Evil Dead Rise has hit theaters, and it’s a wild ride. Departing from the Evil Dead franchise’s usual setting of a cabin in the woods, Evil Dead Rise focuses on a dilapidated Los Angeles apartment, where Ellie (Alyssa Sutherland) lives with her three kids.
In Evil Dead Rise, Ellie’s estranged sister Beth (Lily Sullivan) comes to visit after getting life-changing news. However, when the Book of the Dead unleashes the Deadites on Ellie and her family, Beth has to fight her way out of the building to survive.
We sat down with Sutherland and Sullivan to talk about Ellie, Beth, and the Deadites. In particular, the two actresses shared some details about the physicality of their roles.
“For me, just getting a chainsaw above my head and holding it, and doing ridiculous things like harness work, was great,” says Sullivan. “[I was in a] tug of war between four grips, like stunt dudes, ricocheting and rolling under the rolling doors and having a boom stick. We had an amazing stunt coordinator, Stuart Thorpe, who just gave us so much confidence once they called action to not become a silly Muppet actor who just kind of just goes for it. He built in a lot of confidence within us, which was really cool.”
“It was so much fun,” adds Sutherland. “I love being in harnesses and being thrown about as well. There’s a stunt that I have in the elevator where I kind of go from the top of the elevator and fall to the bottom. That stunt was really fun. That brief period of time where you feel weightless and you’re falling is really addictive. I have a video of me doing it, and they call cut and Stu, our stunt coordinator, is like, ‘you okay?’ And I kind of come up and I go, ‘Yeah!’ Like, I’m still hot. Like, ‘Yep, I’m good! Let’s go again!’
In that particular scene, the demons unleashed by the Book of the Dead ensnare Ellie in cables while they control the elevator car. It’s a harrowing scene—and the last time we see Ellie in her unpossessed form.
Check out the full interview below! And check out more of our interviews on our Youtube channel.
(featured image: Warner Bros.)
