Filmmaker Lee Cronin saw the first twoEvil Deadmovies on VHS at what many would regard as aterrifyinglyyoung age.
“I was probably about 8 or 9 years old,” says the Irish writer-director.
“I grew up in a movie-loving household.
‘Evil Dead Rise’.Warner Bros. Pictures
There was not a lot of censorship in my home when it came to what you watched.
My dad rentedEvil DeadandEvil Dead 2and showed them to me back-to-back.
I’d never seen anything like them.
‘Evil Dead Rise’.Warner Bros. Pictures
They made a very stark and startling impression.
Yeah, they definitely have had a really strong influence on me.”
“We talked about everything butEvil Deaduntil late on,” Cronin says of his initial meeting with Raimi.
‘Evil Dead Rise’.Warner Bros. Pictures
Cronin was determined that his movie would not just be a retread of the films that had come before.
But they wanted something new; they wanted something fresh.
They knew it was time for a different direction.
Lee Cronin directing ‘Evil Dead Rise’.Matt Klitscher/Warner Bros.
Thankfully it all kind of came together."
“It absorbs blood.
“It was kind of specialized for everybody,” he says.
‘Evil Dead Rise’.Warner Bros. Pictures
Cronin describes the shoot as “incredible and incredibly hard.
Therefore, everything was hard.
Much blood did get spilled.
Around 6,500 liters, in fact.
“There was always going to be a lot of blood in this movie,” says Cronin.
I want it to rise a certain way; I want it to have a certain viscosity.
That s— was sticky-icky; if it got on your skin, you lost your hair.
People were having to get hosed down every single day.
I wanted to have the movie almost feel like a punk rock opera dripping in blood.
That was what was in my mind a little bit, that it had a bit of attitude.
That was one thing I could not dodge without letting the fans down.”
Three people apparently not let down by the finished film are Raimi, Tapert, and Campbell.
“I did get to watch it at test screenings with Sam as well, which was great.
That’s a real joy.”
Evil Dead Risehits cinemas April 21.
Exclusively see images from the movie above.
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