Spoiler-free review
Fresh out of the cinema and honestly: I liked Evil Dead Burn.
Yes, it’s darker than the previous entries, but that was completely fine with me. At 111 minutes, it’s pretty long for an Evil Dead movie, but it didn’t drag at all. I was entertained and pretty much got what I came for.
The story works perfectly fine for the franchise. Sure, our favorite book could have used a little more screen time, but you can’t have everything. At least it’s set in a remote, run-down house again, and that always fits this series.
They packed a lot into the subplots this time: domestic violence, toxic family dynamics, dementia. It’s a lot to take in for an Evil Dead flick, but it actually gives the main character way more depth than what we’re used to in this series.
I loved the Deadites in the first three quarters. Great, creepy stuff, exactly what I wanted. Toward the end, though, the CGI got a bit heavy-handed. It lost some of its grit and impact there.
As for the acting, it’s solid. Souheila Yacoub actually annoyed me a bit at first, but once the movie explored her detached attitude after her husband’s death, I totally got it and connected with her character. I already liked Hunter Doohan in Wednesday, and he delivers here too. The rest of the cast was perfectly fine.
And yeah, it’s brutal. Definitely. But it never felt unwatchable. There’s an animal death scene, for example, where the camera doesn’t fully stay on it, and other intense moments get blurry or grainy. You still see enough, but it doesn’t feel like the movie is milking every detail just for shock value.
What really felt out of place was the Deadite kiss. Not because it was gross, it just didn’t fit the tone at all. On the flip side, there’s a neat little running gag throughout the film that worked pretty well.
In the end, Evil Dead Burn isn’t flawless, but it’s a really good entry. Darker, more serious, less playful, but I had a blast.
One last tip: I also really liked the end credits track, so I’ll drop the link below. And make sure to stay seated until the very end. It’s worth it 😉
