It is only a couple of months until theEvil Deadfranchise returns to cinemas for another round of blood and gore, and even thoughEvil Dead Riseisn’t going to be an epic blockbuster, it will be the longest in the franchise. The marketing machine for the Lee Cronin-directed movie is starting to crawl up from the ground, and as well as the recent trailer, it has been revealed that the film will have a runtime of 96 minutes.
While that is around half the length of James Cameron’sAvatar: The Way of Water, it does mark another increase in length from the last reboot in 2013, which came in at 91 minutes. Compared to the originalEvil Deadtrilogy, it is a considerable increase,as Evil Dead, Evil Dead II,andArmy of Darknessonly ran for 85 minutes, 84 minutes, and 81 minutes respectively, discounting uncut versions and alternate versions director’s cuts released later.
At one time, a 96-minute horror movie was considered reasonably long, but the last few years have seen horror movies becoming more epic in length, with 2022’s hitTerrifier 2clocking in at a huge 138 minutes. However, there are many movies that seem to run with the idea that bigger is better, but a long runtime doesn’t necessarily make a better movie if it is overstretching the story. TheEvil Deadfranchise has always stuck to a similar length and packed out that time with more horrifying moments than many other movies could in such a short time. That has essentially been the IP of theEvil Deadfranchise, delivering an unrelenting stream of horror from start to finish, and it doesn’t seem to be messing with that formula this time around.
Related:Elizabeth Banks Says Sam Raimi’s Evil Dead Was an Influence on Cocaine Bear
The Evil Deadhas really had two different paths over four movies and a three season TV show ofAsh vs. Evil Dead. The originalEvil Deadwas focused directly on being the ultimate terror experience and although it had odd moments of black humor it stuck to being gruesome and nasty right up the end.Evil Dead IIsaw this change a little, with Bruce Campbell’s Ash gaining a number of deadpan catchphrases andsome darkly comical momentsinvolving a severed hand, a severed head and a chainsaw, as well as some over-the-top gushes of blood.
Army ofDarknessembraced the comical side of the story, pushing Ash into a story that helped make the franchise a bigger success with its combination of horror comedy that was then carried over decades later toAsh vs. Evil Dead, a series that brought the Deadites back for more humorous chaos and terror.
The Evil Deadreboot in 2013 returned to the mostly humorless origins, retelling the story of Sam Raimi’s original horror movie with more elaborate special effects and even a Bruce Campbell cameo as Ash Williams in the post-credits scene. NowEvil Dead Riseis looking to continue down the relentless horror path but is moving the action to a high-rise apartment block and will not feature Campbell other than in a vocal cameo. Whether the franchise can rise once again without Ash’s involvement is something we will soon find out.
