance of vision. I think good producers, if they identify a filmmaker they want to work with, then you back that person all the way. Sam said, ‘just make sure you use the book!’ He was like, ‘make sure you use the book and make sure the deadites are scary.’

“These things were important to me along with the chainsaw, and there are certain things I absolutely knew I wanted to use because I am a fan. I wanted to tell my own story, I wanted to make my own movie but I am a fan. I remember Sam once said, ‘here’s the car keys.’ I thought I’ve got to go drive this beast and make sure I crash into things along the way because it’s Evil Dead.

“They were supportive and I could always reach out and ask questions, but Sam has gone on the record saying, especially once he saw the first few day rushes come in, how he was able to relax.”

Evil Dead Rise is set to be released in UK cinemas on 21 April 2023 from Studiocanal. Read our review here.

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Are your fingers successfully spread in front of your eyes for peeking? Good, because then you’re in the right position to check out the gory trailer for Evil Dead Rise, the latest installmnent in the iconic horror franchise.

Watch the red band trailer here…

Moving the action out of the woods and into the city, Evil Dead Rise tells the twisted tale of two estranged sisters, whose reunion is cut short by the rise of flesh-possessing demons, thrusting them into a primal battle for survival as they face the most nightmarish version of family imaginable.

Written and directed by Lee Cronin (The Hole in the Ground) Evil Dead Rise stars Lily Sullivan (I Met a Girl), Alyssa Sutherland (The Mist), Morgan Davies (The End), Gabrielle Echols (Reminiscence) and introducing Nell Fisher (Northspur).

The movie is produced by Ash vs Evil Dead’s Rob Tapert and executive produced by series creator and horror icon Sam Raimi and cult legend and “Ash” himself, Bruce Campbell, along with John Keville, Macdara Kelleher, Richard Brener, Dave Neustadter, Romel Adam and Victoria Palmieri.

Evil Dead Rise is set to be released in UK cinemas on 21 April 2023 from Studiocanal. Watch more trailers at the SciFiNow YouTube Channel.

The post Evil Dead Rise: Bloody red band trailer released for latest installment of horror franchise appeared first on Sci-Fi Tips.