"entertaining and very gory horror film that delivers plenty for fans of practical carnage and outrageous kills"

The Evil Dead franchise is now more than forty years old, spanning seven films and a television series, and as a massive fan of the franchise I was excited to see where this latest instalment would go. Knowing that Sam Raimi and Bruce Campbell were back as executive producers only increased my anticipation, while director Sébastien Vaniček takes the reins this time around.

One of the strengths of Evil Dead has always been that every filmmaker brings their own eye and style to the franchise. It keeps each instalment feeling fresh while still retaining the DNA that fans expect, and that is certainly true here.

The film opens with the Book of the Dead being unleashed once again. Two people are out fishing when one of them reels in what he initially believes is a fish, only for it to turn out to be something far more sinister. The result is an opening sequence that delivers some satisfyingly gruesome kills before the title card arrives with a fantastic Evil Dead logo reveal.

Straight away I noticed some nice visual touches from Vaniček. The overhead camera movements and zooming shots felt like deliberate tributes to Sam Raimi’s iconic style, and longtime fans of the series will definitely appreciate those nods.

The sound design was another highlight for me. Watching this in the cinema made a huge difference and I would strongly recommend seeing it on the big screen if possible. The audio work really adds to the atmosphere and intensity, making certain moments land far harder than they would at home.

The story then shifts to Joseph’s birthday celebrations as he spends the evening with his girlfriend, his brother Will and their friends. Will quickly establishes himself as the group’s problem character, coming across as aggressive, violent and narcissistic. Following an argument with his wife Thya, he storms off in his car and suffers an encounter that had my screening cheering loudly.

Following tragedy, Thya seeks comfort with her in-laws at their secluded family home, but the reunion quickly becomes a nightmare when the Book of the Dead unleashes demonic forces that begin transforming the family into Deadites one by one.

As fun as the film is, I did find the story to be its weakest element. Some of the ideas felt familiar and had already been explored in Ash vs Evil Dead, which left parts of the narrative feeling a little repetitive. There are also moments that clearly wear their influences on their sleeve, including a sequence involving a weed cutter that immediately reminded me of Braindead.

I also found it a little too convenient how easily the weapon capable of killing Deadites was discovered, which reduced some of the tension for me.

My favourite character by far was the grandmother, who ended up stealing every scene she was in and became the standout performance of the film.

Overall, Evil Dead Burn is an entertaining and very gory horror film that delivers plenty for fans of practical carnage and outrageous kills. While I personally don’t think it feels like a natural fit within the wider Evil Dead universe and would have perhaps worked better as a standalone horror film, I still had a lot of fun with it.

If you enjoy gore, chaos and Deadites causing absolute mayhem, there is still plenty here to enjoy.