‘Evil Dead Rise’ Ending, Explained: a Bloody Ouroboros

Evil Dead Rise has finally come out in theaters! If you’re wondering what that ending means, we’ve got you.

To understand the end of Evil Dead Rise, you have to go back to the beginning of the movie. It starts with a cabin in the woods, in an homage to previous Evil Dead films. Two young people are needling each other by the lake, with a third lying on the bed in the cabin. Something seems to be wrong with her, though. That’s right—she’s possessed by a demon! She swiftly scalps one of her companions, rips the other’s head off, and rises above the water of the lake. The dreaded Deadites are on the loose.

Cut to an apartment in Los Angeles, one day earlier. After an earthquake, a teen named Danny finds the Book of the Dead in the building’s basement, and unleashes the Deadites. They possess his mother Ellie, all her neighbors, Danny’s sister Bidget, and eventually Danny himself.

The only one left to protect Ellie’s youngest child, Kassie, is Ellie’s sister Beth. The problem, though, is that the earthquake caused the stairwell to collapse, leaving them stranded in Ellie’s apartment. However, with the aid of a shotgun and a chainsaw, Beth and Kassie make their way down to the parking garage. There happens to be a wood chipper there (talk about a stroke of luck!), and Beth manages to shove all the Deadites through it.

However, even after they trudge out of the building to safety, some disembodied Deadites are still floating around. The next morning, one of the young women from that first lakeside scene comes down to the garage, excited for her weekend in the woods. She sees all the blood and gore, and the movie ends with her scream as she’s possessed.

Beth’s journey to motherhood is a trial by fire

Of course, what would a horror movie be without some emotional trauma?

When we first meet Beth, she’s in the bathroom at a punk show, staring in dismay at a positive pregnancy test. In fact, that’s the reason she goes to see Ellie in the first place, even though the two of them are estranged. Beth doesn’t know what to do, and she’s feeling desperate.

By the end of the movie, Beth has taken the world’s wildest crash course in parenthood. She and her fetus survive the slaughter, and after she kills all the Deadites, she escapes the building, taking Kassie with her. The film implies that Beth is now a mother of two: her own baby, and the now-orphaned Kassie. (True, Kassie’s dad is still around, but he seems to suck too much to take her in.)

Does the end of Evil Dead Rise point to a sequel?

There’s no word on whether there will be another Evil Dead movie yet. However, Bruce Campbell has expressed interest in reprising the role of Ash, as long as Sam Raimi directs.

It seems pretty likely that we’ll eventually get more gruesome Evil Dead fun. However, there’s no way to know if the next film will pick up with the fate of the young people at the lake. Does it really need to, though? After all, their fates are sealed. What’s important is that the Deadites are out there, eager to claim more victims.

(featured image: Warner Bros.)