When it comes to movie franchises, let alone horror movie franchises, it’s hard to find ones where every movie is good. Usually, the more sequels that come out, the harder it is to remain consistent with quality. There are currently six movies in the Evil Dead franchise, plus a television series. Honestly, this might very well be the most consistent horror franchise because it doesn’t have a bad movie in it. Having said that, Evil Dead Burn could have been a lot better.
Background
After the loss of her husband, a grieving woman seeks solace with her in-laws at their secluded family home. However, it soon becomes a reunion from hell as the Book of the Dead unleashes demonic forces that transform them into Deadites one by one.
These new movies are not at all the same as the ones we got from the 80s. The amazing Bruce Campbell led those films, and they were more campy and had a good mix of horror and comedy throughout. Ever since the remake that was released in 2013, the approach to these films has definitely leaned harder on the horror elements. This doesn’t mean there isn’t still camp, though. The new movies do a good job at respecting fans and creating scares.
Evil Dead Rise, which was released in 2023, was a huge hit and took the franchise in a new direction. Instead of the woods, we were in the city, in an apartment building. The movie was darker but still had the spirit of the franchise. Evil Dead Burn does a lot of things well, but takes a different approach once again. Different doesn’t equal bad, but I do feel we might not be heading in the right direction.
The Pros
Demons attacking a whole family of in-laws is a great concept. None of them are likeable, and they all carry secrets while being judgmental. Usually, we are afraid of the demons attacking the characters. This time around, you kind of want them to. It’s a cool spin, and it isn’t just doing the same old things from the last film.
There are a couple of messages here about domestic abuse and generational violence that I was surprised to see in an Evil Dead movie. The perfect family doesn’t exist, and maybe the relationship you think is fine really isn’t. They don’t go too deep with these messages, but once again, I praise them for trying something different.
The main thing this movie does right is what it always does right: the gore and the violence. This is a nasty movie. People get really hurt, blood is everywhere, and the movie doesn’t give you time to breathe. Minor spoiler for those who don’t want to witness animal violence: Even a dog is not safe. There are creative ways to hurt and torture people here, and that is what the Deadites do best.
The Cons
It’s funny because a lot of the positives of this movie have cons attached to them. As I said, the concept of having characters we do not root for is a good one. It’s fresh. The problem is that these characters are very underdeveloped. We don’t get to know too much about them, and they all seem very one-note and similar to each other. They are jerks. That’s all we really get. Even our one lead, who we are supposed to root for, is pretty flat in her performance, and we end up not caring too much.
The pacing can be off at times in this movie as well. It takes a while to get going, and some scenes go on a little too long. The tone can be off as well. We have these important messages of abuse, but honestly, the movie doesn’t earn them. We get a darker movie and tons of gore and violence, but when they stop to address heavy issues, it never feels natural. It just feels heavy-handed and fabricated.
The last 15 to 20 minutes of this movie really hurt it. I will not be giving any spoilers, of course, but the end of this movie is a muddled CGI mess. We go from threats and thrills to an ending that is so uninspiring and non-intimidating that it might ruin the movie as a whole for some.
Overview
Evil Dead Burn is another decent movie in the franchise. It is creepy, gory, violent, mean-spirited, and filled with creative moments. It has a bunch of interesting ideas that just aren’t fleshed out. This does leave the audience clamoring for the Evil Dead of old. This movie could be serious in tone with just a little bit of camp, but it still needs to be developed, and it could have been 15 minutes shorter. Fans of the franchise should be happy enough with this installment. For newcomers, this is not the movie to start with. Evil Dead Burn just gets a passing grade from me. It is an entertaining movie with many flaws. Unfortunately, the flaws at the end of the day will most likely make this one not very memorable overall.
