Evil Dead Rise's First Trailers Warp A Classic Doris Day Song In The Best Way
Spoofing other forms of popular culture frequently adds to the gory and ghoulish fun when it comes to horror comedies. This can be easily achieved by setting the terror and mayhem to songs that are typically sweet and gentle in nature or even uplifting and spirited. Tim Burton fans can likely immediately recall the infamous "Banana Boat (Day-O)" medley in 1988's "Beetlejuice," and how the shenanigans in the scene add a new depth of humorous depravity to the tune. One of the most notable examples of a fright film blending elements of horror and humor is "Evil Dead" by filmmaker Sam Raimi.
With two sequels and a remake in 2013 (as well as the Starz series "Ash vs Evil Dead"), the wickedly irreverent slapstick gorefest continues to inspire horror lovers thanks to the outlandish antics in each entry. The latest film, "Evil Dead Rise," is set to continue the wild escapades fans have come to expect from the series. Only the basics of the movie's plot and what direction the film will take without Raimi in the director's chair are known, but both the red band and green band versions of its official trailer have offered some satisfying clues. Most of the action in the promos is set to an oldie-but-goodie Doris Day tune that is successfully warped in the best way possible.
Doris Day's Que Sera, Sera is featured in the Evil Dead Rise trailers
The song featured in the trailers for "Evil Dead Rise" is "Que Sera, Sera (Whatever Will Be, Will Be)" by American singer/actor Doris Day. Day first performed the song in Alfred Hitchcock's 1956 film "The Man Who Knew Too Much," where it was set to a montage depicting childhood to adulthood. The song was also used in the satirical teen thriller film "Heathers" in 1988 where, as noted by Paste Magazine, it was also played as an homage to the perils and joys of growing up — with an incredibly dark twist. In the trailer for the new "Evil Dead" film, the memorable melody starts at about the 0:19 mark (and at the 0:48 mark in the red band trailer).
The movie centers around both Beth (Lily Sullivan) and her older sister Ellie (Alyssa Sutherland), which harkens back to the original meanings of the song depicting adolescence. Of course, this being an "Evil Dead" feature, the meaning becomes much more fragmented and nefarious, which becomes even more clear as the promo continues. Someone discovers "The Necronomicon," the evil book central to each movie in the series, and all hell breaks loose soon after. We see Beth discover that Ellie has become a demon who, among other things, insidiously pleads through a peephole for her daughter, Kassie (Nell Fisher), to open a door. These sister-sister and mother-daughter dynamics are on display multiple times throughout both versions of the trailer, which plays against the lyrics of motherhood and motherly advice Doris Day sings about in the song.