Killer moms and bloody elevators: A talk with the stars of 'Evil Dead Rise'

Actresses Alyssa Sutherland and Lily Sullivan grew up near each other in Brisbane, Australia, a serendipitous discovery they made when they were cast to play sisters in the new horror film Evil Dead Rise, out now in UAE. Sullivan enjoyed riding motorbikes and exploring the outback. Sutherland’s mom taught her to be like Annie — “Get Your Gun,” not Warbucks.

“This is a generalization, but Australian women aren’t super-precious,” said Sutherland in a recent video call. “My mom’s always been like, ‘Well, if a man can take a chain saw to a hedge, I can take a chain saw to a hedge’ — and she did, recently.”

But what about a chain saw to the head? That is but one of many bodily injustices Sutherland and Sullivan encounter in this relentlessly gory addition to the Evil Dead universe. In it, they play Ellie and Beth, estranged sisters who reunite at Ellie’s apartment on the night that one of Ellie’s kids reads an ancient text that summons an evil demon. Ellie gets possessed, unleashing a brutal assault on her family.

Written and directed by Lee Cronin, this is the fifth film in a beloved horror franchise that includes the 1981 original and two sequels, all directed by Sam Raimi and starring Bruce Campbell, plus Fede Álvarez’s 2013 remake. Over video, Sullivan joined Sutherland to talk about women in horror, faith in fans and gore in excess.

This Evil Dead is all about the lives of women. Was that a draw for you?

SUTHERLAND: I don’t know if I’ve ever seen a character like Ellie on screen. She’s a horrifically bad woman, and that is so exciting to me. In The Shining, we could have a dad turn on his family, but to watch a mother turn on her family? I know that was a real risk for Warner Bros. and New Line to take, but they were behind us. I don’t get roles like that. I don’t think many actresses do, so to sink my teeth into it — I love that.

SULLIVAN: It was a joy to enter this primal essence and get into the animal, which is super rare. Also, these women are completely flawed. They have a bit of grit. Tight energy that gets to explode is such a rare experience and expression for women to do on screen.

Behind the scenes, it was mostly men.

SULLIVAN: Yes, and we pass the Bechdel test. But it wasn’t like, “Wow, female, how good for us.” Lee, when he developed the script, was like, “My sister and my mom can be the most twisted people I know.” It’s what Lee knows, as opposed to “Let’s make Evil Dead female.”

How do you think Evil Dead fans will respond?

SUTHERLAND: I don’t think any of us were looking to try to please fans. Having been a people pleaser most of my life, it doesn’t really work. But we have deep respect for the films that came before. Lily and I watched it again last night at a screening, and we were laughing the whole way. My laughter at points was uncomfortable. But what Lee does so well is that he makes it OK for you to laugh.

SULLIVAN: Laughter is medicine and blood is God in this film.

Please tell us you had fun being so disgusting on set.

SUTHERLAND: I’m pretty masochistic. [Laughs] If I’ve had a really hard day’s work, I feel very satisfied. Like, my beer tastes better that night. I’m one of those people that’s like, “I’ve got to earn my weekend.”

SULLIVAN: There were days where they were like, “We’re going to dunk you in a giant tank of blood” and “Hey, Lil, check out this slippery slide where it’s going to drop this ton of blood in an elevator, like The Shining — there were so many moments where you would be hysterically laughing. Then it becomes a very serious working environment. It’s a rare, extreme boundary to be working in, and it’s great to cross that boundary.

Alyssa, your character says and does awful things to her kids. What did it take, inside yourself, to do that?

SUTHERLAND: I think a lot of women can relate to having some unexpressed rage. I’ve definitely been conditioned to self-sacrifice and abandon myself to make other people comfortable and deny my own needs. That leaves a residue inside of you. I’m tapping into rage from somewhere else to be able to say these things.

Lily, what was it like to tread inside that blood elevator?

SULLIVAN: You get to genuinely act. While the elevator is filling up and there’s bleeding through the walls, you’re like, “It’s actually happening.” You didn’t have to extend your imagination too far. But then you get to the fourth hour and you have to go to the bathroom and the resets are really intense but you want to get the shots. It was kind of a nightmare and I’m kind of claustrophobic, but I love the adrenaline. It was like being at horror summer camp, having a great time.

A controversial scene in the original Evil Dead involves a female character being assaulted by a possessed tree. Alyssa, your character experiences something similar in this film, but it’s not depicted as assault.

SUTHERLAND: I’m really happy that the possession scene was different. Again, you pay respect to what’s come before. But we’re in a different place in society. Back then, that’s where we were at. You look at any movie from 40 years ago, there are things that don’t necessarily date so well. I like that we’ve moved on.

Are you horror fans?

SUTHERLAND: Now I am. I wasn’t in the past just because my imagination is way too active. I have a difficult time sleeping as it is without having watched a horror film beforehand.

SULLIVAN: If I’m paralyzed by the end of the film and laughing uncontrollably because it rocked me, that’s my happy place.

This article originally appeared in The New York Times

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