Okay, so Evil Dead Rise.
It’s loud.
It’s gross.
And honestly? It makes your brain hurt a little bit if you try to keep the timeline straight.
I watched it twice just to make sure I wasn’t losing my mind, because the way this movie jumps back and forth, it’s easy to get confused about who is where and when. Oddly enough,
But if you’re looking for the lowdown on the plot holes and the ending, you’re in the right place.
Table of Contents
The Confusing Timeline
First off, stop trying to watch this like a normal movie with a straight timeline.
It’s non-linear, which is a cool style choice, but it trips people up.
The movie keeps flipping between the night before things went sideways and the morning of.
Like, you’ll be watching a scene where the dad, Jake, is going crazy in an elevator, and then suddenly you’re back at the party the night before.
It’s disorienting, but you get used to it.
So, what actually happened? Basically, the family is stuck in a high-rise apartment building during a power outage caused by a series of earthquakes.
The Deadites start popping up in the neighbors’ units, and soon enough, they are trapped on their own floor.
The chaos starts when the grandma gets infected and kills her own daughter, Teresa.
From there, it’s a bloodbath.
What Happened to the Mom?
Okay, this part always gets people asking questions. Here’s the interesting part.
The mom, Ellie, gets infected.
But she doesn’t just turn immediately.
There’s a whole thing with her trying to flush the Deadite out.
It’s pretty messed up.
In the morning, when the other family members find her, she’s tied up in the bathroom.
She looks dead, or at least unconscious.
But here is the thing—she’s actually a Deadite by that point.
She’s just playing possum.
When the son, Dalton, goes into the bathroom to check on her, she snaps.
She tries to bite him, but her husband, Jake, saves him by shooting her.
That’s why she’s a pile of goo later on.
It’s sad, but also, she was already gone.
And this is where things get interesting.
The Zombie Baby Twist
If you’re asking yourself, “That baby…
is that baby a zombie?”, the answer is terrifyingly yes.
This is the moment everyone talks about at the bar.
So, we know Ellie was a Deadite.
The baby, Kassie, was in the room with her. Here’s the interesting part.
The Deadite corruption is super contagious and fast.
When Ellie transformed, Kassie was exposed.
By the time the family is trying to get out of the apartment, the baby is acting…
off.
When the mom is holding the baby and gets scratched by a Deadite (or maybe just infects herself with the goo), the baby starts crying.
But then, the baby stops crying and starts making this gurgling, growling sound.
Yeah, it’s a Deadite baby.
It’s a dark joke from the filmmakers.
Like, “Oh look, the apple doesn’t fall far from the tree.” It’s gross, but it fits the franchise perfectly.
The Final Scene Explained
So, the ending.
Everyone is dead except for Dalton and the girlfriend, Bridget.
They are in the hallway trying to escape.
Bridget gets taken by a Deadite (I think it was the one that escaped the neighbor’s apartment).
Dalton is left alone in the hallway.
He finds his dad’s gun.
Now, here is where the confusion starts for a lot of people.
Does Dalton kill the Deadites? Well, we don’t see him kill everyone because the movie ends on a cliffhanger.
He’s standing there, guns blazing, ready to finish what his dad started.
It’s a classic horror movie setup for a sequel.
Also, a lot of people were bummed about the lack of Ash Williams.
I felt that.
We see the Deadites reading the book, and we see the camera focus on a helmet, but Ash never shows up.
It’s a missed opportunity, honestly, but it keeps the movie focused on this specific family rather than just doing another “Ash is here to save the day” movie.
You gotta make room for new blood.
Why This Movie Matters
Evil Dead Rise isn’t just about the jump scares, though there are plenty.
It’s about the isolation.
You’re stuck in a building with people you love, but you can’t trust them anymore.
It’s the ultimate “don’t open that door” scenario, just applied to an entire apartment complex.
If you haven’t seen it, you should really give it a watch. And this is where things get interesting.
Even if you have to skip the parts with the baby because that freaked me out way too much.
The practical effects are actually insane, especially the scenes with the Deadite babies. And this is where things get interesting.
They look so real it’s uncomfortable.
If you’re looking for more deep dives into horror movies, check out our list of best horror movies 2023.
And if you want to know about the lore, definitely read up on the history of the Deadites.
Anyway, that’s the rundown.
I think I got most of it right, but if you saw something different, let me know in the comments.
Horror fans always have theories, right?
And hey, if you loved the practical effects, collecting Blu-rays is a great way to support that kind of art.
Related Questions
- Is Evil Dead Rise connected to the first movie?
- What is the timeline of Evil Dead Rise?
- Does Ash Williams appear in Evil Dead Rise?
Image source: pexels.com
Image source credit: pexels.com