2023 is off to another killer start for the horror genre. While most genre fans are currently focused on Ghostface’s return, there’s another iconic franchise marking their comeback in April. This would be Evil Dead in the appropriately titled Evil Dead Rise. The marketing for the film has slowly been ramping up with the first crazy trailer for Rise promising another blood-soaked entry for this wildly popular horror series. With the film less than two months away, we now know that the runtime for writer-director Lee Cronin’s Evil Dead Rise will be 96 minutes long.
That may seem short in the modern film landscape, but this would actually make Rise the longest film in the franchise. The original The Evil Dead clocked in at 85 minutes, Evil Dead II at 84 minutes, Army of Darkness at 81 minutes, and Evil Dead 2013 at 91 minutes. Then, when you compare it to other modern horror hits from just last year, Rise is also on the short side of the scary spectrum. Halloween Ends was 111 minutes, Terrifier 2 was 138 minutes, The Black Phone was 103 minutes, and Scream 2022 was 114 minutes. Because of that, the shorter runtime for Rise can be seen as refreshing. A film should only be as long as the story requires, and Evil Dead has always been a franchise that wastes no one’s time. You sit down, watch some twisted imagery, impressive practical gore effects, and then, like a satisfying roller coaster ride, it’s over
