Since it was announced that Sebastien Vanicek was helming the next Evil Dead film, I’ve been hyped. The French director has only one credit to his name, 2024’s Infested, but what a debut it was. Gross, brutal, inventive, and slick as hell, it was a great job application for joining the Evil Dead franchise. Vanicek’s entry, the third without Bruce Campbell or Sam Raimi, is a mixed bag held back by the fact its a Vanicek film in a Raimi universe.
After the loss of her husband, Alice (Souheila Yacoub) attends the funeral at the decrepit family home of her in-laws. There, awkward truths come to light and tensions rise until one-by-one the family succumb to demonic possession and a battle for survival begins.
Focusing on interpersonal relationships brings the most character development the Evil Dead films have had yet. Its a great idea but doesn’t pay off. One of the key issues with Evil Dead Burn is its host of unlikeable characters. The horror of Evil Dead often came from our hero having to watch their loved ones get degraded by demonic entities and eventually, reluctantly, offed. In Evil Dead Burn, the family are all so shitty to the heroine that the horror is lost, there’s no sympathy encouraged in the audience, so the film just becomes a rollercoaster of, often hollow, cruelty.
Cruelty is great for wincing, but Vanicek’s penchant for nihilistic violence (reminiscent of the French New Extremity) feels a poor fit for a franchise built on black comedy and slapstick splatter. This nihilism even dominates the colour palate leaving Evil Dead Burn flat, grey, and pointedly grim. You’d be forgiven for thinking this was a stylistic choice to make gore seem brighter but even the blood feels too dark. Aside from the film’s fiery finale its visually miserable.
To revive the Guignol vibes of earlier entries, the film could really have done with painting its barbarism in explosions of camp crimson. Instead, the whole thing just feels too muted and sometimes even sheepish with its own grizzle. This is the Evil Dead after all; muted mutilation should not be on the cards. That’s not to say it isn’t nasty, there’s plenty nasty, but it feels like we’re miles away from cheese graters, eye-needles, and chainsaw appendages.
The Raimi-less Evil Dead sequels have all been handled by fresh talent, each entry getting its own vibe courtesy of new blood. The plus side is that the films all feel unique but move within the world of Evil Dead, the downside is that with each entry they stray further from the OG formula. Our leads don’t get to have as much fun as Bruce Campbell did, the tone threatens to abandon humour altogether, and visually we’re heading down an increasingly dark path.
Truth is, Vanicek’s is a mixed bag. There’s moments of genius staging, choreography and camera work which feel very Evil Dead, but forced continuity and Vanicek’s inherently grim cinematic style rob Evil Dead Burn of that tongue-in-cheek charm. Basically, Vanicek has made a visceral, gritty, character-driven entry, which feels unique and, alongside Infested, helps cement him as an upcoming talent. It just doesn’t help make Evil Dead Burn an Evil Dead film. Some fans may lament the absence of fun and ballsy catharsis, but others might just see a decent horror film.
3/5
Scott Clark
Dir. Sebastien Vanicek
Stars. Souheila Yacoub, Tandi Wright, Hunter Doohan, Luciane Buchanan, Erroll Shand
