‘Evil Dead Rise’ actors Lily Sullivan and Alyssa Sutherland on breaking through horror stereotypes

Lily Sullivan and Alyssa Sutherland
| Photo Credit: AP

Stephen King stumbled upon one of his all-time favourite horror films at the 1982 Cannes Film Festival — a low-budget, grisly feature with abundant black comedy, an isolated cabin in the woods and demonic possessions — TheEvil Dead. It would soon be hailed as a cult classic by critics, receive adulation from global audiences and go on to cement the names of giants in the genre, like filmmaker Sam Raimi and actor Bruce Campbell. Not to mention, spawn an entire franchise of sequels, including its latest iteration in 2023; Evil Dead Rise starring Alyssa Sutherland and Lily Sullivan. 

Directed by Lee Cronin, the upcoming feature focuses on Ellie (Alyssa Sutherland), a mother, who finds herself fighting for her life when an ancient book gives birth to bloodthirsty demons that run amok in her high-rise apartment in Los Angeles.

A still from ‘Evil Dead Rise’
| Photo Credit:
Warner Bros

Actors Alyssa and Lily sit down for an interview with The Hindu over a Zoom call to revel in gore ahead of the film’s release.

Lily, who grew up watching horror films from a young age, thanks to her mother’s passion for the genre, claims it was magical to be a part of the four-decade-old franchise; while Alyssa, who does most of the scaring in the film, confesses that she gets scared quickly. But the duo is united in their respect for the franchise’s fans who kept the lore of the 1981 film alive. “I felt a lot of pressure to entertain the fandom,” says Alyssa. But Lily adds that having Sam and Bruce on set, whom she affectionately refers to as “godfathers,” assuaged the trepidation.

The actors are confident in prefacing that the latest instalment breaks through horror stereotypes. Alyssa highlights that she plays a mother who turns on her kids, “I think it is hard to get green-lit and I am impressed that Warner Bros was in support of Lee’s script.”

“Getting to play an insane female monster is like a dream come true. We have seen a lot of men do that, but to see a woman in their place is pretty unique… I wish it was not,” she adds, and hopes that this will make way for depictions of more flawed female characters on-screen. On a (not so) lighter note, she admits, “I looked really gross and wrecked and loved it. I never had a role like this, so I was all for it.”

A still from ‘Evil Dead Rise’
| Photo Credit:
Warner Bros

Lily does not quite agree. “The fake blood and prosthetics got to me on many occasions… my skin would start ripping off and grazing on days I did not hydrate properly. The blood was extremely sticky too, and sometimes my clothes would get stuck to my body and I had to peel the silk off… it was torture,” she shudders.

Working with children on sets strewn with chilling prosthetics did not make it any easier for her. “The movie was shot in chronological order, so once they started turning up the horror element, it was getting a little tricky shooting with a nine-year-old. The breath-work we had to employ while shooting the scene convinces the human body that we are actually dying, so there were moments where we had to stop and take a break,” Lily recalls.

She caps it off by sharing an acting hack she discovered in the process: “I started treating it like a dance. I also took to doing push-ups before intense scenes so that I could be full of adrenaline instead of artificially hyperventilating and tricking my body into believing something terrible is about to happen.”

Despite the hurdles, she confesses that she loves the horror genre as an actor, and continues, “Working in horror is such an invigorating challenge and I get to express myself from a raw primal place. I do not think men can go as deep as us sometimes…,” “… because we know what being afraid for our lives feels like,” Alyssa interrupts.

A still from ‘Evil Dead Rise’
| Photo Credit:
Warner Bros

The actors also did some gravity-defying stunts to make the dead rise. “We had a boot camp before the shoot commenced, which was informative. The fact that we had trust in our stunt coordinator, who worked out the stunts with his team beforehand, also helped; we loved working with harnesses but there were a few scenes where our stunt doubles stepped in,” quips Lily.

They credit sound designer Peter Albrechtsen for elevating the experience with his expertise, and express their gratitude to the crew for their hard work as well. The duo also cannot not stop raving about the experience of watching the film in a theatre. “It is a crazy rollercoaster of gore. You need to watch it with a packed crowd and some popcorn,” says Alyssa. “Yes, it is intense and terrifying. But it is also funny and that is one of my favourite combinations,” adds Lily.

Evil Dead Rise releases April 21 in theatres