‘Evil Dead Burn’ (2026) Review

Reading Time: 4 minutes

Cradled in the youthful and ambitious hands of Sam Raimi, the Evil Dead franchise found its footing with Bruce Campbell and the campy viscerality of the Deadites. His unique style of horror brought some real cult-like love to these 80s independent hits and then he decided to go even further with Army of Darkness, a movie by all accounts that should not work. Still, it holds a beloved status through this odd blend of low-budget effects, ridiculous characters, and high stakes that always makes for a good time. 

So when this franchise flipped back to horror in a truly extreme way with 2013’s tongue-cutting Evil Dead, it was another expected flop seen as a lesser franchise “reheat”. But, this entry surprised a lot of fans with its harrowingly brutal nature and clever attachment to the originals (Sam Raimi as producer was a factor, I’m sure). Ten years later, we were given Evil Dead Rise, another shift for the franchise out of the woods and into a more modern setting of a low-income apartment. Though this was probably the least critically received entry, it still brought in visceral gore elements and held a generally positive reception. 

With the newest entry, Evil Dead Burn, it feels like the franchise is correcting its path as both a base for newer horror directors from around the world to put their signature stamp on the franchise in unique ways, but also using the lore of its predecessors to build out this world of demonic incursions. In the director’s seat this time is Sébastien Vaniček, who is best known for his work in the current New French Extremity movement including his (very effective) spider infestation creature-feature Vermines from 2023. 

Burn continues to move us outside of its more traditional summery woodland setting, this time finding a dilapidated family home in the winter. After the loss of her aggressive husband, Alice (Souheila Yacoub) attempts to find solace in her in-laws as they gather to grieve as a family. Though this turns out to be a much more grim experience than she was expecting once the blood starts to fly, the structure of these relationships allow for the dread to seep in far before any possessions occur. 

The set-up of this family and their dynamics may make for a slow opening for some, but I think is key to what makes the demonic craziness still have a root in creating emotional reactions. The subtle evil that plagues this family comes from a center of fear and abuse that wildly exacerbates once demons come into play. It’s in the unworthiness and cowardice Joseph shows towards his girlfriend and father, it’s in the blind-eye Susan has turned towards her late son’s Will’s actions, and also in the way they repress and stuff down Grandma Polly’s loose mind. 

So by the time the Deadites come into play, we are ready and eager to see what this destructive family has in store now that the safeguards have fully come off. Now, this franchise has always asked a lot of actors since it usually requires a pretty deft dual performance as victims quickly transform from normal to devilish. Here, this cast has put in some serious work to unleash these fiendish foes that cast a really interesting light on the people they used to be. 

This family ensemble featuring Hunter Doohan, Tandi Wright, Luciane Buchanan, Erroll Shand, and Maude Davey all bring some powerfully hellish energy to their demonic counterparts that still keep an emotional connection to their past selves. It’s one thing to have a character go full kill-monster, but the morbidly humorous nature of the Deadites allows for their personalities to still come through and give a lot more substance to these vicious villains. 

While it’s not hard to get swept up into the brutal madness of Evil Dead Burn, it finds its thematic resonance through this link to abuse. This family seems to have violence ingrained into their routine with external consequences that are often overlooked, like Will’s domestic treatment of Alice before his death. Abuse can be a two-sided coin, confusing its victims on how to feel about their abuser through intense manipulation. This plays into the concept of the Deadites well, showing different sides to people we thought we knew and the attachments to them we still keep. 

Not only does Vaniček nail some of the expected horror elements for an Evil Dead entry with how savage it can be, but he, along with cinematographer Phillip Lozano, brings in some clever filmmaking tricks to let this rise above more generic gore-filled content. Of course, there’s the omnipotent evil cam that races through the setting, physicalizing the dread that hunts this story. 

Lozano infuses great use of longer takes, impressive blocking, and style shots that bring a strong visual energy to a lot of the horror happening all around this house (bathtub shot is a stunner!). There’s also a lot of clever editing in the match cuts on action between scenes that they seemed to have some fun with. 

Though it still feels a bit beholden to the exhaustive and wicked lore based around the Necronomicon, Vaniček and this great ensemble cast keep this franchise afloat and, in my eyes, quite successful. There’s a fine line here between brutality and enjoyability that I’d say is ridden with some real skill throughout. I’d venture to say the finale sequence doesn’t hit as hard as stuff actually in the house, but I had a good enough time to forgive some of those missteps. It’ll be interesting to see how fans receive this entry and what overall excitement level will carry over into 2028’s Evil Dead Wrath. 

So, I’ll steal Ash’s line and say this entry is pretty groovy.