Here’s Why Ash Isn’t in Evil Dead Rise, According to Filmmaker Lee Cronin

A new chapter in the Evil Dead series is nearly here, with Lee Cronin’s Evil Dead Rise shifting the demonic shenanigans from the deep, dark forest to a Los Angeles high-rise. The writer-director has spoken before about why Rise goes in a new direction, but in a new interview he gives more details about the decision.

Speaking to Collider, Cronin (The Hole in the Ground) explained that while he’s a confirmed Evil Dead fan, joining the franchise wasn’t something he found “overwhelming.” Instead, he said, “I was kind of excited, but I also knew what I wanted and what the guys wanted was to do something that was a little bit of departure, a little bit of a new direction. That actually brought a certain freedom. It was kind of liberating. Had I been telling a story in the cabin in the woods with Ash, I would have been absolutely terrified. But when I had the creative freedom to tell a story that I was interested in, I was at peace. It’s my favorite script I’ve ever written, my favorite screenplay. It was so much fun to write.”

Though Cronin said his on-set mantra was “Make it entertaining,” he wanted to be sure his movie was rooted in substantial themes. “When I found the heart of the characters and the family, and within that the metaphor that drives the story, I think that is always the moment for me because that inspires the choices that you then go on and make,” he said. “And even when the monstrous things happen and the behavior and some of the dialogue with those deadites, it comes out of that kind of deeper idea, that deeper fear of motherhood, how family can fall apart, looking at some of those thematic things. And also, when I felt comfortable with that, I felt like then I could just go and have a party with the horror at that point.”

The horror party—which does involve a chainsaw, if not a Campbell—starts April 21, when Evil Dead Rise hits theaters.

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