'Evil Dead Rise' star Alyssa Sutherland breaks down playing scary Deadite mom Ellie, wearing 70-pound prosthetics, and box-office success

• Alyssa Sutherland stars in "Evil Dead Rise" as Ellie, a mother possessed by the Deadites.
• The Australian star got her hands bloody making the film, despite not being a horror fan.

Irish director Lee Cronin pulls no punches in "Evil Dead Rise," which revives Sam Raimi's Deadites and moves them into a claustrophobic apartment in Los Angeles.

Single mother Ellie (Alyssa Sutherland) is the first unfortunate victim of the deadites, as she's transformed into a screaming banshee who tries to butcher her own family.

Since hitting theaters last month, "Evil Dead Rise" has won critical acclaim and earned over $100 million at the box office against a modest budget of below $20 million.

Australian actor Alyssa Sutherland spoke to Insider to break down her character, what it was like filming the grotesque ending, and the movie's box-office success.

Congratulations on the success of the movie. What has it been like seeing the response and box-office numbers?

It's so wild. To think that we were gonna go to HBO Max and, instead, this has been the path that it's taken... like, wait, what? I feel like a lot of people are going to the cinema more than once for it. It's so cool.

What was your reaction to reading the script for the first time?

I'm not a huge horror fan. I'm a very easy scare.

But I loved that it was a female monster. It was so cruel and psychologically horrible, and I haven't seen many females on screen like that. I feel like females that I have seen on screen like that, it's a more nuanced approach. And this was so overt and so violent, and psychotic.

I was just so excited to do that because I don't read female characters like that. I was like, "Gimme the prosthetics. I don't care. I've been through worse!"

Lee Cronin takes the action inside an apartment building. Can you tell me a bit about what went into filming the grisly hallway sequence?

That was one of my favorites.

That was really hard because Jayden [Daniels, who plays Gabriel] pops up in front of the peephole, and then I have to come and rip his throat. They only had two of those prosthetics, so I have two takes to get that right, and I'm also trying to be in character. I've got really sharp nails — they're not press-ons, they're fully attached to my fingers. So, if I get the wrong part of that prosthetic, I could really hurt him. That was probably the hardest part of it, just getting in the right position to rip this prosthetic off.

The climax introduces a gross creature made up of Ellie, Bridget, and Danny. How did you all bring that to life?

It was tough. I had a 70-pound prosthetic backpack thing that I would wear and then Gabby [Echols, who plays Ellie's daughter Bridget] and Morgan [Davies, who plays her son Danny] would sort of come in and slot in beside me, and there would be like a prosthetic arm sort of slung over one of them.

Then there was also a different creature that was for two stunt performers. They were contortionist stunt performers. So, they had a prosthetic "me" head on it, which is really disturbing, and they had prosthetic masks of the two kids.

Now that you've cut your teeth on "Evil Dead Rise," are you eyeing up other horror roles?

I think my gut will know when I see the right thing. I really love drama. I think I'm actually a really good dramatic actress and would love to sink my teeth into something really meaty and dark.

It's almost like I already feel this pressure because people have been so lovely. The reviews have been so incredible that I'm like, how do you follow this up? What do you follow this up with? And, like, what if I am not as good? What if people don't like me in the next thing I do? It's too easy to listen to voices like that. I've gotta get rid of that voice.

When you're not playing a savage Deadite, what's your ideal day off? I hear you're a keen baker.

I really do like making cakes. I like the decorating part of it as well. It's a way to get creative juices flowing.

Please tell me you've made an "Evil Dead" cake...

I have one in the freezer. I have not completed it though. It's been a pretty busy few weeks for me. So, I've sort of gone and quickly done little bits and pieces here and there.

"Evil Dead Rise" is in theaters now and available to download digitally.

This interview has been edited and condensed for clarity.