Sometimes you can’t pick the family members you’ve married into, but in Evil Dead Burn, our not-so-perfect heroine Alice (Souheila Yacoub) will need to make an exception.

In the next standalone Evil Dead entry, the newly-made French widow has the “honour” of visiting the in-laws after her husband Will (George Pullar) died in a car crash. She, along with Will’s mom Susan (Tandi Wright) and father Edgar (Erroll Shand), his brother Joe (Hunter Doohan) and his girlfriend Thya (Luciane Buchanan), and the dementia-laden grandmother Polly (Maude Davey) have no idea of the supernatural evil that’s coming to their homestead. That car crash I mentioned? It was caused by an Evil Dead Deadite introduced at the start of the film, in a nod to the series’ fascination with cabins and lakesides in woods. And then there’s the fact that Joe was looking for inspiration for his upcoming book via his grandfather’s research involving the occult and the undead.

Family First

The trademark jump cuts and first-person chase views are present and done up right here with fresh director Sébastien Vaniček (Infestated). He impressed the series’ maker and figureheads Sam Raimi and Bruce Campbell that he gave him a shot at a new Evil Dead entry; he does not disappoint in the slightest.

Next to the lovely camera work, grim colour work and setting, and fast-paced editing and shots that really add to the escalating over-the-top scares and violence, the acting here is top notch. The aforementioned family -reclusive Edgar and controlling Susan, along with cowardly Joe- are all portrayed well and showcases an already messed-up family with deep-seated issues let loose from the horrors that invade the household. How they place all the blame onto Alice, when there’s more to the story, is already laid out though subtlety is thrown out the window after one-third of the film in.

But you’re not watching an Evil Dead film for nuance. You just want to see the after-effects of a guy caught by multiple fishing hook up to his face and eye. You want to witness how much damage an Evil Dead victim can take in a seated car brawl before some form of impalement ends it all. And you also wonder whether the word “Burn” in the title will actually involve any sort of fire and conflagration to anyone.

Family Ties

Like I said, the shocking moments here and the payoff where our main character gets through it after suffering so much abuse and inflict their own revenge are well-done and satisfying. Special props should also go to Polly who provides some levity in an otherwise dark subject matter involving emotional abusive families and the son who takes it out on their significant other. As far as camp goes in an Evil Dead film, this one still balances the overall tone just fine and dandy.

Much like the past Evil Dead remake and Evil Dead Rise, this standalone horror film hits all the right notes with its combination of hyper-paced editing and lingering shots for those tense and dread moments, delivers a good amount of scares and gore, and has a sympathetic character or two to root for, or jeer at.

Evil Dead Burn is lovely & cathartic horror fun, delivering the gory goods as per standard of the series and memorable characters to root for and hate. At a pretty short run-time of 1-and-a-half-ish hours, it’s lovely kindling for horror fans looking for a family matters-themed kind of gorefest.

Final Score: 80/100