Why So Blu?

Evil Dead Rise (4K UHD Blu-ray Review)

One thing the studio folks seem to be learning here is…when you have a lower budgeted project…try popping it in the theaters to make some cash instead of being a streaming exclusive. Its two-fold. You make money in the theaters and then it becomes a more attracting thing to stream because of that. Warner learned that the right way with Evil Dead Rise, the fifth film in the Sam Raimi created series. Intended for Max, it wound up with quite a successful theatrical run. Now, its come to 4K Ultra-HD Blu-ray…without bonus features. Bummer, but hey, owning it on disc should be good enough for us collectors these days. It arrived on June 27th. You can order yourself a copy by clicking the paid Amazon Associates link that follows the review.

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Film

A reunion between two estranged sisters gets cut short by the rise of flesh-possessing demons, thrusting them into a primal battle for survival as they face the most nightmarish version of family imaginable.

Evil Dead Rise leaves the cabin for only the second time in the FILM series. Though a cabin merely serves as a prologue, the film niftily recreates the thematic aesthetic and beats for the cabin within the high rise apartment building where this is set. You get the whole “bridge is out” type thing with the stars being broken apart for example. Instead of a trap door and the deadite in the basement, they are outside in the hallway. There’s plenty more, but if you think there’s going to be some sort of new territory, its more of a fresher spin on the environmental tropes than it is new stuff.

And that’s absolutely fine. The Evil Dead franchise knows what to do and always does it well. This new one serves up another bloodbath and adds even more to some gross out gore and creature effects. Its an unsettling venture that uses children in the suspenseful happenings and isn’t afraid to take things out on them. If you think they’re safe and that the random neighbors showing up are fodder to keep the kids safe, think again. Anyone is fair game in this.

There’s a key element that drives this particular entry in that of its familial unit. There are relations, conflict and care that adds some good weighted stakes to it all. And at the heart of it is a fantastic performance by Alyssa Sutherland. Both as the mom and as the deadite, she is a complete knockout. What she does and commits to isn’t easy, but she makes it all looks so smooth and easy. Matching her toe to toe is Lily Sullivan in the more heroic role. The two of them yin and yang it and really help drive the performance aspect of this, kicking ass and also making everyone else in scenes better.

Lee Cronin has delivered yet another terrific non-Ash Evil Dead movie that hopefully sees some more film output in a much closer proximity than the last two films. This one has plenty of the fun of prior films, but adds some new character elements while also putting a fun new spin on the cabin in the woods setting. Definitely a smart move to give this one the big screen run and love.

Video

Disclaimer: Screen captures used in the review are from the standard Blu-ray disc, not the 4K UHD Blu-ray disc.

Encoding: HEVC / H.265

Resolution: 4K (2160p)

Aspect Ratio: 2.39:1

Layers: BD-66

Clarity/Detail: Evil Dead Rise comes to 4K Ultra-HD Blu-ray with a wonderful transfer here. It handles its black levels and contrasts with the colors in a lovely fashion. Its a crisp and sharp image that is rife with detail and produces an overall strong image.

Depth: Depth of field is pretty strong and showcases some nice pushback, especially with some of the more playful lensing on display. Movement is smooth, fluid and natural with no issues of blur or jitter coming from the rapid action moments.

Black Levels: Blacks are deep and natural as well as being well saturated. There are many different shades here and it handles the darkness expertly. No crushing witnessed.

Color Reproduction: Colors have a natural look to them and the blood looks rich and lovely. HDR really kicks up with display lighting, contrast in the dark and many of the lighting schemes.

Flesh Tones: Skin tones are natural and consistent form start to finish. Make-up and prosthetic effects hold up swimmingly. Facial features and textures show through clear as day.

Noise/Artifacts: Clean.

Audio

Audio Format(s): English Dolby Atmos, English Descriptive Audio, French 5.1 Dolby Digital, Spanish 5.1 Dolby Digital

Subtitles: English, English SDH, French, Spanish

Dynamics: This is one playful Dolby Atmos track. Evil Dead Rise is quite lively and swells around the room. There’s dread, there’s menace and its coming from all channels, everywhere in the room. This mix has tremendous layering and depth to go along with playful volume levels to maximize the jumps and intensity throughout the film.

Height: From above you get some scary ambiance, debris falling, wicked vocals and plenty of action that hovers over a camera in a given shot.

Low Frequency Extension: The subwoofer hits with good impact when things implode, slam on doors, musical jump stings, floors imploding, chainsaws buzzing, shotguns booming and more.

Surround Sound Presentation:  The whole room feels quite eerie and unsettling, even at its most quiet. The room has some powerful rolling sound and crafts an environment that feels engaging and interactive.

Dialogue Reproduction: Vocals are clear and crisp.

Extras

Evil Dead Rise comes with the standard Blu-ray edition and a redeemable digital code.

There are no bonus features on either disc.

Summary

Evil Dead Rise keeps the series high batting average going. The film features a pretty wonderful presentation on 4K Ultra-HD Blu-ray. Audio and video are quite terrific. Unfortunately there is zip for extras here. Might as well be a screener disc. As much as I like the movie and as good as the presentation is, pick this up when it goes for a low sale price.

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