Evil Dead Rise director says blood is its own character

Evil Dead Rise director Lee Cronin has been promising lots of blood for some time, and now that the movie has hit theaters, he wants viewers to get as comfortable with it as possible…as if it were a character of its own.

Speaking with Variety, Cronin (2019’s The Hole in the Ground) said of the Evil Dead Rise blood use, “We used 6,500 liters [1,717 gallons] of blood on the movie…That is real, sticky, cooked movie blood. We had to hire out this industrial kitchen to cook the blood and keep it fresh, be able to heat it up, because characters are covered in it.” He added, “There was a lot of management of liquid in this movie. I wanted blood to be a character, so it was important we got the viscosity and look just right.”

Setting out to make blood a character might seem like a lofty goal for Evil Dead Rise, but 1,700+ of the stuff at least qualifies it as a supporter. And that’s a pretty hefty number compared to the original Evil Dead’s. However, it should be noted that 2013’s Evil Dead used around 50,000 of fake blood for the ending alone, with some estimates adding 20,000 gallons for the rest of the movie.

That Evil Dead Rise does pull back on the blood at least compared to the 2013 reimagining shows Cronin recognized that more doesn’t exactly translate to better. He also put a focus on other excitement and characters, something our own Jessica Dwyer noted in her 9/10 review. Based on the comments for the review, the latest movie in the franchise is proving to be a fan favorite as well.

Audiences all around seem to be enjoying the latest Evil Dead installment, giving it an 83% score on Rotten Tomatoes (pretty close to the critics’ 85%). While it doesn’t match the original trilogy’s, it’s still in the neighborhood and at least tops 2013’s entry.

What did you think of the blood in Evil Dead Rise? Did it live up to its director’s hype? Give us your take below!