"Evil Dead Burn": The Franchise's Meanest Entry Stumbles on One Cruel Choice

Content warning: "Evil Dead Burn" contains a scene of graphic violence against animals. Readers sensitive to that content should weigh this before buying a ticket. Mild spoilers follow.

Sébastien Vaniček, the French director behind 2023's spider-infested cult favorite “Infested,” takes the reins on the sixth mainline “Evil Dead” film and delivers on the franchise's core promise: each entry must outdo the last in sheer brutality. The 2013 reboot and 2023's “Evil Dead Rise" set that bar high. “Burn” clears it with room to spare.

The setup follows Alice (Souhelia Yacoub), a widow who joins her late-husband’s family at her brother-in-law’s home to grieve. The in-laws turn Deadite one by one, and the gathering collapses into a family reunion from hell. Souheila Yacoub, Hunter Doohan, Luciane Buchanan, and Tandi Wright round out a cast that commits to the escalating carnage without flinching.

The violence absolutely dwarfs its predecessors, despite the reboot entries pushing the format seemingly to its limits. “Burn” treats that ceiling as a floor, cranking the dial to twenty. Fight scenes rank among the most engaging the franchise has ever produced. Vaniček stages them with a physicality that keeps the mayhem legible even at its most chaotic.

He also breaks one of horror's unwritten rules. A scene of animal violence arrives early on to hammer home that Deadites retain no shred of humanity. The problem: the film proves that point through a family butchering each other with escalating viciousness. The concept carries the theme on its own. Hurting the animals added nothing the story needed.

The scene frustratingly does kind of work, though. Anger and disgust lingered through the rest of the runtime, the precise reaction the filmmakers clearly wanted to provoke. Unfortunately, effectiveness doesn't mean it's earned, and this scene failed to earn its place. Horror can go anywhere when the story demands it. This story didn't demand it.

Set that misstep aside, and the craftsmanship speaks for itself. The cinematography impresses, with a handful of exceptions near the end where a few CGI shots fall flat. The effect recalls late-series “Game of Thrones,” where the budget funneled into one showcase sequence and left the surrounding shots to fend for themselves. Those moments passed without derailing the experience, though, and absolutely did not drag anything down.

The jump scares deserve credit for restraint. Vaniček treats them as punctuation instead of a metronome, deploying each one at a rhythm that preserves its punch and spares the audience the numbness of repetition.

And the film's humor lands with equal consistency. Attempt after attempt to break up the disturbing sequences and adrenaline-soaked fights landed perfectly, keeping the film's relentlessness from tipping into exhaustion. This balance has defined “Evil Dead" since Sam Raimi's originals, and “Burn” honors it beautifully.

Speaking of the originals, longtime fans will find a healthy amount of homage and direct reference to the classic entries. The film adds to the lore while keeping one foot planted in the franchise's history, which is refreshing in a world drowning in reboots.

Rating: 4/5

"Evil Dead Burn" stands as a great entry in a franchise that refuses to limp. The violence delivers, the humor connects, and the Deadites feel more merciless here than in any prior entry. One choice holds it back from a perfect score, and that same choice will probably keep some people away from viewing it altogether.

Anyone sensitive to animal violence onscreen should skip this one. The rest of the film earns its ticket price, and the fight scenes alone justify a big-screen viewing for franchise fans with strong stomachs. That single scene, though, killed any desire for a near-term rewatch. A film this well made should send its audience out hungry for a second viewing. This one sent me out relieved to walk away.

"Evil Dead Burn" opens in theaters July 10. Rated R for strong bloody horror violence and gore, and language.

Disclosure: Desert Sounds attended a pre-release screening via promotional passes ahead of the film's July 10 theatrical release. The studio provided no compensation and had no input on this review.