In an interview with /Film following the film’s SXSW premiere, Sullivan and co-star Alyssa Sutherland spoke about the intensity of such a physically daunting role. “It does become a torture chamber,” Sullivan admitted, but added, “There’s moments where you’re pushed to the absolute edge, but at the end of the day, you’re coming to work, and it’s an absolute feast, and a playground.”Â
The actress was equally effusive when speaking to Digital Spy, saying that it was “just so epic to be physical” and comparing the highly choreographed scenes not just to acting out video games, but to another form of synchronized motion as well: “It feels more like dancing than acting,” she told Digital Spy. I’ll try to remind myself that the film’s nastiest moments are all basically a dance or a video game when I’m inevitably laying awake, scared out of my wits thinking about them this weekend.
The latest film detours from the story of Ash Williams (Bruce Campbell) for the first time in “Evil Dead” canon (he popped up briefly in the 2013 film, but that was also mostly a reboot), instead focusing on a story about a woman named Beth (Sullivan) whose life is quickly derailed when her sister (Sutherland), a mother to three kids, gets possessed after coming into contact with The Necronomicon. This time, “The Hole in the Ground” filmmaker Lee Cronin takes over for Raimi in the director’s chair, but the horror legend is still on board as an executive producer.
“Evil Dead Rise” hits theaters this Friday, April 21, 2023.
