2023 is off to another killer start for the horror genre. While most genre fans are currently focused on Ghostface’s return, there’s another iconic franchise marking their comeback in April. This would be Evil Dead in the appropriately titled Evil Dead Rise. The marketing for the film has slowly been ramping up with the first crazy trailer for Rise promising another blood-soaked entry for this wildly popular horror series. With the film less than two months away, we now know that the runtime for writer-director Lee Cronin‘s Evil Dead Rise will be 96 minutes long.

That may seem short in the modern film landscape, but this would actually make Rise the longest film in the franchise. The original The Evil Dead clocked in at 85 minutes, Evil Dead II at 84 minutes, Army of Darkness at 81 minutes, and Evil Dead 2013 at 91 minutes. Then, when you compare it to other modern horror hits from just last year, Rise is also on the short side of the scary spectrum. Halloween Ends was 111 minutes, Terrifier 2 was 138 minutes, The Black Phone was 103 minutes, and Scream 2022 was 114 minutes. Because of that, the shorter runtime for Rise can be seen as refreshing. A film should only be as long as the story requires, and Evil Dead has always been a franchise that wastes no one’s time. You sit down, watch some twisted imagery, impressive practical gore effects, and then, like a satisfying roller coaster ride, it’s over.

What is Evil Dead Rise About?

That being said, Rise’s plot is looking to expand on the thematically terrifying themes involving family that were hauntingly found in the 2013 reboot. This will be the first film since Army of Darkness to take the franchise’s horror out of its staple cabin in the woods setting and focus on a broken family living in a high rise in Los Angeles. Hence, the Rise part of the title. The story will focus on two estranged sisters Elle (Alyssa Sutherland) and Beth (Lily Sullivan) reconnecting after years apart. Elle has children which is sure to make this film’s horror that much more terrifying. How the Necronomicon ends up in LA is anyone’s guess, but if the latest trailer’s any indication, Rise looks to be the scariest film in the franchise. That’s saying a lot given the traumatizing and memorably morbid imagery of Evil Dead 2013.

Evil Dead‘s the rare series in the horror genre that has nothing but solid entries. Whether it’s the campy horror of Sam Raimi’s original film, the horror comedy vibes of both Evil Dead II and Army of Darkness, or the dark horror of Evil Dead 2013, the variety found in this undead franchise is astonishing. Given Raimi and former star Bruce Campbell’s continued involvement in the series, Rise is going to push the envelope on Evil Dead in some really exciting ways.

‘Evil Dead Rise’ Release Date

Evil Dead Rise is conjuring up in theaters on April 21, 2023. This family bonding from hell is sure to be another hit for Warner Brothers and the horror genre. The killer short and sweet runtime is only going to help in that department.

via Collider