With the release of Evil Dead Burn, there are now as many Evil Dead movies not directed by Sam Raimi or starring Bruce Campbell as those with the original team. The next film, Evil Dead Wrath, is set for 2028, tipping the balance toward non-Raimi filmmakers. Unlike other franchise offshoots, these post-Raimi entries have enjoyed box office success and critical praise.
A Family in Mourning
After a gruesome crash, Alice (Souheila Yacoub) loses her husband William (George Pullar). Her grief is complicated by hinted secrets. Yacoub anchors the film, though she lacks Bruce Campbell's comedic flair. The non-Raimi films attempt to flesh out characters before stripping them away in undead skirmishes.
Alice's brother-in-law Joseph (Hunter Doohan) and his girlfriend Thya (Luciane Buchanan) sympathize with her, unlike William's forbidding parents Susan (Tandi Wright) and Edgar (Erroll Shand). A post-funeral gathering at a dilapidated family home turns deadly when Deadites attack.
New Blood Behind the Camera
Producer Sam Raimi gives unknown filmmakers a chance; director Sébastien Vaniček previously made Infested. Evil Dead Burn juggles fraught relationships and delivers extreme gore, with bodily punishments recalling New French Extremity films. Name a body part, and the film targets it.
Raimi's original films featured cartoonish gore, but Vaniček's violence hits closer to home, with viscera providing color in a gray palette. The film finds dark laughs, like guttural construction noises interrupting a eulogy, and builds to a weed-whacker payoff.
Technical Moves and Psychological Depth
Cinematographer Philip Lozano uses clever techniques, including ceiling pivots and unbroken shots that invert Raimi's camera style. The Deadites have distinct malevolent personalities, making them more strategic. The film engages with abusive relationships and family wounds.
Compared to its predecessor Evil Dead Rise, Burn works better. Yet it still feels like a Deadite itself: too lively to be a zombie franchise, but not fully alive. The film releases in Australian cinemas on 9 July and in the UK and US on 10 July.
