A One Mann’s Movies review of “Evil Dead Burn”. (2026, 2.5*, 18).
I have a confession to make. I’ve never any of the “Evil Dead” series of films. Nor have I seen the “Evil Dead” TV Series, nor it’s offshoots. “Evil Dead Burn” is the sixth in the film series or the third in the rebooted series, depending on your point of view. As such, I had little context for what the story involved other than obviously – with its 18 certificate – containing buckets of blood and gore.
What was it supposed to be? Torture porn? Comedy/Horror? It was really a bit difficult for me to discern. I found it all a bit of a mess with a bonkers story, stringing together a series of, often gratuitously horrible, violent set-pieces.
On coming home the Illustrious Mrs Movie Mann asked me what it was like. My one word answer was “nasty”.
One Mann’s Movies Rating:
Plot:
After a blazing row with his wife Alice (Souheila Yacoub), William (George Pullar) drives off and is murdered by a ‘deadite’ woman. With his father, Edgar (Erroll Shand), infected, the wake turns into a waking nightmare for Joseph’s family and Alice.
Certification:
UK: 15; US: R. (From the BBFC website: “Strong bloody violence, gore.”)
Talent:
Starring: Souheila Yacoub, Hunter Doohan, Luciane Buchanan, Erroll Shand, Tandi Wright, Maude Davey, George Pullar.
Directed by: Sébastien Vanicek.
Written by: Florent Bernard & Sébastien Vanicek. (Based on characters created by Sam Raimi.)
Running Time: 1h 50m.
Review:
Positives:
- If you are into gory horror set-pieces, then you will probably not be disappointed with this. The real artists here are the many (many) special effects teams, listed in the credits, who manage to at least make the visceral carnage on the screen appear all too real. Gunshots, chain-sawings, knifings, burning-alive, boiling-alive: it’s all up there in gruesome detail.
- Some of the set-pieces are thoroughly – if gruesomely – entertaining. A car journey turns into a truly horrific action sequence and, unlike some of the other mayhem shown, I found it to be claustrophobic and tense.
- There are moments of humour (but they are too few and far between). A cut to a slo-mo chair-lift is one of the comedy highlights.
Negatives:
- It starts in very confusing fashion, with a fishing disaster (which might link back to a previous film conclusion and make more sense? I don’t know). But we then proceed to a car accident and then, randomly, to the fight between Alice and William outside a restaurant. This all eventually gets tied together, but its done in a botched and confusing way in my opinion. Filmmakers: don’t lose me so early in the film!
- The violence I found to be just gratuitously nasty: the sort of torture-porn that I would expect to see in a “Saw” film… another franchise that I have never got into. A pen is used in a way that I really don’t want to think about again. And a ‘face-dunking’ scene is so utterly disgusting I felt my popcorn rising.
- This might again reflect my lack of knowledge of the franchise, but the whole question of how ‘infection’ happens was vague to me. Is it through exchange of bodily fluids? Or do they actually have to die first but at the hands of a deadite? Or what? Either way, the process seems to be followed in a very haphazard fashion.
- Some of the action is so ludicrous as to be comedy-gold in the right hands, although it’s delivered here with a straight face and falls flat. Some of our cast survive skewerings and batterings that would be immediately hospitalising. Impalings, that would surely, in reality, require a fire-crew with the ‘jaws of life’ to release them are avoided here by a bit of ouchy effort!
Triggers:
There’s a trigger for animal lovers but as it’s a spoiler I’ve put it in a Spoiler Section below the trailer.
Monkeys:
There are two “monkeys“, both of which are worth waiting for. The first, mid-credits, answers the question I had… “But what happened to Granny?” The second, after the end titles, takes us back to a location from the first reel for a re-introduction to a character that made no sense to me. But it will do for lovers of the franchise.
Where to watch?
Trailer:
The trailer for the film is here: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=7yMXwS1Ghug.
Spoiler Section:
Don’t read past this point if you’ve not seen the movie.
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NO, SERIOUSLY!
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Animal Lovers:
Just like in “Shelter“, this film will get a mention on doesthedogdie.com. Actually, if it properly reflects the film, it will have multiple references for the same dog!
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