French director Sébastien Vaniček had promised that the sixth feature in the “Evil Dead” saga would be the most violent of the entire franchise. His goal was achieved, delivering a work that stands out for its brutality, but which does not stand out in artistic terms, intelligence or genuine terror.
The film directed by Vaniček reveals itself to be an intense and excessively long grindhouse production, marked by monotony and lack of direction. Unlike the previous films, the new “Evil Dead Burn” abandons the characteristic mix of horror and humor, moving closer to the torture porn genre and suggesting a possible exhaustion of the franchise, even with the confirmation of a seventh title.
The narrative begins with a complex introduction involving a possessed family, where brutality is instantaneous. The film features a series of shocking scenes, including dogs stabbed, heads severed by scissors, hot wax being ingested, and a face melted into a radiator. Among the most graphic moments are the unusual use of an electric knife, multiple shots to a character’s face and even a prolonged kiss amid the chaos.
Although the amount of blood and violence is abundant, the depth of this approach is questioned. While the 2013 reboot explored drug addiction and 2023’s “Evil Dead Rise” examined maternal anxieties through female characters, the new title attempts to address domestic violence ineffectively, using a cartoonish head-crushing scene with a prosthetic.
To the disappointment of fans, the traditional chainsaw is not present in the outcome. Instead, the audience is confronted with a lawnmower and a jackhammer in impactful scenes, culminating in a strange ending reminiscent of “The Terminator.” Critics suggest that the film would benefit from tighter editing and deeper analysis of its depiction of violence.
Despite the criticism, the film presents some notable moments. A prolonged fight sequence inside a car, involving three characters, is described as a triumph, with graphic details such as fingers severed through the door and seat belts used for strangulation. An extended shot, showing a hero crawling to safety in the middle of a battle, points to the potential that the production could have explored.
The script, written by Vaniček and Florent Bernard, strives to integrate all the violence into the “Evil Dead” canon. This is done from the opening scene, where two friends have their fishing trip interrupted by a possessed young woman, possibly a holdover from “Evil Dead Rise”. The film includes essential references to the “Book of the Dead” and establishes a connection with Professor Raymond Knowby, a crucial figure in the saga’s mythology, in addition to bringing back the Kandarian Dagger for enthusiasts.
The film’s plot, although somewhat vague, revolves around a recent widow, played by Souheila Yacoub, who faces a strained relationship with her deceased husband’s family. The cast also features Erroll Shand as an unbalanced father who manipulates his son’s coffin, Tandi Wright as a cold, matriarchal mother, and Hunter Doohan as a fragile son, whose girlfriend, played by Luciane Buchanan, turns out to be more disturbing than expected.
Vaniček demonstrates an apparent difficulty in evoking dread, opting for a rather peculiar humor. Examples include an 85-year-old grandmother with dementia and an amputated leg, played by Maude Davey, who becomes a demon after constantly accusing people of stealing. The script also inserts unusual details, such as the need for a Band-Aid for the widow due to tight shoes, suggesting an attempt at humor contrasting with the imminent violence.
The franchise’s trajectory since Sam Raimi’s original trilogy is long, and not always for the better. In a scenario with many more sophisticated horror films, “Evil Dead Burn” appears as a step back, a dangerous inflection point. The Warner Bros. release Pictures, which premieres on July 10, has an R rating from the Motion Picture Association for “strong bloody and grotesque violence, as well as inappropriate language”, with a duration of 110 minutes and received just one star out of four in the review.
