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Video Version
Evil Dead Burn Review: Bloody, Brutal, and Fun — But Does It Live Up to Evil Dead Rise?
By Paul Perez
What happens when you take everything people love about Evil Dead — gore, chaos, dark humor, and relentless violence — and put it into another new setting?
You get Evil Dead Burn.
And while the latest entry delivers plenty for franchise fans, my reaction was a little more complicated.
I arrived late to the theater and missed roughly the first 30 minutes of the movie. Jason had only missed the first few minutes, so after we finished watching, I had an unusual thought:
I wanted to go back into the theater and watch the beginning.
That’s something I seldom do.
Usually, if I miss part of a movie, I’ll accept it and move on. But I’m currently going through Ash vs Evil Dead, and I’ve been in a serious Evil Dead phase lately. I wanted to understand the story and characters I’d missed.
So Jason & I went back.
And those first 30 minutes did change my opinion—just not dramatically.
The Problem: I Didn’t Connect With the Characters
My biggest issue with Evil Dead Burn was the characters.
They weren’t necessarily bad characters. I didn’t feel particularly attached to them.
That matters in an Evil Dead movie because the violence is so extreme that the audience needs something beyond the gore to care about what’s happening.
Compare that with Evil Dead Rise.
In Rise, I felt more connected to the characters. I cared about what happened to Beth, Ellie, and the kids.
With Evil Dead Burn, I didn’t have that same connection.
At one point, I honestly thought that if everybody died, I’d probably shrug and say, “Okay.”
That’s a big difference.
However, after going back and watching the beginning, I did develop more sympathy for the female lead. We learn more about her situation, including her relationship with an abusive husband and why she doesn’t really want to be around the family while they’re grieving.
That additional context helped.
It wasn’t enough to completely change my opinion of the movie, but it did make me understand the character better.
Because of that, I eventually bumped my score from a 6 to a 6.5 out of 10.
But If You Love Gore, This Movie Has You Covered
Where Evil Dead Burn absolutely delivers is the gore.
This movie is bloody.
And it’s not simply throwing blood onto the screen. The movie frequently puts the camera extremely close to the violence.
You see the cuts.
The injuries.
The accidents.
The bodies getting beaten, chopped, and destroyed.
The sound design adds another layer.
There were several moments where I found myself physically tensing up because the movie does such a good job of putting you right in the middle of the violence.
If you’re a horror fan who watches Evil Dead specifically for the gore, this movie gives you plenty to enjoy.
Jason agreed that the movie works well as an Evil Dead experience. It maintains the franchise’s tradition of putting characters in a confined environment and then essentially refusing to give them a break.
Things keep happening.
And happening.
By the time the movie ends, you almost feel exhausted.
That’s part of the Evil Dead formula.
The Characters Get Absolutely Destroyed
One thing I continue to appreciate about these movies is how much physical punishment the characters endure.
And somehow, somebody is still standing at the end.
There were moments in Evil Dead Burn when I genuinely wondered how anyone could survive what they were going through.
There’s a particular sequence involving a shattered leg and a spike that had me thinking: How is this person still moving?
Obviously, we’re talking about a horror-fantasy movie. Realism isn’t exactly the priority.
But that’s also part of the fun.
The Evil Dead franchise has always been willing to push physical suffering to ridiculous extremes while still maintaining its sense of humor.
The Tradition Is Still There
Jason pointed out something important: even though Evil Dead Burn isn’t as strong as some of the other movies, it still maintains many of the traditions that make these movies fun.
The nonstop chaos is there.
The practical-looking gore is there.
Not much humor in this entry, though.
Besides that, the Evil Dead formula remains intact:
Something evil is unleashed, people become possessed, and everything goes completely insane.
You could almost take that formula and move it anywhere.
A different country.
A different city.
A different decade.
A different group of characters.
And you could tell another Evil Dead story.
That’s the franchise's strength and its potential weakness.
The Friday the 13th Problem
While watching Evil Dead Burn, Jason started thinking about the Friday the 13th movies.
Not because the movies are identical, but because of the way long-running horror franchises can eventually work.
You have a recognizable formula.
Then you change the location.
Change the characters.
Change the circumstances.
And essentially tell the same story again.
That’s how Evil Dead Burn felt to him at times.
Same basic ingredients. Different dressing.
Jason says that doesn’t necessarily mean it's a bad thing.
After all, people come to Evil Dead because they want Evil Dead.
But if every movie becomes interchangeable, then it can become boring.
A Bigger Evil Dead Universe
One of the most interesting things I discovered after watching the movie was how connected the Evil Dead universe actually is.
I’ve been watching Ash vs Evil Dead on Pluto TV, and that sent me down a rabbit hole researching the franchise.
I originally thought of the original Evil Dead movies, the 2013 remake, Evil Dead Rise, and Ash vs Evil Dead as somewhat separate branches.
But there are more connections between them than I realized.
For example, Evil Dead Burn doesn’t center around the Necronomicon in the way I expected.
Instead, the story revolves heavily around the Kandarian dagger, along with copied pages containing information capable of unleashing the evil.
That was particularly interesting to me because the dagger also appears in Ash vs Evil Dead, although it looks different.
And watching Ash vs Evil Dead at the same time made those connections stand out even more.
The Jessica Connection
Going back and watching the beginning also helped me understand the connection to Evil Dead Rise.
Jessica, from the beginning of Evil Dead Rise, is connected to the events that follow, with the demonic possession spreading from one character to another.
That helped reinforce the idea that these movies aren’t simply isolated horror stories.
A larger mythology connects them.
And that leads to something I’d love to see.
Give Me an Evil Dead Survivor Team-Up
Reports and rumors suggest another Evil Dead movie could arrive in the future, possibly bringing together survivors from different entries in the franchise.
If that actually happens, I’m in.
I would love to see something almost like an Evil Dead version of an Avengers-style team-up.
Imagine bringing together survivors from the different movies:
- The survivor from the 2013 Evil Dead remake
- The survivor from Evil Dead Rise
- The survivor from Evil Dead Burn
- And potentially other characters from the larger Evil Dead universe
Instead of introducing another completely new group of people who have never encountered the Deadites before, give us characters who already know exactly what they’re dealing with.
That could be a really fun way to take the franchise in a new direction.
Of course, the movie’s performance will ultimately determine how much more Evil Dead we get. I cover that in the video version, which I have posted above.
The Bruce Campbell Easter Eggs
There are also some fun connections for longtime fans.
I noticed an homage to the original Evil Dead movies, especially the chainsaw's appearance toward the end.
There’s also a moment where you can see a picture of Bruce Campbell in the background.
Those little details are fun because they remind you that you’re watching another chapter of a franchise with decades of history behind it.
And if you’re currently watching Ash vs Evil Dead, like I am, some of those connections become even more enjoyable.
Is Evil Dead Burn Worth Seeing?
If you’re a horror fan who loves gore, practical effects, dark humor, and nonstop chaos, there’s plenty here for you.
The movie builds tension well.
The sound design works.
The close-up photography makes the violence feel especially uncomfortable.
And the movie understands that an Evil Dead experience should leave you feeling exhausted by the time the credits roll.
But for me, the biggest missing ingredient was emotional connection.
I didn’t care about these characters as much as I cared about the characters in Evil Dead Rise.
And that’s ultimately why my score stayed relatively modest.
My initial score was a 6 out of 10.
After going back and watching the first 30 minutes, I bumped it up to 6.5 out of 10.
Jason was a little more positive, giving it approximately a 6.8 out of 10.
So we’re fairly close.
Final Thoughts
Evil Dead Rise is a fun, bloody horror movie that understands the assignment.
It’s violent.
It’s tense.
And it gives gorehounds plenty to sink their teeth into.
But after watching Evil Dead Rise, I wanted something that would make me care about the characters just as much as I reveled in the carnage.
Evil Dead Burn gave me the carnage.
Not the emotional connection.
And I’m curious enough about where this franchise could go next that, if they really do bring several Evil Dead survivors together, I’ll absolutely be there to see it.
Post your thoughts, comments, down below.
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