Evil Dead Burn, directed by Sébastien Vaniček, arrives in theaters on July 10, aiming to continue the franchise's legacy of relentless Deadite mayhem. While the film delivers on visceral horror and extreme violence, it ultimately struggles to add substantial new elements to the well-worn formula, feeling both too similar to its predecessors and missing some of the core essence of Sam Raimi's original vision.
The film opens with a prologue setting the stage for the Deadite threat, before introducing a new ensemble of characters. At its center is Alice, an expatriate grappling with the recent death of her abusive husband and the subsequent struggles of her in-laws. When the family convenes at their ancestral farm, their connection to the cursed Necronomicon Ex-Mortis surfaces, and they find themselves under siege by vengeful Deadites intent on reclaiming a potent artifact.
While the decision to tie the Deadite onslaught to Alice's internal turmoil is a conceptually sound approach, it doesn't achieve the thematic resonance seen in Fede Alvarez's 2013 reboot or the raw anxiety of Evil Dead Rise. The script by Vaniček and co-writer Florent Bernard tends to shortchange Alice's character, leaving her feeling more like a cipher for those experiencing abusive situations than a fully realized protagonist. This thematic underdevelopment, coupled with overwrought stylistic choices, hinders the cohesion between the film's action and its intended emotional core. Cutaways to flashbacks, intended to explain the prevalence of fire as a motif, disrupt the momentum of the Deadite attacks rather than enhance the narrative.
The Price family members fall into familiar horror archetypes: a struggling author who serves as the exposition conduit, a prim mother, an emotionally volatile father, and a grandmother with moments of lucidity. While archetypes can be functional, the supernatural escalation of their existing flaws feels somewhat rote in a franchise that often thrives on the Deadites subverting their victims' personalities. The film also attempts to incorporate dark humor, particularly through Grandma Polly, who occasionally echoes the comedic beats of Evil Dead 2's Henrietta. However, Vaniček's grasp on comedic timing is inconsistent, and some moments lean too far into broad comedy, undermining the otherwise grim tone.
Where Evil Dead Burn excels is in its sheer commitment to grotesque violence. Vaniček demonstrates a clear talent for staging intense, close-quarters combat, particularly in an early sequence set within a car. The film rarely misses an opportunity for a gory set piece, liberally employing various farm implements and bodily trauma for maximum shock value. The special effects are undeniably impressive, vividly realizing scenes of flesh melting and anatomical destruction. The unrelenting carnage, however, becomes somewhat exhausting by the final act, culminating in a climax that feels overly derivative of Alvarez's Evil Dead.
Despite its strengths in delivering extreme gore and oppressive atmosphere, Evil Dead Burn ultimately feels too similar to previous installments without sufficiently evolving the core concepts. It stands as one of the most violent and suffocating entries in the series, but it also leaves behind some of the essential, uniquely Raimi-esque elements that have defined the franchise for decades.