Lee Cronin’s contribution to the Evil Dead franchise has been incredibly successful, and the credit goes not only to the engaging storyline and famous horror tropes, but an entirely new approach to the saga.
Adding a completely fresh perspective to the plot – where the cabin in the woods setting is replaced with an unstable family in a cramped Los Angeles apartment – Cronin goes all the way to incorporate family disputes and intricacies of female sibling relationships into the fold. For this, he credits those who have always been an integral part of the property.
Sam Raimi famously helmed the first installment in 1981, which paved the way for countless other spiritual successors. Another individual is Bruce Campbell, who is still synonymous with his outstanding performance as the iconic Ash Williams.
In a recent interview with The Hollywood Reporter, Cronin thanked the duo for their support, encouragement, and for trusting him to pick up the baton.
“They gave me the freedom to go and perform, because they’ve been through the ringer over the years. They started out in the most independent way possible, and they worked their way through the machine. So they know that the best results are achieved by actually backing the person that you have hired to go and do the job, and I never really felt like I had to look over my shoulder a whole lot.”
Despite Cronin’s intentional deviation from the familiar settings, the prologue gives the viewers a glimpse of a “friendly vacation going wrong,” where a possessed Jessica brutally murders her friends in the lake house; their favored vacationing spot.
All said and done, Cronin’s legacy sequel might have drawn plenty of inspiration from its predecessor both in terms of plot and character arcs, but the tinge of originality cemented him a powerful creative voice.
