Twice is a coincidence, three times is intentional. And it seems now very intentional that Sam Raimi is working with a formula while ‘introducing’ the Evil Dead fans to new directors. With the third installment post-Ash Evil Dead universe, Evil Dead Burn, we can assume a clear pattern. 1. Open with a Deadite in place, which we saw in the 2013 requel Evil Dead, Evil Dead Rise, and again with Evil Dead Burn. 2. Introduce a broken family dynamic with 3. A female protagonist who is going through a specific trauma (drug addiction, unplanned pregnancy, abusive marriage), and then brings these last two together in 4. An environment with little safety (a cabin in the woods, soon to be demolished housing, abandoned secluded family home).
A French Extremity Twist
Each director then gives it a stylistic spin in their own flavor. Yet with Sébastien Vaniček’s (Vermines) New French Extremity style, this concoction becomes a very brutal and bleak Evil Dead chapter. Sign.Me.Up. Vaniček is fairly new to international audiences, although his various shorts and his debut feature Vermines (Infested) have been doing great on the festival circuit. He brings amazing cinematography in a very bleak (literally in color) setting. He also proves with his co-writing credits that he knows how to push each interaction and death to new extremes.
Evil Dead Burn brings us straight into the lives of Alice (Souheila Yacoub) and her husband Will (George Pullar). This includes Will’s brother Joseph (Hunter Doohan), Joseph’s girlfriend Thya (Luciane Buchanan), and Alice’s very judgmental parents-in-law, Susan (Tandi Wright) and Edgar (Erroll Shand).
What’s Old is Used In New Ways
From the introduction of Joseph, we step into some of the mythology of the Evil Dead franchise. His grandfather is the voice of the recordings we know from the earlier Evil Dead movies. It is clearly established that Joseph is not our final girl, but more a wimp who can’t step up, even if it is to save a life. There is clear tension amongst all the family members and disdain towards the outsider/foreigner Alice, which only increases when Will suddenly passes.
Susan is a very obvious boy-mom with Will as her favourite. She’s not dealing with her own trauma of becoming parentified towards her sister Bonnie and mother Polly (Maude Davey) after the abandonment of her father. Her father, being the aforementioned grandfather, is on the tapes reading up on the Deadites and Kandarians.
Both parents refuse to take any responsibility for how either of their sons has ended up. One is an abuser and the other a straight-up loser. Honestly, the way they were written and performed actually worked for me. Everyone in the family not only has issues, but are portrayed as real people who don’t suddenly change personalities (unless they become Deadites) by becoming a better person.
A Fierce Final Girl is Born
It is clear that in this film, the focus lies on Alice’s trauma stemming from abuse, being gaslit, and being fetishized. That doesn’t mean that Vaniček completely eliminates any trace of humor in his storytelling. The fairly useless human being, Grandma Polly, is there for the little gags, and there is a small attempt at laughs during the funeral. However, in the end, they’re all fodder for the Deadites to tear apart.
Where Burn shines is in its bleak and nihilistic feeling it builds from the get-go. Even the kills are more brutal and gorier, especially with a mix of practical and VFX. The setting is more unforgiving and gives no reprieve at any moment, no illusions that things might turn out alright. Once the carnage starts, every scene is made to disturb you. It is really reminiscent of other French Extremity moments, such as Ils (Them) and Martyrs. Women are being pushed in ultra brutal situations to the extreme breaking point, and for seemingly no reason at all.
Are We Feeling the Burn?
We do get a bunch of very obvious film school moments in the film. Literally every item introduced is used, and it is not subtle at all. From a literal gun to a dishwasher, they all get the classic focus and pay off. However, they also throw in some fan service in the final act with some nods to the older films in the franchise. Including moments where the final girl almost grabs for items we know, only to grab the other thing next to it.
It is clear that the trauma of the different family members. Especially Alice, who is in the foreground despite all the brutality of the Deadites. The writing around this becomes less subtle in the final act, with flashbacks and reveals for those who were second-screening during the film (shame on you) to really hammer home certain points. Again, the inclusion of the larger Evil Dead universe’s lore was nice. Also keeping characters true to their ‘nature’ was great. The cinematography was bleak and therefore gorgeous. Even the almost Ready or Not ending of Alice in the ambulance got a small grin from me. All in all, Evil Dead Burn is a great installment in the Deadites saga, and scratches several itches. Go watch it while in cinemas!
P.S. Do stay for the mid and end-credit scenes 😉
