Evil Dead Burn (2026)
Directed by: Sébastien Vanicek
Premise: A family gathers at their estate for a funeral. It’s discovered that the grandfather had researched the Necronomicon. The family is attacked by demons in search of an artifact.
What Works: The Evil Dead series has been distinguished by grotesque showmanship, combining cinematic virtuosity with Grand Guignol-style gore. Evil Dead Burn continues a lot of those qualities. The cinematography by Philip Lozano is impressive especially the camera movement and the use of unusual angles. Part of the appeal of the Evil Dead series has been its grueling quality and the violence of Burn is vicious and brutal. The hits are very hard. The new film also maintains the series’ sense of humor albeit in a more subtle fashion. The humor of Evil Dead Burn is grim irony rather than slapstick. Like the most recent Evil Dead films, Burn focuses on family relationships. The story revolves around a newly widowed woman (Souheila Yacoub) and her in-laws. It’s revealed that her late husband was abusive and it’s implied that there is a history of abuse in his family. The domestic drama is convincing and has some real moments, adding weight and meaning to the violence.
What Doesn’t: The original Evil Dead trilogy was directed by Sam Raimi and it had his distinct filmmaking style but each movie did something a little different in tone or in story. The 2013 Evil Dead remake repeated the basic conceit of the original film but established a new visual style for the series which has been adhered to by the filmmakers who followed. Evil Dead Burn continues that style and reiterates the familiar premise: a group of people in a confined space are besieged by demons. The new film adds nothing meaningfully new to the series. It’s revealed that the family’s grandfather had researched the Necronomicon but nothing much comes of it. A key part of the identity and appeal of the Evil Dead franchise has been its wild unpredictability. Evil Dead Rise is brutal but it feels safe, like a generic and standardized version of an Evil Dead story. It’s also not very scary. There are shocks and gore but the filmmakers don’t create a frightening atmosphere or draw out the tension. The lack of scares partly owes to the muted color palette. The film has a desaturated grey tone that’s not visually interesting. Evil Dead Burn includes multiple coda sequences in the end credits including a cameo that doesn’t make sense.
Bottom Line: On a surface level, Evil Dead Burn is pretty well made and gives franchise fans what they expect. But that’s about all it does. There are no surprises or innovations here. Evil Dead Burn might be part of a larger design to be fulfilled in a future installment but on its own this film plays as an exploitation of a name brand.
Episode: #1108 (July 17, 2026)