Lee Cronin wrote and directed Evil Dead Rise a nice new spin on the classic horror franchise that promises the ultimate in grueling horror. As much as I love the originals, and Bruce Campbell, I love that the new films have eschewed some of the comedic elements and really leaned into the brutal gore and horror that has become a hallmark of the series.

This time around, we aren’t in a cabin in the woods, we’re in a decrepit apartment building scheduled for closure and destruction, and we are introduced to a single mother, Allie (Alyssa Sutherland) her sister, Beth (Lily Sullivan), and Allie’s children, Bridget (Gabrielle Echols), Danny (Morgan Davies) and little Kassie (Nell Fisher).

When Danny, who fancies himself a DJ, explores a broken open bank vault under the building he comes back with some vinyl and a strange book (I wonder what that could be?). The book, when he opens it is filled with strange writing and depictions, and the vinyl when played, well, if you’ve seen any of the films you know what happens next.

Allie is the first to fall victim to possession, and the bloody, violent, and occasionally very frightening and unnerving sequences that follow are top-notch. Just because there are teenagers and children in the film doesn’t mean that things aren’t going to get gory and scary. No one is safe.

Beth struggles to keep her nieces and nephew safe and Cronin slips a number of homages and nods to classic horror into the film. Obvious nods are to The Shining and Aliens, but there are a lot of them. Cronin loves his horror, and it is on full display here.

Some of the brutality of the attacks is incredibly jarring and had me exclaiming at the television, I really got into this one and loved the pacing, the effects and the performances.

I wasn’t the biggest fan of the 2013 update of Evil Dead, and may have to take another look, but Evil Dead Rise was just a really fun ride. Sullivan is wonderful to watch as she is put through a bloody rampage, but Sutherland as Allie is occasionally truly scary.

Seeing someone you love turn against you so completely, changed into something literally evil, is chilling and watching that in a family dynamic is chilling (and ow! that cheese grater).

Evil Dead Rise, for me, was a lot of fun, and there are sequences that are still staying with me. I am very eager to see what Cronin gives us next, and considering this is only his second feature film, there could be some very interesting things coming our way.