Evil Dead Burn is the sixth film in the Evil Dead franchise and the second in the recent reboot series. It is directed by Sébastien Vaniček, a first time director in this franchise, and stars Souheila Yacoub and Hunter Doohan. The film has been a modest success at the box office so far but has received mixed reviews from critics. This is to be expected when iterating on a franchise as established and beloved as Evil Dead. Does it live up to its lofty legacy, or is it a terrifying mess? Let’s grab our chainsaws and find out!
The film continues the franchise’s tradition of depicting a group of people being tormented by the Deadites through the cursed Necronomicon. This time, the Deadites prey upon the Price family and their daughter-in-law, Alice (Yacoub), when their son, Joseph (Doohan), accidentally summons them through his studies on the Necronomicon. This incites the death of Joseph’s brother and Alice’s husband, Will, and is brought upon the rest of the family who are trying to survive the encounter in their old house.
All of the actors are highlights of the film, giving entertaining and distinct performances from one another. Alice and Joseph are likable in their leading roles and are easy to root for when compared to the much more toxic other members of the family. Tandi Wright and Erroll Shand also shine as purposely-detestable characters in the roles of the overbearing and condescending parents. But the true standout performance is Maude Davey who plays the grandmother, serving as an effective comic relief to bring the mood up when the rest of the film is bleak and depressing. This usage of comic relief actually helps bring the tone of the film closer to that of the older films in the franchise directed by Sam Raimi, which is a nice change from the other recent installments. Vaniček’s directing is also quite good, bringing back fluid camera movements and unique camera angles from Raimi’s bag of tricks. All of this comes together to make a film that is fast-paced and flows well mostly.
The only weaknesses of this film come from the writing, which is uneven at times. There are quite a few plotholes and conveniences that can take someone out of the experience if they bother to even slightly pay attention to what is happening. This sloppiness at times can be a bit distracting, largely due to the tone the film sets. If it was truly as lighthearted and cartoonish as earlier entries, some of these issues would be easier to forgive. But because the film chooses to split the difference between the comedic tone of the early films and the more serious horror of the later ones, the lack of narrative cohesion is worth knocking for. That being said, the script is not terrible, but probably could have used one more rewrite to smooth out the issues.
Overall, this is a fun installment in the Evil Dead franchise and brings us one step closer to the tone and energy of the original Raimi films. Hopefully the next installment takes what worked here and cranks it up to 11, while fixing what didn’t quite work as well. This is an easy recommendation to Evil Dead fans everywhere!
