Do you need to watch all Evil Dead movies before watching Evil Dead Rise?

Fans of the iconic Evil Dead franchise can’t wait to watch Evil Dead Rise in theaters. Even though Lee Cronin is taking over the series created by Sam Raimi, we know to expect an insanely bloody good time. But if you’re new to the horror franchise, you likely want to know if you need to watch all Evil Dead movies in order to understand Evil Dead Rise. Or perhaps you need a refresher, given that the last movie premiered in theaters 10 years ago in 2013.

The movie series is one of the most popular in the horror genre, which was released on Oct. 15, 1981. That’s right, the movie is over 40 years old. A sequel, Evil Dead II, arrived on March 13, 1987. This was followed by Army of Darkness on Feb. 19, 1993, and Evil Dead on April 5, 2013. The franchise has also has expanded to a TV series (Ash vs. Evil Dead), video games, and more.

So is Evil Dead Rises a sequel, prequel, or standalone horror feature? Here’s what we know.

Do you need to watch all Evil Dead movies before watching Evil Dead Rise?

The upcoming movie sees a new director taking over, as well as a new cast and setting, but, as Collider notes, Evil Dad Rise will still feature the same elements and everything fans love about the franchise, which is gore and scares. In fact, Variety reports that the movie used about 1,700 gallons of blood to “make the year’s goriest movie.”

From everything we’ve found so far, the movie seems to work as both a sequel and standalone movie. That said, I don’t believe you need to watch other Evil Dead movies to understand what’s going on as it will be explained to new audiences. However, I do think Evil Dead Rise will be enjoyed the most by fans of the franchise who can catch references to previous chapters and characters.

Evil Dead Rise is in theaters April 21, 2023. Will you be watching the movie on the big screen or wait for the streaming release?