Evil Dead is a really good explanation of what makes movies fun and interesting (talented artists with a stylistic/thematic POV) and what makes them demoralizing (Corporate IP Slop). You can basically figure out which of the movies are good based on how each of them got made. Here is how I rank them.
5. Evil Dead [2013]
Besides a brief cameo from Bruce Campbell at the end, there is nothing about this movie that made me like the original Evil Deal films. Now, to be clear, if the gore was your favorite part of those movies, you get some good gore here. There are some genuine gross-out moments and the like. Beyond that though, this movie is just absolutely soulless. It almost feels like a joke for how bad it is. You could point to this film as a comparison to the originals as an easy explanation for the change in visual aesthetics in American Cinema over the last few decades. What a sad change it has been.
4. Evil Dead Rise [2023]
There will now forever be two points of comparison when it comes to Evil Dead films going forward (and based on this film’s success: we are in store for a lot of Evil Dead films). How does a new Evil Dead film compare to the Bruce Campbell/Sam Raimi ones or the new ones? Because those are two very different goals. Compared to the old films, Rise is merely fine and not all that inspiring. Compared to the 2013 Evil Dead, this film at least feels alive and feels like it aspires to be something. This deadly serious version of Evil Dead feels counterintuitive to me but I can at least appreciate the care that went into this unlike its immediate predecessor.
3. The Evil Dead [1981]
I’ve watched this film several times over the years, and I am always struck by just how “raw” (for wont of a better term) it feels. It feels like you’re watching something you have never seen before. While I have been drawn to horror naturally, there is something undeniably brilliant about what Sam Raimi accomplished here. The practical effects in particular are just absolutely spellbinding, and Bruce Campbell’s work as a leading man was rock-solid.
2. Evil Dead II [1987]
Okay, so the backstory of this movie is relatively wild. Sam Raimi needed to make something that would be financially successful after his career had some setbacks. He gets the funding to do this movie which somehow functions both as a remake and sequel. And the most bananas part of all of this is that the film is somehow successful at both of those goals. On top of that, you really see Bruce Campbell make a significant jump in regards to leading man presence here. He may have never become a movie star, but tracking in these films show he actually probably could have been a proper leading man with the right backing. Fun movie!
1. Army of Darkness [1992]
In just a wild concept for a sequel, Bruce Campbell is sent back in time and has a demon-killing adventure in the Middle Ages. Campbell takes another leap in ability to have a commanding screen present, and it causes this movie to feel like a superhero/chosen one movie but in actually clever way (and without any of the negative connotations we would associate with such terms now). Army of Darkness shows that Evil Dead is not necessarily about horror, a cabin in the woods, etc. Evil Dead is about the joy Sam Raimi brings from behind the camera and that Bruce Campbell brings to the front of the camera. They bring endless amounts of joy and visual pleasure to the big screen. That is Evil Dead to me.
The Reel World 