In theaters now from New Line Cinema!
Directed by Sébastien Vanicek.
Written by Florent Bernard, Sébastien Vanicek, based on characters and concepts by Sam Raimi,.
Check out the trailer here!!
EVIL DEAD BURN begins pretty much immediately after the end of EVIL DEAD RISE, where a person possessed as a Deadite has a devastating run in with William (George Pullar) a hot-headed restaurant owner, resulting in his death. When his family gathers for William’s funeral, old feuds and secrets from the family’s past resurface, revealing a connection with the Necronomicon, the Bood of the Dead that has caused all the chaos in every EVIL DEAD installment thus far.
EVIL DEAD BURN takes on an ambitious task; tie all of the EVIL DEAD films so far together and still tell one cohesive, stand-alone story. This is an almost unattainable job, especially when the EVIL DEAD series consists of now six movies and three seasons of a TV series. So, I don’t know too many people, save for Sam Raimi himself, able to accomplish this task. But director Sébastien Vanicek somehow accomplishes this tall order respectfully well. Usually, by the sixth installment in a series, the concept has gone stale. But for the EVIL DEAD series, the lore keeps expanding and reinventing itself to fit, not just the era it is playing in, but still manages to keep a cohesive throughway from one movie to the next. So, say what you will about EVIL DEAD BURN and Vanicek, who was responsible for last year’s French spider infestation flick INFESTED, but in my opinion, he rose to the task and made a damn entertaining film.
Does the film bend over backwards to connect many different aspects of the EVIL DEAD series? Yes, there is mention of the Kandarian Dagger (first seen in EVIL DEAD II), and the various Books of the Dead (first established in ARMY OF DARKNESS and expanded upon in this modern reboot series). It also ties directly into EVIL DEAD RISE, with the use of a Deadite from that film, as well as establishes two creative cameos by Bruce Campbell, as well as a surprise appearance of a key character in the second after-credit sequence (that’s right, stay in your seats when this is over, because there is not one, but two after-credit sequences). The film deals with the quest to find the Books of the Dead, as well as establishes a new aspect, that of the Three Wise Men, who apparently have taken upon the responsibility to track down the Books of the Dead and see to it that they are never used again—even though it seems they’ve done a pretty shitty job of doing it, given the past six films. That’s a whole lotta lore to plow through and I think EVIL DEAD BURN does a decent job of tying it all together, while at the same time telling a compelling story with interesting characters. Does it make EVIL DEAD BURN too steeped in the lore to be enjoyed by someone foreign to the series? Maybe a little, but I think the film does a decent job of catching up folks with the various plot threads left dangling in past installments, while leaving the more obscure details, like the Ash appearances, to be enjoyed as easter eggs by long-time fans.
While not the most original of stories, EVIL DEAD BURN introduces us to a very dysfunctional family. Yes, the subtitle is BURN, but the heat in this family seems to have been simmering for quite a while. There is resentment, abuse, neglect, lies, guilt, not-so-subtle racism, jealousy, betrayal—all the usual stuff that occurs in a big family, just brewing below the surface with no one brave enough to address any of these issues head on. In many ways, this film is like the worst Thanksgiving dinner one can imagine with people who are bound by blood, but otherwise, hate the living shit out of each other. There is a lot of bad blood between so many of the members of this family established early on—another task I feel director/co-writer Vanicek does a very good job of setting up in such short time.
This is because EVIL DEAD BURN really hits the ground running in the opening segment and after a brief getting to know you time between the family members, starts running at top speed again all the way through. The thing is, I found the fiery interactions between the family members interesting, mainly because there is a ticking time-bomb about to go off during the dinner scene with all sorts of misdirection and false starts. You know things are going to go Deadite soon, but Vanicek does a great job of dangling that treat in front of you numerous times before the shit really hits the fan.
Once it does, expect body horror, violent acts with various edged weaponry, dismemberment, and blood and slime galore. EVIL DEAD BURN has its fair share of memorable gory scenes, some of which were revealed in the trailer like the candle, the car-seat headrest, and the open dishwasher. But some of the sequences were kept for the film itself and I’ll be damned if I am going to reveal them here. All I know is that I winced more than once at the horrors this movie inflicts upon its cast. Gorehounds are going to have a lot to howl at with EVIL DEAD BURN. That is for sure. Some of the gore scenes are derivative of past EVIL DEAD sequences, but still, I found them to be awesome.
Director Vanicek also channeled his inner Raimi with quite a few shots. The first teaser shows a long take as the Deadites go nuts on the entire family following the lead, Alice (Souheila Yacoub) as she attempts to shimmy across the floor without being snatched up. That is but one impressive shot of many. If you’ve seen INFESTED, you know Vanicek can do some fun camera gymnastics when necessary and he does more than a few here in EVIL DEAD BURN as the camera flips, flops, tacks across the ground, follows objects as they are tossed—all of the cool shots you used to find in a Sam Raimi flick. If anything, this film feels more Raimi-esque than the remake and RISE, in terms of stylized cinematography. It’s not campy at all in tone, but a lot of the exaggerated camerawork is prominent and present.
I get the criticisms that folks think EVIL DEAD BURN goes out of its way to tie shoestrings from the entire Evil Dead series together at a detriment to the movie itself. I do. But it all worked for me. The film is well acted. I especially liked the creepy ass father played by Erroll Shand. His diabolical performance steals the show, much like Lily Sullivan did with her Deadite performance did in EVIL DEAD RISE. All in all, this was another satisfying installment and a worthy sequel in Raimi’s franchise which continues to expand and nauseate, proving the Book of the Dead will always survive.
