Evil Dead Burn (2026) (4K Ultra HD Review)
DIRECTED BY: Sébastien Vanicek
STARRING: Souheila Yacoub, Hunter Doohan, Luciane Buchanan
RATED: UR/Region: 0/2:39/1080P/NUMBER OF DISCS 1
AVAILABLE FROM Warner Bros.
There are few things better than watching an Evil Dead movie on a rainy night.
Unless you’re watching it at a drive-in, which is exactly where I first saw Evil Dead Burn.
Rain coming down, a giant screen, Deadites running around, and probably enough questionable fluids being thrown at the camera to make Mother Nature feel a little less disgusting by comparison.
Now, a couple months later, I’m revisiting Evil Dead Burn on 4K for the first time since that rainy drive-in night.
And while I still think this is a good Evil Dead movie, I also came away from this viewing with the same nagging feeling I had the first time:
Something is missing.
And I can’t quite put my finger on what it is.
One thing I really appreciated this time around is that Evil Dead Burn puts considerably more attention on something the franchise has mostly treated as a prop over the years:
the Kandarian Dagger.
Yep, that lovely little stabby piece of ancient evil we last really got acquainted with back in Evil Dead 2 gets pushed much more into the spotlight here.
And we finally get an answer to a question that probably should have been answered approximately 37 movies ago:
Apparently, the Kandarian Dagger is the only true way to kill a Deadite.
Which seems like useful information to have when you’re dealing with a species of demon that has apparently been terrorizing humanity for generations.
“Hey, how do we kill these things?”
“Well, there’s this dagger.”
“Great! Maybe write that down somewhere.”
“Nope.”
“Okay.”
I actually liked this aspect of the movie quite a bit. It gives the mythology something to sink its teeth into without turning the whole thing into an Evil Dead history lecture.
And thankfully, the movie still remembers the most important part of the franchise:
Deadites are assholes.
There is plenty of gore here, and the movie doesn’t exactly shy away from the bloodshed. We get the nasty practical-effects-style violence you’d expect, along with people being generally inconvenienced by demons in increasingly unpleasant ways.
So if you’re worried this has turned into some watered-down supernatural thriller where everybody politely discusses their feelings before defeating evil…
Don’t worry.
People still get fucked up.
The movie itself is pretty solid. I’d put it roughly on par with Evil Dead Rise, which is probably the easiest comparison to make. Both movies take the franchise in a somewhat different direction while still giving us enough gore and Deadite nastiness to remind us what we’re watching.
But that’s also where my biggest problem comes in.
This franchise needs an identity again.
And no, I’m not saying every Evil Dead movie needs Bruce Campbell riding in on a chainsaw while yelling “Groovy.”
Although…
I’d certainly fucking take it.
Bruce Campbell’s Ash brought a very specific personality to these movies. Even when things got ridiculous, Ash gave the audience somebody to hang onto. He was funny, arrogant, terrified, stupid, occasionally competent, and somehow always entertaining.
Since the series has moved away from Ash, we’ve gotten some good characters and performances, but I don’t think anyone has completely stepped into that void yet.
And unfortunately, the leading lady in Evil Dead Burn might be my least favorite of the franchise’s major protagonists so far.
She’s not terrible.
That’s important.
I’m not sitting here saying the performance ruins the movie.
It just feels like she’s missing that extra bit of personality that makes you want to follow this character through two hours of demonic torture.
And that’s probably part of the larger problem.
There’s nothing catastrophically wrong with Evil Dead Burn.
The gore is there.
The mythology gets expanded.
The Kandarian Dagger gets some much-needed attention.
The Deadites are still disgusting little bastards.
The movie looks good.
And the whole thing is perfectly watchable.
But something is just…
missing.
It’s like ordering your favorite pizza and realizing halfway through that they forgot one ingredient.
You can’t necessarily identify what it is immediately.
You just know you’re sitting there thinking:
“This is good pizza… so why the fuck don’t I love it?”
That’s where I’m at with Evil Dead Burn.
I enjoyed it.
I liked the dagger mythology.
I appreciated that it wasn’t simply trying to copy one of the previous movies.
And I certainly didn’t walk away thinking I’d wasted my time.
But I also didn’t finish it thinking, “Holy shit, that was awesome.”
And that’s what I want from Evil Dead.
I want awesome.
I want insane.
I want something that makes me question whether the filmmakers should legally be allowed to put that much blood on screen.
Evil Dead Burn gets partway there.
But not all the way.
It’s probably about on par with Evil Dead Rise for me, which means it’s still a perfectly respectable entry in the series. I just don’t think either movie has managed to capture that special combination of horror, comedy, personality, and absolute batshit insanity that made the original movies so memorable.
And maybe that’s the real issue.
Bruce Campbell isn’t here.
And nobody has quite stepped up to fill that hole.
I’m not saying they need another Ash.
I’m saying they need somebody.
Give me a character I can immediately latch onto. Give me somebody with enough personality that when the Deadites start ripping people apart, I’m not just watching the carnage—I’m rooting for somebody to survive it.
Because right now, Evil Dead Burn feels like a very good Evil Dead movie that is missing its secret ingredient.
Unfortunately, I don’t know what that ingredient is.
Maybe it’s Ash.
Maybe it’s the right lead.
Maybe it’s more comedy.
Maybe it’s just that little bit of crazy that makes the series feel like the Evil Dead rather than another competent supernatural horror movie wearing the franchise’s name.
Whatever it is, I hope they find it.
Because the Kandarian Dagger may be the only true way to kill a Deadite…
but apparently nobody has figured out how to kill the franchise’s identity crisis yet.
Still, for a 4K revisit on a rainy night, I’m glad I came back to it.
It’s bloody.
It’s entertaining.
It’s a decent continuation of the series.
It reminds us that the in-laws can be some mofos.
And seeing that Kandarian Dagger finally get some serious attention was a damn nice touch.
Good movie? Absolutely.
Great Evil Dead movie?
Not quite.
Now somebody get Bruce Campbell on the phone before the next one.
Ash may be retired, but my patience isn’t immortal.
Extras
- DOLBY VISION/HDR PRESENTATION OF THE FILM
- DOLBY ATMOS AUDIO TRACK
- Evil Dead: Blazing the Trailwhile introducing a daring new vision – Director Sébastien Vanicek and his crew explore how Evil Dead Burn honors the franchise’s ever evolving legacy
- The Hot Shot: Evil Dead Burn’s One-Shot Sequence – Dive into Evil Dead Burn’s most gripping scene as cast and crew detail the intense focus and synergy required to create the complex one-shot sequence.
- This One’s Gonna Burn -Explore the fire-fueled chaos of Evil Dead Burn by witnessing how the stunts and effects teams brought the film’s physical horror to life.
- Optional English, Latin Spanish, and Canadian French subtitles for the main feature
