Evil Dead Burn, 2026.
Directed by Sébastien Vaniček.
Starring Souheila Yacoub, Tandi Wright, Hunter Doohan, Luciane Buchanan, Erroll Shand, Maude Davey, Victory Ndukwe, George Pullar, Greta van den Brink, Keanu Karim, Tapiwa Soropa, and Alain Chabat.
SYNOPSIS:
After the loss of her husband, a woman seeks solace with her in-laws. As one by one they transform into deadites, she comes to discover that the vows she took in life – survive even in death.
Whether it’s the benchmark 2013 remake (which remains one of the best ever of the past twenty or so years across all genres in a cinematic landscape oversaturated with uninspired re-dos) or other recent stand-alone entries telling similarly self-contained stories, continued success within the Evil Dead franchise mostly boils down to two reasons: longtime staples of the series Sam Raimi and Bruce Campbell are comfortably humble enough to step aside and let these up-and-coming filmmakers put their own stamp on the trademark elements (psychologically terrorizing Deadites, isolated cabins or homes, and pushing blood, dismemberment, and gore to the extreme), while the directors themselves have so far always brought a refreshing thematic angle to the table. Sébastien Vaniček’s barnburner Evil Dead Burn fits this formula, setting the violent possession horror within a family gathering, brought on by tragic circumstances, where it quickly becomes clear that the majority of its members are already evil or willing to turn a blind eye to it to keep up appearances of perfection and a facade of happiness.
The lone exception is Souheila Yacoub’s Alice (tremendous at conveying internal pain and showing determined resiliency, kicking ass when the time comes) married into this family through the abusive Will (George Pullar), which begins to take on a simplistic metaphorical context as this white family would rather ignore what’s in front of them and the secrets of their past to place the blame on the international French woman their son brought home. She has never actually opened up about the emotional and physical abuse she endures, but something is unquestionably amiss once Will’s temper gets the best of him during a birthday celebration at a club for his brother Joe (Hunter Doohan), directing anger at his wife for making casual sexual jokes (ones that are also coming from a place of her own pain and dissatisfaction). Nevertheless, Joe leaves early and finds himself in a fatal car accident that dovetails into the conclusion of a prologue involving fishing pals, becoming the latest targets of the Deadites.
Burned alive inside his car, Will’s parents, grandmother, and the family dog (those squeamish about violence inflicted on animals might want to consider staying home) are now in town for a family reunion to lay the body to rest. His mom, Susan (Tandi Wright), notices that Alice doesn’t shed any tears let alone deliver a eulogy, while dad, Edgar (Erroll Shand), is not only devastated but soon comfortable announcing out loud that he believes the wrong son died. Meanwhile, Grandma Polly (Maude Davey) is suffering from dementia, which is mostly mined for comedic relief here that comes across as out of place and disjointed from the rest of the simmering get-together.
Yes, elderly people with cognitive deficiencies have a habit of cutting the air in the room by saying the damnedest things at the damnedest times, but here, it feels as if director Sébastien Vaniček and screenwriting collaborator Florent Bernard were unsure of how to work some of the usual slapstick comedy into the Deadite violence, and resorted to this hoping to elicit some laughs. Then again, one could also argue that this continues the trend of these films as strictly horror, although I would make a case that Lee Cronin’s nasty sensibilities rendered Evil Dead Rise occasionally heinously funny.
Fear not, Evil Dead Burn is still outlandishly and imaginatively gross, and will ensure that certain objects will never be looked at the same way again without an understanding of how they can be used to impale someone. At times, it’s also disgusting in ways that have nothing to do with violence, like multiple instances of exchanging saliva and shots of vomit that would make the Jackass crew proud. As expected, the practical and makeup effects are outstanding, which makes it all the more baffling and sacrilegious that the film resorts to a CGI Deadite in its final moments. It’s a deflating final battle that can’t compare to anything seen before in the series.
The majority of this chaos ensues after the funeral, when the family reunion is taken to a lineage home passed down to Joe, which is now falling apart since he hasn’t shown much interest in upkeep, much to his father’s chagrin. One by one, family members are possessed by Deadites, making their disdain for Alice more pronounced. Before they are united, though, they are sometimes temporarily turned against one another (it would have been welcome if the film had the restraint not to point out the implications of certain actions not taken and those carried out, and what they say about certain men in the family).
What makes the possession fascinating here is that it’s more of an extension of evil that already exists. This also makes it frustrating that the filmmakers feel the need to tie the family patriarch to a cult that was once doing research into the Necronomicon and locating a dagger capable of actually killing Deadites in one blow. Sure, the Deadites need a motive (they want to find that dagger and eradicate it from existence so it can’t be used against them), but also, do they really need a motive?
That’s one way of saying Evil Dead Burn works much better when it’s leaning into a xenophobia allegory and a woman not only standing up to abuse, but coming to terms with acknowledging it out loud, which all happens while finding herself quite literally fighting back once the possessions begin. However, while we always remain in Alice’s corner, it should not go understated that these are some of the dumbest characters recently seen in a horror movie, including that protagonist who regularly tries to do the right thing well beyond the point of doing, well, what’s right. It starts to feel as if she is only trying to save other characters, even after they have been possessed, simply because the film needs them there so Alice can directly reveal more of Will’s abuse after it’s established that they don’t care and only want to be together again, even if it means in hell as Deadites.
What certainly helps overcome these hurdles is that Evil Dead Burn sustains momentum for nearly two hours while being dynamically shot. Cinematographer Philip Lozario’s camera is always in motion, whether it’s turned upside down as characters fight on the walls and ceiling, or as entire rooms are destroyed while fights break out against Deadites with someone else crawling away toward the camera. Couple that with how relentlessly violent the film is, and every step of Alice’s personal journey and fight for survival (emotionally and physically) against this nightmarish family is felt. There are moments and thematic bits here and there when Evil Dead Burn feels in conversation with 2020’s The Invisible Man, which is one of the highest compliments to pay another horror film.
Flickering Myth Rating – Film: ★ ★ ★ / Movie: ★ ★ ★
Robert Kojder
