Without heading too far into spoiler territory, one of the film’s links to Evil Dead Rise is exposed very early on when two lake fisherman find themselves coming into contact with a Deadite. That Deadite then finds itself involved in an accident with William (George Pullar – Moon Rock For Monday) who is angrily driving away from an argument with his wife Alice (Souheila Yacoub – Dune: Part Two) whom he accuses of flirting with his brother, Joseph (Hunter Doohan – Wednesday).
The accident results in the death of William and as his family gathers for his funeral there is high tension amongst the Price family. Alice is convinced that her parents-in-law, Edgar (Erroll Shand – Wolfram) and Susan (Tandi Wright – Pearl), hate her while Joseph knows that his father thinks he is a failure. Added to that is the fact that dementia has ruined the mind of the family’s Grandmother (Maude Davey – The Dry) who is convinced that Joseph’s wife Thya (Luciane Buchanan – Chief Of War).
The suspicion and hatred within the family then only intensifies when William rises at the funeral and makes Edgar a Deadite hellbent on finding an ancient, mystical dagger that he believes Joseph has in his possession.
Gorefest
Directed by Sebastian Vanicek (Infested) Evil Dead Burn is one of those films that has a great set-up but never really reaches the heights that it could have. A shame when you consider the opening sequence with the fishermen looks brilliant with cinematographer Philip Lozano (Redemption Day) being extremely creative with his shots.
That all falls away though once the Price family storyline starts and sadly so does the genius of the plot. The lore behind the evil at hand that has established in previous Evil Dead films seems to be forgotten while the interesting storyline of William and Joseph’s grandfather being an expert on the evil itself and how to stop it is never fully explored the way it should be. It is perhaps one of the most interesting elements of the film but it never explored or used the way it should be.
Instead, screenwriters Vanicek and Florent Bemard (Infested) focus on making this a family-fuelled gore fest but even then have the audience scratching their heads over moments such as when the clearly infected Edgar begins frothing at the mouth at the dinner table but nobody reacts or even says anything. Even more strange is how calm some characters remain when he begins stabbing the family dog – it’s like in that moment the whole family loses their humanity.
The positive of Evil Dead Burn though is that you never get bored. The screenplay does at least allow for some creative ways for the Deadites to kill or maim their victims and the tense family dynamic adds to the suspense of the film both before and during the resulting kill spree. We’ve all had those awkward family gatherings so we know just how wrong an event like that can go even without the undead turning up.
Also, on the positive side of things here are the performances. Soulheila Yacoub is brilliant throughout and makes this movie her own. Likewise, Erroll Shand backs up his recent gritty performance in Wolfram by at times feeling like evil incarnated her in Evil Dead Burns. It really is time for Hollywood to realise just how talented Shand is and give him more recognition.
Evil Dead Burn is one of those films that promises so much but just never delivers. The filmmakers try to get serious and explore deep themes like domestic abuse but they let that all slip away by neglecting all the important elements of the film while they try to turn into a complete gorefest. The result is a film that just never reaches the heights it could of.
Evil Dead Burn is currently screening in Phuket and is rated ‘18+’
2.5/5 stars
David Griffiths has been working as a film journalist for over 25 years. That time has seen him work in radio, television and in print. He currently hosts a film podcast called The Popcorn Conspiracy. He is also a Rotten Tomatoes accredited reviewer and is an alternate judge for the Golden Globes Awards. You can follow him at Facebook: SubcultureEntertainmentAus.