When it comes to horror, I like having the shit scared out of me by the use of jump scares. That’s my go-to, and as I often write, I’m an easy mark. It doesn’t take much for me to jump in my chair or go “woah!” out loud. It’s rare that I’m a fan of hardcore, mean-spirited violence. It’s just not my thing.
However, whenever a new Evil Dead film arrives, I’m excited to see what the filmmakers deliver. Somehow, the rebooted franchise has found the sweet spot for a horror fan like me – a melding of jumps and over-the-top gore delivered with a small, subtle wink to the audience. Such is the case with Evil Dead Burn.
Directed and co-written by Sébastien Vaniček, Evil Dead Burn is the story of Alice (Souheila Yacoub), whose abusive husband, Will (George Pullar), recently died in a horrific car accident. Alice meets up with the rest of Will’s family for his cremation, and they return to Will’s late grandfather’s home, where the family soon finds themselves dealing with Deadites in search of a dagger said to kill them. Chaos, death, and dismemberment soon occur in graphic fashion.
It’s a hell of a ride.
Since the 2013 reboot of the franchise, it’s fair to say that this isn’t the Evil Dead of the Sam Raimi and Bruce Campbell era. Everything on screen is just more gruesome and lacks Campbell’s heroic Ash. However, the franchise, and Evil Dead Burn in particular, takes the mythos of the Necronomicon and Deadites, plays with the world, and gives us a brutal take on it all. I’m not sure I enjoyed the film, but I definitely got my money’s worth, as I often laughed aloud while cringing in my seat. Evil Dead Burn is unrelenting, unflinchingly violent, but to me, it was delivered with a wink that suggests, “wait ’til you see what we do next.”
It’s that over-the-top delivery of the violence that made Evil Dead Burn entertaining for me (not to mention that it’s all happening to fairly unlikeable characters). When the Deadite-possessed father, Edgar (Erroll Shand), starts committing self-inflicted damage, as grotesque as it is, there’s a definite WTF factor that kept my eyes on the screen. In fact, in director Vaniček’s hands, the majority of the film is very much a “what are they going to do next” experience.
Ultimately, Evil Dead Burn was the most fun I’ve had at the movies in quite a while. It’s a movie I’m fairly confident I’ll never watch again, because I won’t have the gasps or laughter from the other people a few rows back joining in with me, which added to my “enjoyment.”
The next Evil Dead experience isn’t far behind, as the 1972 prequel, Evil Dead Wrath, arrives in April 2027. I’ll be there opening weekend, likely thinking WTF while watching.
