The first time I saw The Evil Dead, I watched most of it through my fingers. My dad rented it from our local video store, and we all sat down together to watch it. Let me tell you, I was unable to sleep for a few nights after watching it. As much as I was scared watching it, there was something about it that made me want to see it over and over again.

Five movies, one television series, and another movie coming out in 2028, Evil Dead is a franchise that elevates with each film. Now that might sound like hyperbole, but each movie takes the gore levels up another notch. Sébastien Vanicek, who directs the latest movie in the franchise, Evil Dead Burn, showers the audience with his style along with buckets of blood.

What’s Going On?

Evil Dead Burn tells the story of Alice, Souheila Yacoub, spending time with her late husband’s family after his memorial. She is accompanied by her friend Thya, Luciane Buchanan, and Joseph, Hunter Doohan, who’s the brother of the deceased Will, George Pullar. When reunited with the rest of the family, the tension between Alice and Will’s family is palpable.

The movie deals with multiple demons. There are the ones we have come to expect from the Evil Dead movies, the Deadites, but there also people in general. After an incredible opening scene, we see how toxic the relationship between Alice and Will is. Will has temperament issues, and it comes out as Alice gives Joseph a gift during a birthday celebration. Will gives backhanded compliments and loses his temper when he lets his mind come to conclusions that are not there.

The Hidden Evil

Whereas the early Evil Dead movies were more focused on gore and fighting Deadites, the current ones try to have a message within them. The 2013 reboot, Evil Dead, dealt with addiction. Evil Dead Rise focused on two sisters and parenting. Evil Dead Burn deals with toxic relationships and how the families of the abuser accept or make excuses for it. Souheila Yacoub perfectly shows the audience how the pain from the relationship gives her the strength to survive the attack from the Deadites.

The Gore is the Thing

Every Evil Dead movie is known for the amount of blood that is sprayed on the actors. In Sébastien’s version, less is more. While there is not a lot of blood spilled, there is a lot of amazing camera work. The use of quick-cuts, close-ups, and frantic movements makes this movie feel deranged. There are a few set pieces that will have you squirming in your seats. There is a bit with a pen that had me looking away from the screen.

The one-shot trailer that was released is one of the many incredible moments in the movie. There is one mirror shot that is just fantastic and a bathroom scene that felt otherworldly. Evil Dead Burn does continue with the comedic elements that made the originals fun, but here, the comedic moments bring the audience’s guard down, and then they are hit with something scary.

Evil Dead Burn is a gory and bloody continuation to the series. It is fantastic to see how different directors take the reins of this series and give us something more messed up than what came before it. The story does take a few minutes to get its footing, but once the terror starts, it does not slow down.

Final Thoughts: Evil Dead Burn tackles multiple forms of monsters and how people react to them. The movie follows almost the same formula of a family being slowly pulled into a hellish environment due to an ancient text. In this version, not only is the main character Alice fighting deadites, but she is also fighting the hold her dead husband has on his life. The gore is intense, and there are a few easter eggs from previous movies. There are two end-credit scenes, and our screening only showed one.

Violence: This is an Evil Dead movie and the blood is going to flow. There was one moment when I had to look away because it was a little too much for me. Many close-up images that get a little too graphic. There is animal abuse that you can see coming due to the interaction between the actor and the dog.

Kid-Friendly: Evil Dead Burn is not for kids. Parents, use your discretion if you think your kids can handle the amount of violence in this movie.

EVIL DEAD BURN unleashes the franchise’s most savage and terrifying ride to date, blazing onto big screens with an all-new chapter of carnage and demonic mayhem. After the loss of her husband, a woman seeks solace with her in-laws in their secluded family home. As one by one they are transformed into Deadites—turning the gathering into a family reunion from hell—she comes to discover that the vows she took in life live on… even in death.