Spoiler Alert. Please don’t read any further if you have not seen EVIL DEAD BURN. Go on, scram. Get stepping. Vamoose. O.K. All clear?Um, I was under the impression that we as a society had decided that we were not going to kill dogs in movies? Did I just imagine that? Are we not all on the same page? I mean, I realize all bets are off in a horror film but didn’t we all have some sort of unsaid agreement on this matter? Intellectually, I know it’s not real, but it still bums me out and throws a wrench in the re-watch factor. Luckily, I was indeed warned of the canine death in EVIL DEAD BURN and so was able to properly prepare myself, but I’m still not a fan & did it have to be so aggressive and with a fork? I will say that the pooch in question, “Max” does come back as a possessed puppy for a spell and that is a comfort but it’s of the cold variety on account of he has to be killed once again! I guess I’ll just choose to be happy that it wasn’t a cat…or a squirrel…or a baby raccoon (like the one in my yard the other night!). Anyway, this movie makes a lot of questionable choices storywise and left me partially confused on a few fronts. Suffice to say even though I’ve seen every EVIL DEAD film multiple times, I may be rusty on the rules and regulations. I’ll just go with it and assume anything can happen and the guardrails are fluid. In any case, this here move is dark, grim, and merciless. There’s usually a space right before the final confrontation in a movie when yours truly can run off to the rest room but not so here! No space! I had to wait! Plus, there’s two after credits scenes so I had to wait extra long! While listening to French rap Music!
Poor Alice (Souheila Yacoub) has just lost her abusive husband William (George Pullar) due to his raging out at her and then driving drunk smack into a deadite remnant of EVIL DEAD RISE and burning in the wreckage. As far as deadly accidents go, it’s rather fortuitous as the scary possessed deadite he runs into (and inadvertently decapitates) was in the midst of hunting down Will’s family on account of their deceased grampy was hoarding the powerful Kandarian dagger which is basically deadite kryptonite. After an extremely awkward funeral service in which Will’s burnt corpse covertly infects his grieving father Edgar (menacing Erroll Shand), the depressed group returns to the family homestead to console themselves with unappetizing food. Besides Alice and Pa, there’s mopey momma Susan (Tandi Wright: AKA, Yikes, the mom from PEARL (2022)), grumpy grammy Polly (Maude Davey), Will’s beyond feckless brother Joseph (Hunter Doohan) and his ill-fated girlfriend Thya (Luciane Buchanan). The festivities are as healing as you’d expect for a clan whose home decor is clearly inspired by RESIDENT EVIL 7: BIOHAZARD (actually, the joint is a carryover from ASH VS. EVIL DEAD but either way, it's begging for a paint job). As said, dad is not quite himself and after losing any chance of being hired as a dog sitter by me, folks are falling like flies in the grizzliest ways imaginable.
I’m not exactly on board with the structure of the story or the semi-cluttered nature of it, but EDB certainly gets its themes of family dysfunction, abuse and entrapment across very clearly. What the film really has going for it is its eye-popping (or gouging) set pieces (including an impressive rooftop scramble) and super creative (Raimi would be proud) use of the camera. There are moments in which I was wishing I was crossed-eyed as it might be the only way I could catch everything that was occurring on screen. Obviously, much here is inspired by the previous installments but director Sebastien Vanicek (2023’s INFESTED) clearly brings his own extreme (and notably French) vision to the table, brutal and brunt though it may be. The CG laden, TERMINATOR-esque conclusion is a bit bombastic for sure but it’s hard not get behind the flick’s final heroine when she finally gets the opportunity to face her own complicity in her abusive relationship and confront and dispose of her abuser, albeit posthumously. In the end, I almost felt it was a better companion piece tho LEE CRONIN’S THE MUMMY than RISE but that’s what it gets for being so darn mean spirited and featuring a crazed granny as its near lone source of comic relief. Oh, that poor dog Max, what a way to go. If only he died attempting to save the family rather than in the midst of trusting his caretaker. Broke my little heart.
1 Sorry it takes e so long to write a review these days.
2 I think it’s very smart that the ED franchise is moving in the ultra violent & serious direction it is but..,. I’m re-watching ASH VS EVIL DEAD right now and I love it so much and can’t help missing the characters and how much fun it is so that may have effected my level of enjoyment here. I appreciate EDB for sure but can’t help feeling a little sad that Ash and company are not around (although Ash’s picture can be seen hanging on the staircase wall). Also of course the dog thing didn’t help.
I had to avert my eyes during the scene with the dog. That was horrible and I needed to see the dad punished for it but the film never did – I guess continuing the theme that family dysfunction and abuse often goes unpunished.
I've had a hard time expressing my feelings about Evil Dead Burn. "Enjoy" is not an applicable term because the movie is very grim and not something I'd ever rewatch for fun. The original Evil Dead movies are violent and dark but there's a silly/campy quality to them that makes them easy to put on for a fun movie night. EDB was not that. I guess it's the French connection; do French horror filmmakers ever do anything that's not 'extreme'?
It's well-made and gore fans won't be disappointed. The ending went on too long, IMO, but I was never bored. I did enjoy the mid- and post-credit sequences. Also wondering if there's a deleted scene featuring the bowling pin that was randomly framed in one shot. So out of place I was sure it would become a weapon at some point but it never showed up again. Was it a reference to one of the other movies or TV series I missed?
DekesYellowBikini,
I feel the same way. EDB is an admirable effort but not completely gratifying in the end. I wish there was a more interesting way that the chaos started instead of just those random fishermen being attacked. Turns out the bowling pin is a nod to the TV series ASH VS EVIL DEAD but I didn’t catch that when watching.