This is one for stalwarts of the horror gore genre because it doesn’t hold back – in short, it is tense and traumatising. Demonic carnage is unleashed to terrorise a French woman who has married into an American family.
Alice (Souheila Yacoub) is with her husband, restaurateur William (George Pullar), to celebrate Will’s younger brother, Joseph’s (Hunter Doohan) birthday. Also with them is Joseph’s girlfriend, Thya (Luciane Buchanan) when an argument between Will and Alice escalates. Will drives off at speed and runs headlong into a demon. Will’s car hurtles off the road trapping him, only to see him face the horror of being burnt to death.
In the process, he is transformed into a deadite, which is a demonic spirit that possesses human bodies, in this case one that will wreak havoc on his family. That includes his mother, Susan (Tandi Wright), who has never made Will’s wife Alice feel welcome, and his aggressive, taciturn father Edgar (Erroll Shand).
Edgar makes it clear he has always favoured his elder son, now burnt to a crisp, over the non-confrontational Joseph. Also in the family is Joseph’s dementia-riddled, wheelchair-bound, 85-year-old grandmother, Polly (Maude Davey), who is front and centre in mum Susan’s life. Before this is over, all of them, along with Thya and Alice, will have been put through the ringer … and how!
Blood lust is the stock in trade. Think not of flesh wounds. Rather, catastrophic injuries and depravities. The fight for survival is one that most will lose. And what are the demons after? A specially carved dagger that will see evil unleashed unrestrained forever. The object was hidden by Joseph’s now dead grandfather, who extensively researched the malevolent.
Series creator Sam Raimi hired French filmmaker Sébastien Vaniček to helm Evil Dead Burn, after being impressed by Vaniček’s directorial debut, Infested (2023). Vaniček revels in creating mayhem, which – I dare say – aficionados of this style of film will appreciate. While there are a few humorous moments, the essence of the movie is dark and menacing.
In fact, in a quite lengthy introduction before the opening credits, the portent of doom is well established, with a deadly encounter at an isolated lake. That involves a couple of mates, unrelated to the family I have spoken about, going fishing. The visual effects and make-up, which are so much a part of Evil Dead Burn, are impressive. So, too, the accompanying evocative score by composers Double Danger.
The film calls on the performers to play deranged once they are “possessed” and that they do. In fact, the creepiest character is Edgar, who has a screw loose from the moment we meet him, even before anything happens to him. Erroll Shand maintains that detached, disturbed characterisation.
Be prepared to be appalled and shocked. If you are up for it, stay on until after the final credits because the movie foreshadows more. This sixth Evil Dead film in the franchise, that started back in 1981, is not for the feint hearted. If you are not into body horror, give it a wide birth, but if you are there is plenty here to keep you involved.
Rated R for very good reason, it scores a 7 out of 10.
Alex First
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Alex First is the editor of The Blurb. Alex is a Melbourne based journalist and communications specialist. He also contributes to The Blurb on film and theatre.
