After the monumental theatrical success of Lee Cronin’s Evil Dead Rise, which grossed $146.3 million at the box office, making it the most successful film in the Evil Dead franchise to date, the record-breaking film is all set to arrive on digital download on July 14 and physically on 4K Ultra HD, Blu-ray and DVD on July 17.
Shaking the franchise up like never before, relocating the terror to uncharted territory, director Cronin’s fresh vision tells the twisted tale of two estranged sisters (Alyssa Sutherland and Lily Sullivan) whose reunion is cut short by the rise of flesh-possessing demons, plunging them into a primal battle for survival as they face the most nightmarish version of family imaginable.
Following scrapped plans for direct sequels to 1992’s Army of Darkness and 2013’s Evil Dead, which would have involved some form of crossover, Evil Dead Rise eventually came to fruition following an announcement by Sam Rami in 2020, in which he revealed that he had handpicked Lee Cronin to write and direct the film.
In anticipation of evil heading home this week, Scream sat down with Cronin to talk about the immense theatrical success of the film that had originally been intended to be released as a straight to streaming exclusive on HBO Max (now known as Max) and how he pitched ideas to the original film’s creators given that the franchise has been their baby for over four decades. And in closing, he revealed another much loved horror franchise that he would love to dig his claws into, were he given the chance to do so…
Words: Howard Gorman
