Way better than 'Evil Dead Rise'
Depicting in laws as demonic creatures is probably the best thing about this horror movie
Written by Wowie Lagman
This is definitely 100% pure horror, but I can’t help snicker at the fact that the movie revolves around an abused widow and her in laws who aren’t exactly accepting of her–and then one by one turns into a demonic creature.
By the end of the movie, all of them have become possessed by Deadites and have tried their darndest to kill her.
This has got to be the most in-your-face metaphor for horrible in laws.
Anyway, Sébastien Vaniček’s Evil Dead Burn is one solid horror movie that will surely please fans of the franchise and any horror afficionado. The sixth film in the Evil Dead series, Evil Dead Burn has a new kind of energy that wasn’t present in 2023’s Evil Dead Rise. And you can feel it from the first few scenes after the pre-credits sequence.
It was clear in the opening scene that Alice (Souheila Yacoub) had secrets to keep when it comes to her possessive and gaslighting husband Will (George Pullar). After they got into a fight over something petty, Alice refuses to come with her husband who’s had one too many drinks because they were celebrating his brother Joseph’s birthday.
The infuriated Will, despite warnings from his brother about driving while intoxicated, went behind the wheel only to end up in a fatal accident.
What they all though was a DUI was actually the result of a demonic creature: a Deadite. After the funeral, Alice returns with her in-laws to their ancestral house–a rundown property that looks like it won’t survive even a Level 1 storm. With the air already tense since the service, there’s an unspoken yet palpable wedge between the family members. It doesn’t take long before they all discover that they are being hunted down by an unseen demonic force that was a result of Grandfather Price’s supernatural side quests when he was still alive.
She’s barely begun grieving for her husband’s death when something far worse than grief comes crawling out of the woodwork. One by one, the Prices become possessed by a demonic creature. Dinner wasn’t even over when the wake becomes a family reunion from hell.
Alice is horrified to realize that the vow “till death do us part” had a literal meaning for her.
The chaos that ensued is one that deserves undivided attention because the violence, gore, and shock value have levelled up. As each character transforms into a Deadite, the methods utilized in the chase and fight scenes are absolutely entertaining. There are plenty of moments, especially those involving Luciane Buchanan (who plays the girlfriend Thya) were too stressful to watch.
But it’s that kind of stress that makes this movie so fun to watch. Everyone expects to be scared in a movie like this. But what the audiences are not prepared for are the creative ways Vaniček and the team planned and executed the thrill scenes. And what’s noticeably good about these is even within all that running and gore the story between each character (Alice and whoever’s trying to off her) is still being communicated.
There are several great shots in this movie. Cinematographer Philip Lozano has done a wonderful job in creating nice stills that will make audiences squirm.
What sets this apart from its 2023 predecessor is the storyline. I like how there’s not too much time spent on the backstory. The movie knows just how much time is necessary for audiences to get the context. It remained laser-focused on the present moment, which is what helps sustain the action and thrill.
The dynamics also grab the audience harder. And it’s mainly because it is grounded on a universal theme: grief. That’s relatable. Everyone knows how it feels to lose someone, so when the characters’ mourning literally becomes a monster, it hits on a different level.
Here, the secluded family home is far more effective at establishing the tone and gives the horror much more room for action. The terror gets space to breathe — right before it strangles you again. These are the most vicious Deadites the franchise has ever unleashed — plenty of moments where you’ll shriek in shock or recoil in disgust (sometimes both at once). The jump scares are giving. And the terror? Stress-inducing.
But underneath all the blood and fire, the story itself isn’t exactly groundbreaking. You know the formula by now: there’s a demon, there’s a fight, someone gets sacrificed. This is a great execution of a familiar recipe — but it’s still a recipe we’ve tasted before. And there are stretches where the mayhem is so relentless it starts to go numb. When everything is cranked to eleven, you find yourself craving the quiet moments that would make the next slap land harder.
Still, if you’re looking for a horror movie that won’t shortchange you on scares, on production craft, and on pure, unfiltered cruelty, this is the one.
Bolder, louder, and more bruising than any Evil Dead movie. Welcome back, Deadites. We missed you. Kind of.
The verdict
The new Evil Dead installment is a step up from the previous movie. It delivered on almost all aspects: horror, gore, violence, a bit of drama, and some really good technical choices.
The details
- Cast
- Souheila Yacoub, Tandi Wright, Hunter Doohan, Luciane Buchanan, Erroll Shand, George Pullar, Maude Davey, Victory Ndukwe
- Directed by
- Sébastien Vaniček
- Run time
- 109 minutes
- Distributor
- Columbia Pictures
- MTRCB rating
- R-18
