In “Evil Dead Rise”, Beth is visiting her sister Ellie when Ellie ends up getting possessed by those pesky Deadites. Later, when Beth and Ellie’s youngest daughter, Cass, tries to force her way into the third act of the film, they finally, after several failed attempts to access a fire escape or stairs, manage to get the elevator to turn on and close. Their doors. , and apparently it works. However, the buttons begin to fill with blood and the elevator car does the same. It’s a heartbreaking moment for the characters because their only escape is the escape hatch at the top of most elevators…but the monster that’s formed from Ellie and her other children, Bridget and Danny, is waiting outside the door.
With that being said, the elevator ends up crashing into the first floor of the skyscraper after filling its capacity with two humans and a ton of blood. When it hits the floor, it bursts open and ejects all the blood pooling throughout the lobby, like when the elevator in “The Shining” gives way to a river of blood at the Overlook Hotel. It’s a great plot device for “Evil Dead Rise,” so it’s great that Cronin ended up seeing the similarities after the fact. Great minds tend to think alike, especially in horror, but this is a convenient coincidence that will go down in infamy in the genre. It’s smart and effective, and a true homage in every sense of the word.
