‘Evil Dead Burn’ Review: Trading in the Camp for Dread

It has been almost forty five years since the original Evil Dead movie directed by Sam Raimi was released, and with this newest entry it is clear to see the franchise still has new tricks up its sleeve. Evil Dead Burn follows Alice, a grieving woman mourning the loss of her recently deceased husband, as she heads to her in-laws’ secluded home after his funeral. Yet the happy family reunion is uprooted when the book of the dead unleashes demonic forces that pick the group off one by one. The film is directed by the french director Sébastien Vaniček, who brought a new distinct style to the franchise, making for an exciting new take on this classic set up. Read our full review for Evil Dead Burn below. 

I have to admit I am a huge Evil Dead fan. It has been my favorite horror franchise since I can remember, so safe to say I was extremely excited for this new installment. For the most part, I was not disappointed. This new installment feels incredibly different from previous films, leaning more heavily into the dread and dramatic throughline rather than the over the top camp we’re used to. It seems like Vaniček was inspired by the french extremity movement, bringing visceral graphic violence to an already gory franchise. Evil Dead Burn is being hailed as the most brutal of the films and for good reason. If you could barely stomach the previous movies, then I would be wary of whether you should see this one. I caught myself looking away at moments due to the intensity of some of the sequences. The gore, the scares, and the horror are all working here. 

Not everything works though. The major missing piece of Evil Dead Burn is the lack of comedy. There are attempts here and there but most of it does not land for me. It makes for a stark contrast from the last film, Evil Dead Rise, which skated the line between horror and comedy beautifully. There are no iconic lines like “Mommy’s with the maggots now” in Evil Dead Burn, which made it feel a little empty. At some points it does not feel like an Evil Dead movie all together. For people who want a change that might be great to hear, but for me this lack of camp made this one of my least favorites of the franchise. Another low point is the cinematography. The entire film is bleak, colorless, and grey up until the last twenty minutes when it remembers it should have a color palette. When comparing it to the other films this is the most drab of the bunch. It makes up for it with sharp editing and complex camera choices, but for a movie with its budget it’s incredibly disappointing. 

The Evil Dead movies of the twenty first century have all tried to tackle a darker overarching theme, and Burn is no different. For Evil Dead (2013) the topic was addiction, for Evil Dead Rise it was the burden of motherhood, and now for Evil Dead Burn they tackle domestic violence and the familial structures that protect abusers. Like the others, I think Evil Dead Burn does a good job covering this topic. Specifically the portrayal of how the family of an abuser can perpetuate this abuse and excuse it. There are many scenes of the family treating Alice like more of an extension of their son rather than a living breathing person with her own thoughts, feelings, and aspirations. This depiction of loss of autonomy felt extremely realistic and gave the film a throughline that kept me interested throughout. Though, I do not think this concept translates perfectly to the horror storyline, like the other two films. Once they start turning into deadites we lose a lot of that conversation for most of the film. 

Evil Dead Burn is not as wild of a ride as some of the other films in the franchise, but it certainly is effective. Great scares, solid performances, and fresh direction all add up to a serviceable film. It would rank lower for me in a ranking of the entire set of films but that does not mean it’s not worth a watch. A lesser Evil Dead movie is still better than most of the horror movies released every year. If you are a fan you should be satisfied and if you are just coming in with fresh eyes this still should be a delightfully dreadful time at the theater. 

Evil Dead Burn was directed by Sébastien Vaniček and stars Souhelia Yacoub, Hunter Doohan, Erroll Shand, Tandi Wright, Luciane Buchanan, and George Pullar. The film was released on July 10. 

Thanks for reading this Evil Dead Burn review. For more, stay tuned here at Feature First.