After 45 years of destroying cabins, cities and timelines, the Evil Dead franchise is back for another round of murderous Deadites in Evil Dead Burn. Directed by Sebastien Vanicek and co-written by Florent Bernard they bring a fresh spin to the Necronomicon. With Sam Raimi and Bruce Campbell producing, the story heads to a secluded family lake house, where sh*t hits the fan for an unsuspecting family who find themselves fighting for their lives against Deadites with an agenda. And somewhere between the blood, gore and insanity you start asking yourself whether this installment is a fresh nightmare or just a nostalgic rerun.
What becomes clear immediately is that Evil Dead Burn isn’t riding the wave of the legacy, it earns its spot. The film centers on Alice (Souheila Yacoub), a newly widowed woman whose abusive husband, Will (George Pullar), dies in a terrible, fiery car crash. At his cremation service, Alice is met with stares and quiet accusations from Will’s family, who blame her for the crash. Afterwards, Alice follows the family back to their lake house, unaware that Will’s father Edgar (Errol Shane) has already fallen under the Necronomicon’s influence. And the farther Edgar slips into the Necronomicon’s spell, the more you realize Evil Dead Burn isn’t repeating history but adding another layer to the story.
What’s great about Evil Dead Burn is that, unlike previous Evil Dead entries where the carnage hits random people, the family in this story is purposely targeted. The film expands the franchise’s mythology, offering another glimpse into the origins of the Necronomicon through recordings heard by the family’s late grandfather, Dr. Benjamin Price. Joseph (Hunter Doohan), Will’s brother, has been quietly studying their grandfather’s research, uncovering both the history and a mysterious weapon designed to kill Deadites that may or may not exist. This adds an intriguing layer beneath the film’s chaos.
One of the film’s biggest assets is its setting, a lake house that quickly becomes a character itself. The secluded, dingy space gives the story an unease, echoing the classic Evil Dead isolation while grounding the chaos in the family’s history. It’s where Edgar’s possession festers, where Joseph’s discoveries with the Necronomicon take shape and where the Deadites’ agenda becomes dangerously personal. Even in its brief moments of calm, the lake house reinforces the film’s central idea: this time, the horror isn’t random, it’s aimed directly at the family.
Still, the cast does enough to keep the film tense and engaging once the Deadites take over. And in true Evil Dead fashion, the movie delivers its signature hero moment with Alice wielding a weed whacker—which is not a chainsaw, but close enough. The fights and kills are brutal, creative and memorable, and they will have you rethinking everyday household items. You may never look at a dishwasher or a pen the same way again. And the camera angles, like when the family is fighting off a Deadite on the staircase, are next level bonkers.
Makeup and effects designer Jane O’Kane, along with the entire makeup department, delivers some cool practical work. From the aforementioned car headrest and hot candle wax, the film’s effects team did their thing. The movie also has a killer soundtrack from French electronic duo Double Danger, who also did the music for Infested.
Overall, Evil Dead Burn proves that the franchise still has plenty of story left to tell. Vanicek and Bernard honor the 45-year history while pushing the Necronomicon and Deadite mythology into new territory. It’s not a perfect film, but it proves Evil Dead still has many new chapters to write.
