The Last 2 Evil Dead Movies Ignored What Made Sam Raimi’s Franchise So Great In The First Place

The Evil Dead franchise is one of the most consistent in horror history, but the recent installments in the series have lacked a crucial element of the original movies. Starting with the release of The Evil Dead in 1981, director Sam Raimi created a horror universe based around the Necronomicon, and all the nightmarish entities that are unleashed by reading its pages. Horror movie legend Bruce Campbell earned that honorific title by playing the role of Ash Williams in the first three films, and his wise-cracking anti-hero has become a pop culture icon.

Unlike many other horror franchises, there isn’t really a bad entry in the Evil Dead series, and every film has its own strengths. Even after Sam Raimi departed, and new filmmakers took over, the universe that Raimi created has spawned two additional films that are impressive in their own right. The 2013 reboot pushed the gore to the absolute limit, and made Deadites scary again, while 2023’s Evil Dead Rise took the series to an entirely new setting. Despite being terrific horror films that honor the legacy of the classic Evil Dead movies, the most recent films are missing something.

The New Evil Dead Movies Needed The Originals’ Comedic Element

A Lot Of Scary, Plus A Little Bit Of Funny, Equals The Evil Dead Franchise

It’s hard to separate the Evil Dead franchise from its creator, and Sam Raimi’s films are impossible to replicate. While The Evil Dead was a serious horror film that shocked and terrified, Evil Dead 2 and Army of Darkness took things in a more humorous direction. That mix of humor and horror was what made the first two sequels so memorable, and they intentionally pushed the limits of the story to absurdity for laughs. That being said, Evil Dead 2 is still a scary film, and the balance is what makes the Evil Dead franchise unique.

2013’s Evil Dead reimagined the cabin-in-the-woods horror film with enhanced gore and a more complex backstory for its characters, but it was entirely humorless. Similarly, Evil Dead Rise explored the complex bond between a family, and it left no room for slapstick antics or tongue-in-cheek moments. Naturally, both modern Evil Dead movies would have felt odd if they tried to shoehorn in a humorous moment or two, but therein lies the ultimate problem with the state of the franchise. The modern Evil Dead movies excel as horror films, but they only capture one half of the magic of the originals.

Evil Dead 2 and Army of Darkness were made with love for both horror and humor, and the presence of one doesn’t exclude the other. Sam Raimi and his creative partners (Campbell included) clearly had fun making the movies, and that fun translates to the audience. Evil Dead 2 puts Ash in increasingly horrifying situations, but the movie gives viewers a pressure release through absurdist black humor. However, there’s still something shocking within each comedy beat, and Ash’s pratfalls are usually accompanied by a spine-chilling moment. The two new films are full-bore on horror, but it loses its edge eventually.

Horror has to walk a fine line before it crosses into bombastic territory, and the modern Evil Dead movies push things so far that they almost come off as funny. They are so violent and so unrelenting that the audience is somewhat numbed by what’s happening, and that’s because there is no contrast. Ash and his fellow cabin-dwellers have simple goals and backstories, and the movie shows them goofing off before the Deadites arrive. Unfortunately, the modern Evil Dead movies open with the characters being miserable right off the bat, and things only get worse when the true horror begins.

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Evil Dead 2013 & Evil Dead Rise Are Still Great Horror Movies On Their Own

The Evil Dead Franchise Is Still Headed In The Right Direction

Even though the modern Evil Dead movies don’t have the humor of the originals, they are still excellent horror films that deserve their own praise. The 2013 reboot hit all the right buttons and managed to capture a lot of the harrowing spirit of the original while adding new touches that were compelling in their own right. The special effects were terrific, and the use of tension was on par with the tightly-plotted original movie. Though the trauma backstory feels like old hat more than a decade later, that overused horror trope was still somewhat fresh when the reboot premiered.

As for Evil Dead Rise, the standalone sequel was the first installment since Army of Darkness to try something new, and it paid off. Instead of being a reboot, or legacy sequel featuring classic characters, it set the stage for what the franchise could become. It moved away from the cabin, but managed to turn a high-rise apartment building into a labyrinth of terror. It added fresh new pieces to the Deadite lore while maintaining the horror tone of the original movies. In an era of copious sequels and remakes, the Evil Dead movies are still the perfect horror franchise.

Cast

Bruce Campbell, Jane Levy, Shiloh Fernandez, Lily Sullivan, Nell Fisher, Ray Santiago, Dana DeLorenzo

Movie(s)

The Evil Dead, Evil Dead II, Army of Darkness, Evil Dead (2013), Evil Dead Rise

Character(s)

Ashley Williams, Mia Allen, David Allen, Bethany Bixler, Kassie Bixler, Pablo Simon Bolivar, Kelly Maxwell