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To this day, Rod Serling's sci-fi anthology series "The Twilight Zone" regularly tops lists of the best TV shows of all time. Serling, and a team of some of the best sci-fi authors of the 1950s and 1960s, conceived of 156 miniature morality stories, usually with a supernatural bent, and in so doing changed the very face of television. Sci-fi and horror were considered more commercially viable, inspiring a new slew of imitators and a shift in the public's attention. Serling also introduced a unique form of storytelling efficiency with "The Twilight Zone," proving that an entire, closed morality fable could be wrapped up in a mere 25 minutes (or 51 minutes in the show's fourth season). Serling was also careful to explicitly state a moral in every episode, making "The Twilight Zone" a fantastic social commentary. 

"The Twilight Zone" ran from...

From the mind of Hp Lovecraft comes the story of The Necronomicon, known to many as the book of the dead. A book so evil that it is made from human flesh. A book that can bring the dead back to life. The Necronomicon was created by the wickedest man in the world. The magician Aleister Crowley while visiting the depths of Hell and depravity. Now Dragon Studios takes you to place that has only ever been written about in the books of H P Lovecraft. As you to can visit The Necronomicon.

Now from the award winning film maker Richard Driscoll, comes a story that will tear your very heart from its soul as you watch one of the scariest movies ever made.

The Necronomicon is used to lure victims to their death and capture their souls. One such person is the comic book writer George Carney who thinks...

With Evil Dead Rise bringing attention back to the classic Sam Raimi franchise, there have been plenty of questions about deadite possession. In 1981, Sam Raimi directed the video nasties-era movie, The Evil Dead. In this movie, Ashley Williams (Bruce Campbell) went to a cabin in the woods for a vacation. When they read from a book called The Necronomicon, they released the evil deadites, and one by one all of Bruce's family and friends at the cabin ended up possessed and he had to kill them one by one. After two sequels, things remained quiet on the deadite front for a couple of decades.

In 2013, Evil Dead brought the deadites back with a new story and no Ash. This removed much of the comedy and made the deadite possession deadly, dangerous, and bloody. Ash returned for a TV series that once again rewrote the rules of the deadites for a new generation.

Jane Levy was one of the prominent scream queens of the 2010s. She portrayed Mia Allen in Fede Álvarez's 2013 remake of Evil Dead, and she teamed up with Álvarez once again when she starred in his 2016 horror-thriller Don't Breathe.

Levy's performance in Evil Dead (2013) was praised across the board, and the character of Mia was well-received by fans. As a result, some people were left wondering why Levy didn't reprise her role as Mia in Evil Dead Rise. According to an interview from Collider, the actor simply wanted to take a break from the horror genre due to its demanding nature.

Related: Why Bruce Campbell's Ash Williams Won't Appear in Evil Dead Rise

Evil Dead Was a Grueling Shoot

In Evil Dead, Mia Allen, her brother David, his girlfriend Natalie, and their friends Olivia and Eric travel to a secluded cabin. They plan to stay there in order to help Mia detox.

From the mind of Hp Lovecraft comes the story of The Necronomicon, known to many as the book of the dead. A book so evil that it is made from human flesh. A book that can bring the dead back to life. The Necronomicon was created by the wickedest man in the world. The magician …

The post “Necronomicon” Now Available from DRagon Studios appeared first on Horror News | Hnn.

Warning! This article contains Spoilers for Evil Dead Rise!Lee Cronin’s Evil Dead Rise tackles the Evil Dead franchise’s third Book of the Dead, which unleashes plenty of new Necronomicon lore and changes to the evil Deadites. Evil Dead Rise is a standalone sequel to Sam Raimi’s original Evil Dead trilogy and Fede Álvarez’s 2013 Evil Dead remake/sequel, each of which sees the various protagonists – Ash Williams, Mia Allen, and Beth Bixler – contend with the Book of the Dead and the demon-possessed Deadites they unleash. Every Evil Dead movie manages to introduce new lore about the fabled volumes of the Naturom Demonto/Necronomicon and the powers and abilities of the Deadites, with Evil Dead Rise adding some shocking new rules regarding the book and undead villains.

In 1992’s Army of Darkness, Bruce Campbell’s character Ash Williams found three Books of the Dead in 1300 Ad, which...

For shows that typically focus on romance, shojo anime have a surprising amount of unlikeable characters. Many cast members are either creepy or bafflingly mean to everyone around them, while others are simply one-note. These characters usually serve a purpose, but, oftentimes, their presence makes their shows appear to waver even more.

Related: 15 Best Shonen Anime With The Worst Characters

Though the reasons vary as to why some characters are awful, the casts of these anime almost bring down their entire shows. Fortunately, many of these titles are popular despite their terrible characters. Countless shojo anime are great, but they can have some of the most terrible cast members.

Updated by Alexandra Locke on May 10, 2023: Romantic characters filled with dreams of hope and love are the standard for most Shojo anime. Yet, there are still many great Shojo shows that have the most terrible characters. These hateful or simply...

Despite Ash Williams being the main character of the original Evil Dead trilogy, he didn't really appear in Evil Dead Rise, so here's how he could make his grand return in Evil Dead Rise 2. While Ash does have a small voice cameo in the 2023 Evil Dead reboot, his presence isn't all that significant, especially considering his major role in past entries in the Evil Dead franchise. There are still all kinds of ways that Ash could return in Evil Dead Rise 2, though, and here are 10 of the best theories regarding how he could come back in the sequel.

Ash Williams was the first main character of the Evil Dead franchise, with him being the protagonist of all three films in the original trilogy. However, Army of Darkness was far from the end of Ash, as Bruce Campbell later reprised the role for all three seasons of Ash vs. Evil Dead.

Everyone knows Jason Voorhees as the hockey-mask wearing killer of the Friday the 13th franchise, but is it possible he has a connection to the Evil Dead universe? According to one comic, Mrs. Voorhees’ favorite boy may in fact be a Deadite.

The comic in question that reveals Jason’s Deadite heritage is 2007/2008’s Freddy vs. Jason vs. Ash, the monumental crossover series between the Nightmare on Elm Street, Friday the 13th and Evil Dead franchises. Co-published by DC’s Wildstorm imprint and Dynamite Entertainment, the six-issue miniseries began life as a film sequel to 2003’s Freddy vs. Jason, the long-awaited mash-up of those slasher icons. Film producer Jeff Katz wrote a treatment for a follow-up to that film that saw Freddy and Jason going up against Evil Dead’s Ash Williams, but the proposed sequel was ultimately nixed by actor Bruce Campbell. Never letting a good idea go to waste,...

Horror fans have been gushing over the latest installment of the Evil Dead franchise: Evil Dead Rise. Premiering in 2023, the film offers audiences a glimpse at the newest horrors of the Necronomicon. Evil Dead Rise also changed elements of the original story, including the location (now set in Los Angeles) and a new cast of characters. A refreshing addition to the legendary franchise is the inclusion of Morgan Davies, a transgender actor who played a character named Danny in Evil Dead Rise.

Transgender representation and inclusion have sparked lots of controversy in recent years. With influential people like J.K. Rowling publicly spreading hate and giving space for other celebrities to defend her transphobic views, there's a lot of tension regarding trans representation in media. The horror genre is not exempt from its problematic portrayals of trans people in the past. But a lot of fans in the LGBTQ+ community have...

Evil Dead Rise is slowly, but surely, crawling its way up to box office success, as the film has managed to earn $86.5 million at the worldwide box office after being screened in movie theatres over the course of two weekends. Lee Cronin's new installment in the classic supernatural horror franchise saw spectacular holdovers in territories such as Saudi Arabia, Colombia and Peru, establishing that audiences simply can't get enough of these new characters who run into a volume of the Necronomicon. When it comes to the domestic box office numbers, Evil Dead Rise has earned $44.4 million as of today.

Warning! This article contains Spoilers for Evil Dead Rise!

While Evil Dead Rise has proven to be a more-than-adequate addition to the gory Evil Dead series, the gruesome thrill ride still left some questions unanswered. Evil Dead Rise made a lot of risky decisions when it came to reviving the long-dormant franchise. The first Evil Dead movie since 2013’s remake Evil Dead, Evil Dead Rise dropped the franchise's iconic remote cabin location in favor of a busy urban high-rise apartment building and shifted the focus of the story from a group of college kids to a family.

Fortunately, Evil Dead Rise’s promotion from a streaming release and subsequent impressive box office performance, as well as its stellar reviews, prove that these risks paid off. Director Lee Cronin’s first film since his 2019 indie horror debut The Hole in the Ground took that more modest movie’s themes of motherhood...

There’s a kind of shaggy glory to Evil Dead: Sam Raimi’s demonic scary movie series spawned from the writer/director’s triumphant indie horror marvel from 1981. Starring childhood friend Bruce Campbell and shot in the Tennessee wilderness with next to no budget, the inaugural outing with Raimi’s Necronomicon (aka Book of the Dead) and its flesh-ripping Deadites — also known by the original film’s title, “The Evil Dead” — established a formula for four more films with immeasurable influence on skin-peeling, tendon-snapping, chainsaw-revving pop culture as we know it.

The first film sees final guy Ash Williams (Campbell), his sister Cheryl (Ellen Sandweiss), his girlfriend Linda (Betsy Baker), and friends Scott (Richard DeManincor) and Shelly (Theresa Tilly) heading out for a stay at a remote cabin. Once there, a cursed book and tape summons a demonic presence that slowly begins to feast on the souls of the unlucky travelers one by one.

With all its visual inventiveness, brilliant juxtaposition of grotesque, gory scenes with dark humor, and a well-defined mythology of its own, the cult-classic horror franchise “Evil Dead,” created by Sam Raimi, has gone on to become a subgenre in itself. One of the selling points of the series is the lore of the horror elements, revolving around the ominous “Necronomicon Ex-Mortis,” aka “Book of the Dead,” and the sadistic, vicious monsters known as Deadites, both of which end up wreaking havoc in the lives (and deaths too) of the protagonists involved in each of the installments. The latest release of the franchise, “Evil Dead Rise,” continues the legacy of its horror by adhering to the lore and also by adding newer elements to the mythology, which we would like to discuss by explaining the lore in detail.

Before the meteoric success of the first movie of the franchise, “Evil Dead...

This Evil Dead Rise article contains spoilers.

Evil Dead Rise, the fifth installment of the horror series, opened in second place in the domestic box office this past weekend, pulling in an impressive $23.5 million, and $40 million worldwide, which would suggest there’s more boom left in the franchise boomstick.

And though writer/director Lee Cronin says he “was never trying to bait for sequels,” he nonetheless sets up a few story ideas should he return to the world of deadites and Necronomicon created in 1981 by Sam Raimi, Rob Tapert, and Bruce Campbell, who starred as Ashley J. Williams.

In a recent episode of Den of Geek‘s paranormal pop culture show Talking Strange, Cronin — as well as stars Alyssa Sutherland and Lily Sullivan — spoke to host Aaron Sagers about the film’s ending and what happens immediately following that scene.

As you’ll recall, at the end of the movie,...

Director Lee Cronin explains why a new Book of the Dead was introduced in Evil Dead Rise. The fifth installment in the horror franchise follows estranged sisters Ellie (Alyssa Sutherland) and Beth (Lily Sullivan) as they attempt to save their family from flesh-possessing demons known as the Deadites, released via recordings of the Naturom Demonto. The book found in the family's apartment building was revealed to be the third volume of the Naturom Demonto, or Necronomicon Ex-Mortis.

In a recent interview with CinemaBlend, Cronin discussed why that version of the Book of the Dead was used and explained that its location was unknown after 1992's Army of Darkness. Read the director's comments regarding the book below:

"I think what I wanted to do was kind of slightly define the lore in that moment. And it was something I'd said to Sam Raimi early on in the process. I'd said, 'Look,...

If you’re a fan of the blood-soaked, horrifying, ruthless, gut-churning, every-second-of-the-way kind of films, then “Evil Dead Rise” should be your next theatrical watch. While there are quite a few issues with the film, including wardrobe choices and confusing accents, “Evil Dead Rise” is your latest horror film to just have pure fun with. To enjoy such a film with an engaged crowd is experience enough to recommend it. With the Necronomicon Ex-Mortis resurfacing due to an earthquake and the curiosity of a child, unspeakable evil is unleashed on an apartment building in LA this time around. Frankly, there isn’t much LA in this film, but either way, it’s a blast, and if we step aside from the fact that it is a part of the larger franchise and watch it as a stand-alone, it’s quite enjoyable but falls a little short in terms of a hooking plot.

This piece contains spoilers for "Evil Dead Rise."

With "Evil Dead Rise" about to traumatize theater-goers this weekend, director Lee Cronin has been on the publicity circuit, eloquently talking about his love of Sam Raimi's original films and what he wanted to do when he got a turn up at the plate. 

We all know that the first question from most outlets is going to be about sequels. Those questions offer the chance of a scoop or, at the very least, a buzzy headline. 

"Evil Dead" is a downright bizarre series that changes format from sequel to sequel, ranging from horrific (the original and the 2013 remake) to a blend of horror and comedy ("Evil Dead 2"), to just straight-up comedy. The more recent "Evil Dead Rise" exists somewhere between "Evil Dead 2" and the 2013 "Evil Dead" remake in tone, and all that means is that the sky's the limit...

Lily Sullivan in ‘Evil Dead Rise’ (Photo © 2022 Warner Bros. Entertainment Inc)

The bloodthirsty demons are back and this time they’re going after a family in a rundown high-rise in the 2023 entry of the campy Evil Dead horror film franchise, Evil Dead Rise.

Beth (Lily Sullivan), a roadie who’s just received some surprising news, heads home to visit her estranged sister, Ellie (Alyssa Sutherland), and Ellie’s children in Los Angeles. Upon arriving she discovers her sister packing up and getting ready to leave their apartment because the building’s been condemned.

Ellie sends her three kids – Danny (Morgan Davies), Bridget (Gabrielle Echols), and young Kassie (Nell Fisher) – out to get pizza, and just as they make it back to the parking garage, the city experiences a massive earthquake. The ground cracks and a large hole opens up in their building.

Teenager Danny goes exploring down in the hole,...

You know when you’re watching a Sam Raimi and beyond, Raimi’s impact on modern cinema can’t be understated.

Now, as Evil Dead Rise hits the big screen – with Raimi as producer, bringing director Lee Cronin into the undead fold – Empire presents a ranking of Raimi’s ten best films. Make way for killer carnage, heartfelt heroes, doomed protagonists, and Deadites galore.

10) Doctor Strange In The Multiverse Of Madness

Bigger, bolder, and barmier than the first instalment officially exists in the MCU now. Groovy.

Read the Empire review

9) The Evil Dead

When Sam Raimi started work on The Evil Dead, he was a 19-year-old Michigan State dropout with one mission: get $100,000 together, and make a movie with his childhood friend Bruce Campbell. Nearly everyone he spoke to said his script wouldn’t work: you couldn’t just dive into the blood and guts without setting it up, they said.

On April 21, Warner Bros. released “Evil Dead Rise,” the fifth installment of the supernatural horror franchise. The film written and directed by Lee Cronin currently holds a freshness rating of 96% on Rotten Tomatoes, scaring up rave reviews from critics. The consensus reads, “Offering just about everything longtime fans could hope for while still managing to carry the franchise forward, Evil Dead Rise is all kinds of groovy.”

The film stars Lily Sullivan, Alyssa Sutherland, Morgan Davies, Gabrielle Echols and Nell Fisher in a twisted tale of two estranged sisters whose reunion is cut short by the rise of flesh-possessing demons, thrusting them into a primal battle for survival as they face the most nightmarish version of family imaginable. Read our review round-up below.

See 24 most anticipated movies for April include ‘Air,’ ‘The Super Mario Bros. Movie,’ ‘Evil Dead Rise’ … [Photos]

John Fink of The Film Stage notes, “Like the latest ‘Scream’ installment,...

The latest entry in the Evil Dead franchise opens on a familiar image, inverted for this new chapter — instead of a dilapidated cabin in the middle of an overgrown forest, there is an A-frame in a green meadow straight out of Midsommar's idyllic Swedish countryside. Nestled snuggly against a lake, the cabin's occupants have yet to come across the horrors of the Necronomicon. The opening scene is a microcosm of Evil Dead Rise itself, a nasty movie that cleverly subverts franchise tropes for a grisly and bitterly hysterical riff on motherhood in horror and the mythology that began with Sam Raimi's 1981 cult classic. While it doesn't quite reach the horrific highs of the 2013 remake, it rips through other splatter-fests with the finesse of a freshly whetted chainsaw blade.

Evil Dead Rise opts for the urban landscape of Los Angeles this time around, forgoing foreboding forests for a claustrophobic and rundown high-rise apartment building.

Despite former Evil Dead frontman Bruce Campbell parting ways with the franchise, which has fissured into various strands over the years, the film series battles on with Campbell now on exec-producing duty alongside the original film’s director, Sam Raimi, to deliver this frenzied, gore strewn reboot/sequel/equal/something, that feels more connected to Fede Alvarez’s 2013 remake than Raimi’s original trilogy.

Helmed by The Hole in the Ground writer/director Lee Cronin, Evil Dead Rise is a feisty, ripped limb lobbing, scatter-gun whirlwind of guts, blood, demonic possession and pregnancy horror that doesn’t muzzle gusto for characters or story, and suffers as a result.

After a goosebump budding prologue, the story zaps backwards and relocates to LA (doubled by New Zealand due to Covid restrictions), where single mother, Elle (Alyssa Sutherland) lives with her kids in an urban high rise. Elle’s technician sister Beth (Lily Sullivan) visits,...

(Welcome to Scariest Scene Ever, a column dedicated to the most pulse-pounding moments in horror with your tour guides, horror experts Chris Evangelista and Matt Donato. In this edition, Chris advises you to not cut your own face off while watching "Evil Dead" 2013.)

The idea of a remake of "The Evil Dead" seemed like a form of blasphemy at one point, but horror hounds appear to love Fede Álvarez's remake/reboot/reimagining/etc, the 2013 film "Evil Dead". Me? I'm somewhere in the middle. I love the nasty, gory, overwhelmingly bleak atmosphere Álvarez and company created for the film. However, a lot of the dialogue is so painfully bad that it takes me out of the movie on more than one occasion. I'm not saying I expected Shakespearian prose from "Evil Dead," but I know they could've done a lot better. No matter — the film is still plenty visceral and scary,...

Cineworld has unwrapped the Necronomicon for all to see ahead of the release of Lee Cronin's much-anticipated gore fest Evil Dead Rise. The theater chain released an exclusive new clip for the horror film on Twitter that serves as a grandiose introduction to this installment's Book of the Dead. Covered in bugs and tucked away in a dark crevice where no one should dare to look, it's once again primed to unleash evil upon the world.

Evil Dead Rise, the latest entry in the Evil Dead franchise, is set to reach theatres on April 21st (you can read our review right Here) – and now the marketing department has decided to promote the film by releasing a full clip from it. We’ve heard that this movie will feature a different edition of the Necronomicon than characters have leafed through in the other films, and in this clip we see just how this edition of the Necronomicon enters the story. You can watch the clip in the Twitter embed below:

The Book of the Dead is Not an easy read

Behold an exclusive sneak peak at #EvilDeadRise! Book your tickets to witness the Mother of all Evil at Cineworld on April 21 https://t.co/EK6a3WRQp4 pic.twitter.com/TqaPnxV8RI

— Cineworld (@cineworld) April 4, 2023

Evil Dead franchise creator Sam Raimi handpicked Lee Cronin to write and...

Evil Dead Rise releases April 2023, and there are plenty of Evil Dead Rise updates about the upcoming entry in the franchise to pique horror fans' interest. 2013’s Evil Dead was a reboot/sequel to the original trilogy and was a surprising instance of a remake respecting and adding to its source. Evil Dead Rise will be the fifth film in a franchise that includes a TV series, Ash vs the Evil Dead, though it's not related to the previous storylines. Much like Evil Dead (2013), Evil Dead Rise is a spin-off, with the Deadites back to terrorize a new cohort of victims.

Raimi and Fede Álvarez had both announced their intentions to film sequels to Army of Darkness and Evil Dead (2013), respectively, but those sequels to the Mia Allen and Ash Williams storylines never materialized, partly due to Bruce Campbell announcing his retirement from the character after the TV show. It...

Lovecraft fans wishing for an online co-op action game, get excited. Dragonis Games has announced the impending release of Eresys, a 4-player co-op game inspired by Lovecraft’s work that’s set for release on Steam on April 20.

The story for Eresys goes that an expelled cultist has unleashed a Void Portal on an isolated island, leading to the death of the inhabitants and himself. You and your fellow cultists need to send the entity back from where it came from and seal the portal. You’ll need to claim the sources that are needed to complete the offer of the altars and complete the final ritual in order to send the entity back and seal the portal before it’s too late.

It’s obviously not as simple as it sounds. Teamwork is essential in Eresys in order to not only complete the mission, but survive. You’ll need...

In Evil Dead Rise, Lee Cronin shows the depth of his twisted mind and a commitment to the spirit of Sam Raimi’s franchise.

Contrary to the protests of one viewer, who yelled “This movie sucks!” and stormed out after its SXSW premiere, Evil Dead Rise isn’t terrible. The film flaunts the talents of its promising director, while playing plenty of homage to the predecessors. Gore, blood, jittery perspectives and strong performances from Alyssa Sutherland and Lily Sullivan make this film a worthy franchise entry.

Sutherland and Sullivan star as Ellie and Beth, respectively, two sisters whose relationship ebbs and flows according to tour schedules and childcare duties. Beth is a guitar technician for bands (although her sister secretly and cruelly refers to her as a groupie) and Ellie is a tattoo artist living in Los Angeles with her three kids. Their relationship has a loving foundation but the...

Following the world premiere of writer and director Lee Cronin’s “Evil Dead Rise” at this year’s SXSW, actress Lily Sullivan told the audience that “horror is the ultimate collaboration of artistry.” The fifth installment of the “Evil Dead” franchise is precisely that: while also conjuring new evil to the franchise. Cronin successfully delivers a new chapter in the Necronomicon and slays the screen with artistic rigor until the credits roll.

The opening teases a familiar scene: an isolated cabin, a young couple, and a joking quarrel. Yet, the first introduction to actual violence in the film really sets the tone, complete with jaw-dropping effectiveness and sheer visceral horror. The story then transports to a metropolitan area, where our actual main characters are introduced. Sullivan stars as Beth, an ambitious guitar tech who visits her estranged sister, Ellie (Alyssa Sutherland), and her three kids after her latest tour ends.

The “Evil Dead” franchise has a reputation that precedes it. Blood oozing, guts being laid bare, unspeakable cruelties—these movies, a set of five that span back as far as 1981, have it all when it comes to everything a diehard horror fan might want.

The first three installments are known for the comedic elements alongside the terror, but in 2013 Fede Alvarez’ “Evil Dead” ushered in a new era for the franchise that changed the look and feel. The modernization took everything fans adore about the series to the next level: the gore, the brutality, and the heroic perseverance of a new central character. Ten years later, writer-director Lee Cronin’s sequel, “Evil Dead Rise,” has finally come home to roost and, man, is this new take on the franchise one bloody and barbaric good time.

The film follows Lily Sullivan’s Beth, a guitar tech visiting her estranged sister, Ellie,...

Lee Cronin’s Evil Dead Rise confidently tackles the beloved franchise with new vigor and violence, opening up a world of possibilities for one of horror’s most cherished franchises. Much like Raimi’s third entry in the original series, Army of Darkness, the latest film boldly leaves the cabin in the woods to place the action in an urban apartment building in Los Angeles. This time, however, he not only leaves the setting, but also the legacy characters behind, positing a world in which the fabled Necronomicon can get to anyone, not just Ash. Following a reverent – and giddily bloody – prologue in which a cabin in the woods makes a brief appearance as tribute, Evil Dead Rise moves quickly into the life of Beth (Lily...

[Read the whole post on screenanarchy.com...]...

Ash Williams is not going to be in "Evil Dead Rise." No, really. No matter how much fans want it and how much the "Evil Dead" universe loves to throw Bruce Campbell's character back in the ring in the form of spin-off shows and post-credits scenes, director Lee Cronin tells Empire magazine that Ash really, truly will not appear in the new movie. Campbell, on the other hand? That's another story.

"It felt like in order to move the franchise somewhere new and to unlock the potential of the universe to tell more stories, it needed to break free [of Ash]," Cronin shared in an interview alongside original trilogy writer-director Sam Raimi. "But Bruce is hidden in the movie somewhere." Campbell's presence in the film is apparently pretty well-hidden, though, to the point that Cronin even offered up an incentive for finding him.

Spot Bruce And You Might End Up 50 Bucks...

No monster has struck fear into the hearts of moviegoers quite like the Xenomorph. The titular creature in Ridley Scott's 1979 sci-fi masterpiece "Alien" — as well as the sequels, prequels, spin-offs, video games, comic books, and novels that followed — is a killer beyond compare in science fiction, and today stands as one of the genre's most recognizable antagonists. And while it's fair to say that the franchise has been subject to a few ups and downs over the years, the spine-chilling power of the Xenomorph itself has never been less than total.

How much do you really know about Ellen Ripley's archnemesis, though? Is there more to this horrific beast than what you've seen on screen? Well, yes: Fittingly for a creature designed by a legendary surrealist, the history of the Xenomorph is as strange as the monster is scary. From the earliest concepts to those endless variants to...

It's astonishing the longevity of the "Evil Dead" series, given how deliberately thin the original film's mythology was. In Sam Raimi's 1981 low-budget classic, "The Evil Dead," a group of college kids, including the acerbic Ash (Bruce Campbell) hole up in a remote forest cabin for the usual reasons, when they find an evil-looking book in the basement -- the Necronomicon -- and a mysterious tape recorder. Playing back the tape, they hear evil incantations from the book, read by the cabin's previous tenant. The spell awakens evil monsters who kill the college kids and are generally a nuisance to Ash. 

In the 1987 sequel-cum-remake, "Evil Dead 2: Dead By Dawn," it's further established that a second spell can banish the monsters back to Hell ... and also throw Ash back in time to the 14th century. The third film in the series, 1993's "Army of Darkness," takes place in the distant past,...

In M. Night Shyamalan's "Knock at the Cabin," a couple and their young daughter take a trip to a secluded cabin. Their peaceful vacation is interrupted by a group of strangers holding deadly weapons. It feels like a familiar hostage horror movie until the shocking revelation that the family must make a devastating choice to prevent the apocalypse.

"Knock at the Cabin" is just one of many films to use the cabin in the woods trope. This sequestered locale buried in the vast, mysterious woods is often the site of violence, confrontation, and hidden secrets in films — particularly the horror genre. It is a space where characters are forced to be together, and there is nowhere to run when they face danger. The wild, remote setting forces protagonists to confront life-altering circumstances and events. Often, these films are intimate with a small cast trapped in the cabin setting.

The...

The "Evil Dead" trilogy is not particularly renowned for its strict continuity. Quite the contrary, actually — the three films, "The Evil Dead," "Evil Dead II," and "Army of Darkness," employ some notably loose connective tissue between each movie.

Some of this is due to the shifting creative approach, as the first film's ultimate experience in grueling terror morphs into the sequel's outrageous slapstick (or perhaps "splatstick" is a better term) before shifting completely into the period adventure comedy of "Army of Darkness." The continuity confusion also infamously stems from the films' production issues, with access to rights for recap footage requiring director Sam Raimi and company to reshoot and reconceive the backstory for each prior entry. There's also the fact that the "rules" Raimi establishes for the Deadites in the first "Evil Dead" are purposely vague, with victims being possessed and un-possessed seemingly at the drop of a hat, for instance.

(For the 30th anniversary of Sam Raimi's "Army of Darkness," we're looking back at some scary and funny anecdotes about the movie this week.)

Sequels -- especially horror ones -- have a bad reputation for repeating the original story. Part of this has to do with the rise of slashers during the 1980s. When the audience is there to see Michael Myers or Freddy Krueger, it's easy to follow the same beats of them killing teenagers in movie after movie, with only the window dressing changed.

However, the '80s were also the decade of Raimi's "Evil Dead," one of the wildest horror franchises out there. Now, "Evil Dead II" does have a similar story to the original — Ash Williams (Bruce Campbell) and co. are stuck in a cabin in the woods, menaced by undead summoned via the Necromonicon. The sequel opens with an abbreviated version of the first film's events.

(For the 30th anniversary of Sam Raimi's "Army of Darkness," we're looking back at some scary and funny anecdotes about the movie this week).

Both "Evil Dead II" and "Army of Darkness" open with recaps, explaining the story of Ash Williams (Bruce Campbell) up to where the previous film left off. This is a necessity since both "The Evil Dead" and "Evil Dead II" end with cliffhangers; in the first, Ash is ambushed by an Unseen Force, while in the second he's sent back to medieval times. This mandated an explanation in each subsequent movie for viewers unacquainted with the series. But there's a catch to this: The story is never quite the same in any of the three films.

"Evil Dead II" opens with a reshot version of the first film, one that condenses its beats into 10 minutes: Ash goes out to a cabin in the woods, awakens...

As night falls, a castle needs to be protected from a massive army who have risen from the abyss to claim what they think is rightfully theirs. Archers stand by near the castle walls as the undead army marches toward the fortress in formation, while a reluctant hero rallies the men to fight against impossible odds. No, this is not the battle of Helm's Deep in Peter Jackson's "The Two Towers" — this sequence is the climactic battle between the skeletons and Arthur's men with Ash at the forefront in Sam Raimi's "Army of Darkness." The similarities between Raimi's audacious final installment in the "Evil Dead" trilogy and Jackson's near-perfect "The Lord of the Rings" trilogy are few far and between in terms of tone, intent, and cinematic ambition. However, in the event of the 30th anniversary of "Army of Darkness" this week, I would like to...

In Sam Raimi's 1981 zero-budget horror film "The Evil Dead," Ash (Bruce Campbell) is attacked by mysterious malevolent demons in a cabin in the woods, having been summoned there by an ancient evil book called the Necronomicon. All alone in the cabin, you start to think that Ash is not so much being beset by monsters, as Campbell is being beset by the movie itself. In the more comedic 1987 part-sequel, part-remake "Evil Dead II," the self-awareness is amped up to a slapstick degree, and the language of horror gives way to the timing of comedy.

At the end of "Evil Dead II," Ash flees into another genre altogether, finding himself in England circa 1300 Ce. By 1993's "Army of Darkness" (which celebrates its 30th anniversary this week), Ash has transformed from an average college student into a really dumb, full-bore a-hole. He is hailed as a "chosen one" despite his crass dialogue.

W​arner Bros./Discovery had a rollercoaster of a year in 2022. The new CEO David Zaslav began slashing costs everywhere, and the company started canceling already finished projects. Batgirl will end up on a list of some of the most sought-after unreleased films of all time. Despite all these issues, Warner Bros. still has a great film schedule for the rest of 2023.

M​agic Mike’s Last Dance – February 10

Magic Mike’s Last Dance was originally supposed to be a direct-to-hbo Max film, but after the slash and burn of original HBO Max content, it was moved to a theatrical release. Mike takes the stage one last time as Steven Soderbergh returns to direct, and Salma Hayek joins the cast.

M​ummies – February 24

Mummies follows three mummies living in a hidden city. They end up in present-day London and search for a lost ring belonging to the Royal Family. It has...

Being a character in an Evil Dead movie has never looked like a walk in the park. Either you’re getting possessed by spirits and returning as a bile-spewing Deadite, or you’re being taunted by your murdered loved ones and driven insane across the course of a seemingly-endless night. And yet, even by the standards of Sam Raimi presents a fresh take on the terrifying tome, taking the series out of the woods and relocating it to an LA apartment where evil forces wreak havoc on a family already facing metaphorical demons.

As its properly gnarly, chainsaw-revving, cheese-grater-wielding, glass-swallowing trailer makes clear, Cronin’s film is not holding back – and neither does the director as he breaks down the trailer’s delights in a brand new Empire interview. “The trailer is really indicative of what the experience of the movie is like,” he promises. “I can say that with quite a bit of confidence.

The Amory Wars creator and Coheed and Cambria frontman Claudio Sanchez has announced his new horror comic, “My Brother’s Blood Machine,” a six-issue mini-series loosely based on the album of the same name, from his solo music project, The Prize Fighter Inferno.

On “Blood Machine,” Sanchez teams up with prolific horror author Steve Niles and artist Andrew Ritchie.

“Blood Machine” is deadly, bizarre and beautiful, quirky and horrifying, hypes the press release. “Prepare yourself for a wild and bloody ride.”

In the comic, “A teenage girl desperate to escape from an abusive home. A high school misfit wrongfully accused of murder. An abominable secret waiting in the woods. Margretville is troubled, but they’ve no idea the disturbing truths looming beneath the surface of their otherwise picturesque town.”

The New York Times Best Seller’s latest tale is due in shops December 14 and is the first to be released...

Sung Kang ditches the fast and furious lifestyle for his directorial debut Shaky Shivers — a delightful gateway horror treat that recalls the Goosebumps television show or Are You Afraid of the Dark. Its Young Adult vibes bring two girls face to face with werewolf curses, zombification, and friendly ice cream parlor wholesomeness. Some might see the "gateway" description and wince, but that's not meant as a zinger — Shaky Shivers is filled with giggles and quirky horror introductions that make the genre accessible to all audiences. There's something Nickelodeon After Midnight about it all, as Kang turns a low-budget buddy comedy with teeth into a sweet tale about friendship, brainfreeze, and choosing our destinies over giving up to lesser fates.

Brooke Markham stars as Luci, who we meet handcuffed to a steering wheel in best friend Karen's (VyVy Nguyen) vehicle. Why? Because Luci fears she's been cursed by a woodland vagabond...

Stars: Kristine Kujath Thorp, Rolf Kristian Larsen, Anders Baasmo, Bjørn Floberg, Anneke von der Lippe, Ane Skumsvoll, Cengiz Al, Nils Elias Olsen | Written by Harald Rosenløw-Eeg Lars Gudmestad | Directed by John Andreas Andersen

The Burning Sea is a Norwegian film with an interesting, albeit depressing conceit…

In 1969, the Norwegian government announces their discovery of one of the world’s largest oil fields in the neighbouring North Sea, launching a prosperous period of offshore drilling. Fifty years later, the environmental consequences begin to manifest – a crack has opened on the ocean floor, causing a rig to collapse. A team of researchers, including submarine operator Sofia (Kristine Kujath Thorp), rushes in to search for the missing and assess the cause of the damage. But what they discover is that this is just the start of a possible apocalyptic catastrophe. As rigs are evacuated, Sofia’s partner Stian (Henrik Bjelland) becomes trapped in the depths of the sea,...

When Evil Dead: The Game was first revealed, the marketing was perfect. Put Bruce Campbell in the trailers, show characters from not only the movies but the TV show and you have fan’s attention from the start. The question is does the game live up to the hype created around it?

The answer to this simply is yes. Evil Dead: The Game is a fun dive into the world of the heroes and villains of the Evil Dead world. Want to be Ash and kick some butt? You have the chance. Want to play Evil Ash and raise his skeleton army? You got it. Hell, you can even be Henrietta with her army of Deadites if you truly have that need.

The basic structure of the game feels very much like Friday 13th: The Game. What Evil Dead: The Game brings are bigger environments, more structure as to how to progress,...

Don't expect to see Bruce Campbell in Evil Dead Rise, as the fan favorite horror star is not coming out of his retirement from playing Ash to appear in the movie. In the first three installments of the popular Evil Dead movie series, Campbell starred as Ashley J. "Ash" Williams. He later reprised the role for three seasons of the sequel series Ash vs. Evil Dead, though he announced after its cancelation in 2018 that he was finished playing the role.

It has since been revealed that the movie series will continue without Campbell in the lead. We've previously seen this happen with the remake released by Fede Alvarez in 2013 that starred Jane Levy as the main character. Fans shouldn't get their hopes up about seeing Campbell back as Ash once again in Evil Dead Rise either, as he's officially confirmed he's not in it at all. As the actor explained...

Movies and television series based on books are incredibly common, but fictional books that shape their narratives aren't, making for unique moments when they appear in plots about sacred tomes, supernatural manuals, or helpful guides across galaxies. It's perhaps not surprising then that most of the rulebooks and compendiums are found in genre fiction, where they're adhered to with utmost seriousness.

Related: Brawndo From Idiocracy & 9 Other Delicious Fictional Drinks, Ranked

What makes these fictional books so memorable can be attributed to how often characters quote them (like Tobin's Spirit Guide), how often they're referenced (like the "Slayer's Handbook"), or just how much of the iconic action focuses on their presence (like the Necronomicon). These books have become so revered in pop culture, they almost seem real.

Every Marvel Cinematic Universe title is full of references to other characters and organizations, but “WandaVision,” which premiered on Disney+ on January 15, also offers plenty of Easter eggs for fans of classic television sitcoms.

The show, which marks the superhero franchise’s first original installment on Disney’s streaming service, stars Elizabeth Olsen and Paul Bettany as their MCU characters Wanda (aka Scarlet Witch) and Vision. Despite Vision’s apparent death in 2018’s “Avengers: Infinity War,” the duo appear to be living an idealized life in a suburb — until they realize that things aren’t necessarily as they seem.

Check out all the show’s references to the rest of the Marvel Cinematic Universe as well as its myriad throwbacks to classic TV sitcoms below.

[Editor’s Note: The following article contains slight spoilers for “WandaVision” Episodes 1-8.]

Marvel Cinematic Universe Easter Eggs

From the debut of Wanda’s comic book costume and Monica’s superpowers to the debunking that the X-Men — turns out,...