When interviewed by Far Out, Lee Cronin recalled how the 2020 lockdowns provided inspiration for his “Evil Dead Rise” script, including the cheese grater scene:
“Okay, well, I think we’ve all grazed our knuckles on a cheese grater and gone, ‘Oh, God, imagine if that was worse’. I wrote the film during the first wave of Covid-19 when the entire world was locked in their homes, with an evil force outside the door. We didn’t know what this thing was, so I spent a lot of time just looking at the trappings of everyday life.”
As Cronin pointed out, it wasn’t exactly difficult for him to get into the proper mindset to write an “Evil Dead” film while isolating himself in 2020. No doubt, being stuck indoors made it all the easier for him to envision ways the Deadites might wreak bloody chaos down upon his movie’s characters within the “safety” of their home. Plus, “Evil Dead Rise” has the added twist of being the first film in the franchise to take place in a big-city apartment. That in and of itself presents a whole different set of in-house dangers absent from the cabins in the woods from movies past or even the medieval buildings in “Army of Darkness.”
However, it’s not enough to tap into people’s insecurities about just how unsafe their homes really are (I’ve just done that myself here!). You’ve also got to have fun while meddling with those anxieties, as the best “Evil Dead” films always have. Thankfully, /Film’s Jacob Hall writes that “Evil Dead Rise” does precisely that in his review of the movie, combining “mind-melting body horror [and] outrageous creature design [with a] darkly comedic spring in its step.”
“Evil Dead Rise” opens in theaters on April 21, 2023.
