SPOILER WARNING: The following article contains minor spoilers forEvil Dead Rise. If you have not yet seen the film, proceed at your own risk!
Any fan will tell you that it’s not a properEvil Deadmovie unless there is some seriously grotesque chainsaw-centric action, andEvil Dead Risecertainly does deliver – but it’s also hard not to notice one key change that the film opts to make with said weapon. Sam Raimi’s original trilogy and Fede Álvarez’s 2013 reboot all feature chainsaws that are bright red, but the new film sees Lily Sullivan’s Beth wielding one that is a dull yellow. On the surface, this may seem like an odd choice, as it’s a noticeable change to an important piece of iconography, but there is a specific reason, and it’s because of just one of the amazingEvil Dead Riseeaster eggsimplanted by director Lee Cronin.
The filmmaker himself told me about this when I had the opportunity to interview him earlier this month during the virtual press day forEvil Dead Rise– though the subject came up not through talking about chainsaws, but rather discussing another important part ofEvil Deadhistory: Sam Raimi’s 1973 Oldsmobile Delta 88, nicknamed “The Classic” (which is not only featured in all three movies in the originalEvil Deadtrilogy, but every single film that Raimi has made). The vehicle isn’t used inEvil Dead Rise, and when I asked Cronin if he talked with Raimi about using it, he explained why he felt it wasn’t a proper fit for the film he was making:
I just never felt that that Ellie as a character was gonna be riding around in 1970s Oldsmobile Delta. So it just didn't quite fit the story. But because of my love for the franchise and wanting to join dots and connect things, I kind of chose a car that was relevant to her as a mother – this big, you know, Buick Roadmaster. But it has some of the same charm as the Delta in its own way.
The Buick Roadmaster in the movie is also yellow, which is a nod to the Delta 88, but the director made a special point of referencing “The Classic” through the design of the chainsaw. Continuing, Lee Cronin told me that the weapon isn’t just any shade of yellow, but the exact same one that was used for the paint job on the 1973 Oldsmobile. Said Cronin,
The chainsaw, which has typically been red, is actually the color of the Oldsmobile Delta in this movie, the exact shade, got it color matched. So if you go back and watch the chainsaw, you'll see the color tonality of the Delta represented on screen. And there's a lot more easter eggs like that in this movie, so it takes multiple viewing and lots of digging to actually figure them all out.
You can see the color match in the side-by-side shots below of theEvil Dead Risechainsaw and the Delta 88 fromThe Evil Dead:
李·克罗宁所指出的,黄茶insaw is just one of many excellent easter eggs that are included inEvil Dead Rise, from deep cut nods to the previous films (likethe Necronomicon being one of three volumes) toreferences to others horror classics (including Stanley Kubrick’sThe Shining).
The critically acclaimedEvil Dead Riseis now playing in theaters everywhere, and it justhad a great opening weekend at the box office. Stay tuned for more from my interviews from the press day, dig into the full history of the brilliant horror franchise with myEvil Dead’s History And Legacycolumn, and plan your next trip to the theater with our2023 Movie Release Calendar.
