Evil Dead Rise: Bloody New Boomstick Photo Released

Wherever the storyline might go, one consistent element running through all corners of the Evil Dead franchise is to feature buckets of blood, with a new photo from the upcoming Evil Dead Rise confirming that the latest installment will make good on that trend. The new image doesn’t offer much insight into the new film’s narrative, merely teasing that the upcoming installment won’t be holding back when it comes to the more gruesome and grisly components that have made the series so beloved over the years. Check out a new photo from Evil Dead Rise below before the film hits theaters on April 21, 2023.

“It straps you onto a rocket that’s fueled by blood,” director Lee Cronin shared with Empire alongside the new photo. “You can either get off or you stay on ’til it explodes.”

In the fifth Evil Dead film, a road-weary Beth pays an overdue visit to her older sister Ellie, who is raising three kids on her own in a cramped L.A. apartment. The sisters’ reunion is cut short by the discovery of a mysterious book deep in the bowels of Ellie’s building, giving rise to flesh-possessing demons, and thrusting Beth into a primal battle for survival as she is faced with the most nightmarish version of motherhood imaginable.

The first two films and the 2013 reboot all took place at a remote cabin in the woods, and while the upcoming film is going to make a major shift in its locale and won’t focus on Bruce Campbell’s Ash Williams, Cronin confirmed the new film was “undoubtedly an Evil Dead movie, but it takes the lore and pulls it in a new direction.”

The new film stars Gabrielle Echols, Morgan Davies, Nell Fisher, Alyssa Sutherland, and Lily Sullivan.

Not only will Cronin be leaving his mark on the franchise with the new film, but Evil Dead Rise also left a mark on him, as he recalled how the volume of blood created for the project might have led to some awkward interactions.

“I had to hire an industrial kitchen to create the amount of blood we needed,” Cronin revealed. “When I was checking out, I had to warn the landlord, ‘You’re going to find bloody handprints all over the apartment — but they’re not real, honest!’”

Evil Dead Rise lands in theaters on April 21, 2023.

Are you looking forward to the new movie? Let us know in the comments or contact Patrick Cavanaugh directly on Twitter to talk all things Star Wars and horror!