Time: 109 Minutes
Age Rating: R16 – Horror, graphic violence & offensive language
Cast:
Souheila Yacoub as Alice Price
Tandi Wright as Susan Price
Hunter Doohan as Joseph Price
Luciane Buchanan as Thya
Erroll Shand as Edgar Price
Maude Davey as Polly Price
Director: Sébastien Vaniček

Evil Dead Burn was one of my most anticipated movies of the year. Evil Dead is probably one of the few horror franchises which has remained consistently good, with the original Sam Raimi trilogy, the 2013 remake, Evil Dead Rise, and even the Ash vs Evil Dead tv show. Unfortunately, I would say that Burn is probably the least good of the series, but most horror franchises would be lucky to have a movie like this as its worst entry.

The movie did not start off on a good note with its pre-title sequence. It reminded me of a worse version of the pre-title scene in Evil Dead Rise, and I didn’t even like that one. Even after the opening segment, it took a very long time for the movie to grab me. The pacing wasn’t the best and while I appreciate the movie taking its time setting things up, what was set up was pretty thin and I wasn’t really drawn into the story or characters. When the movie reached a particular scene at a dinner table, that’s when things picked up immensely. Tonally, Burn is probably the bleakest of the series, just for its subject matter, and it seemed to be aiming to have a French Extremity take on Evil Dead. The violence is more blunt, some of the more over the top humorous moments are dialled back, and is a fairly unrelenting movie. The deadites are also more aggressive than playful, and while they are definitely less memorable and entertaining from the previous movies (especially after Ellie from Evil Dead Rise a few years ago), they felt more personal and I thought they were fitting for this story and the take they were going for. There is also definitely more humour in Burn than most reactions and reviews would suggest, which were integrated quite well in the movie, even if the comedy doesn’t always land.

Like the previous movies in the series, Burn really goes for the gore. However, for a movie that aims to be the bleakest and nastiest entry in the series, oddly enough, I don’t think that it was as extreme as it could’ve been at times. Of course, that’s not to say that it’s not a particularly graphic or gory movie, because it is. It’s just that most of the violence felt like familiar Evil Dead territory and not particularly memorable. A big example was the first scene, which really tried to be shocking and gory, but felt underwhelming after all its effort. At least Evil Dead Rise’s opening featured a memorable scalping scene and title card drop. Burn’s attempts at shocks occasionally felt hollow and fell flat. Although I wished that they got a bit more creative, there are definitely some times in which the movie actually succeeded in landing something impactful, whether it be incredibly gory, or nasty in other specific squirm-inducing ways. I liked the premise of having to go to the in-laws, and the dysfunctional family dynamic is uncomfortable and makes you feel uneasy even before the deadite aspects are introduced to the characters. At the same time, that aspect doesn’t feel particularly fleshed out. About the subject matter and themes, Burn overtly attempts to tackle domestic abuse as a prominent topic in the movie, and it’s pretty clear from the beginning. It does make you feel uneasy from the start and the protagonist doesn’t feel welcome in the house of the in-laws. Despite it featuring so prominently, it really does feel like set dressing, Burn mainly just plays out like an Evil Dead movie and it doesn’t have much time to explore the main character that much beyond her being a victim. Also, I do think that it does falter in the third act. The scale escalates to something larger like in previous entries, but it’s also a bit too heavy on the CGI. It’s worth noting that there are some credits scenes, a mid credit and end credits. I don’t think they were needed, and the end credits scene is the single worst scene from an Evil Dead movie.

The characterisation is pretty thin and most of the actors aren’t given much to work with, but the cast nonetheless do a lot to make their characters have some impact and be memorable. Souheila Yacoub makes for a very great lead despite her role being underwritten, and Erroll Shand and Luciane Buchanan particularly stand out.

I haven’t seen anything from director Sébastien Vaniček, but after watching Burn, I want to, because I liked his work here. One odd thing in the trailers that I noticed was the very desaturated look. I can confirm that this continues to the final movie too, and while many people won’t like it, I personally thought that it worked for the tone. This cinematography and colour palette adds to the dread, and there are some striking shots in the movie, especially when the shots are contrasted with colour in certain moments. The camerawork is also quite creative and energetic, and there’s some top notch editing which adds so much, including the use of some effective smash cuts. The practical effects, prosthetics, and makeup for the violence and gore are phenomenal, and the sound work is stellar and added so much to the particularly grisly moments. As I said before, I think a lot of the violence is quite familiar to the previous Evil Dead movies, so much of it doesn’t stand out as anything special despite the more French Extremity take on a film in this franchise and definitely wasn’t as hardcore as they could’ve been. But occasionally, Burn does some visceral things that are startling and shocking. That said, some of the CGI was quite shaky, mainly in the third act.

Evil Dead Burn has a very rocky start, it isn’t quite as gnarly or mean as it was trying to be at times, and it is the weakest of the series. But it still has its visceral and brutal moments, is slickly directed, and the performances are solid.