Tag: The Evil Dead

Film Review: Evil Dead Burn (New Line Cinema/Screen Gems/Ghost House Pictures/Warner Bros. Pictures/Sony Pictures Releasing)

By: Jesse Striewski

I pretty much knew going into it what to expect from the new Evil Dead Burn; another run-of-the-mill gorefest that ups the ante each and every chance it gets. Unfortunately, this sixth entry of the long-standing Sam Raimi series does not provide much more justification for its very own existence other than just another excuse to inflict further carnage.

Right off the bat, we’re introduced to some of the most unlikable characters ever committed to screen, none of which I ever found myself sympathizing much with or caring about. Shortly after unknowingly causing an awakening of deadites at his late grandfather’s secluded lakehouse (who of course had been researching them in great detail before his death), Joseph (Hunter Doohan, one of the few recognizable faces here from Netflix’s Wednesday) and his girlfriend Thya (Luciane Buchanan) witness his brother Will (George Pullar) and wife Alice (Souheila Yacoub) bickering at their co-owned club prior to Will driving off in anger and ultimately crashing in a seemingly drunk driving incident, which of course was actually the work of a deadite (apparently Jessica from 2023’s Evil Dead Rise, played by Greta Van Den Brink – something I had to look up to even figure out.)

Fast forward to Will’s funeral, where Alice is the odd one out among her now-former, extremely miserable in-laws. Somehow no one hears as a morgue attendant is killed off and Will’s father Edgar (Erroll Shand) is attacked/infected by a resurrected Will right after the service, and they all retreat back to the lakehouse with Alice in tow as though it’s all suddenly hunky dory now. Of course all hell breaks loose here, and they each die off/become infected in their own gruesome ways. (I’ll just say the scene with the dog was an all new low point of the series in my book too.)

Every bit of cliche and predictability is thrown at the audience from then on out, with a sharp object conveniently always within arms reach to cause more damage. Aside from a jump scare or two, there’s narrowly a moment of true tension or suspense, all leading to an underwhelming climax that leaves one feeling as though they just wasted two hours of their life. (A fairly depressing experience to be honest). Every frame is filled with negativity, and I realize I may be of the minority among those in the theater with me at the time, but what’s become modern horror is not really my idea of a “good time” anymore.

I guess you could say I’ve become more conservative in my later years. But while I can still appreciate the earlier Bruce Campbell-led Evil Dead films for what they were, nowadays I prefer there to be at least some sort of real substance (Raimi’s 2009 effort Drag Me to Hell and last year’s Weapons each come to mind) behind the mayhem, not just brutal chaos for the sake of it. (Which I guess some people do enjoy.) Even the previous Rise entry felt as though it had some semblance of heart to it. (The brief cameo from Alyssa Sutherland as Ellie at the post credits was a bit of a nice touch, albeit a slightly confusing one.) The true problem with films like this though is there’s zero lasting power anymore. It serves its purpose while its here, then will quickly disappear in the void to be forgotten and not remembered for any sort of artistic value whatsoever – I know I certainly won’t feel a need to revisit this one anytime soon.

Rating: 1.5/5 Stars

Retrospective: 40 Years Since we first Encountered ‘The Evil Dead’ By Jesse Striewski

If ever there were a “little horror film that could,” it’s Sam Raimi’s 1981 gorefest, The Evil Dead. It took years of sweat equity and hustling with investors/distributors, but after non-stop persistence, director/writer Raimi eventually saw his vision realized.

The Evil Dead began as a passion project in the truest sense; Raimi and producer Robert Tapert recruited friends Bruce Campbell and Ellen Sandweiss to star in his 1978 short film Within the Woods, which acted as a promo for potential investors. The gimmick slowly but surely worked, and the film finally saw a worldwide release on October 15, 1981.

The plot was as straight-to-the-point as it gets; five college-aged friends (lead by Campbell in his soon-to-be iconic role as Ash Williams) travel to a remote Tennessee cabin for some down time. There they discover the Necronomicon, or Book of the Dead, and quickly unleash a fury of demonic evil that consumes each and everyone of them one by one.

What ensues is an onslaught of stop-motion animation and practical effects so unseen up until that point that even horror master Stephen King himself became an early supporter of the film. Viewers are transported into a harrowing reality that never lets up until its eventual blood-soaked conclusion.

While only a modest hit at the time of its release, The Evil Dead would eventually spawn a franchise that continues until this day. Two direct sequels, Evil Dead II: Dead by Dawn (1987) and Army of Darkness (1992) continued the storyline of Ash with Campbell as the face of the dead before a reboot/sequel simply titled Evil Dead revived the series in 2013. Since then, Campbell has since reclaimed his rightful throne with the more comedy-driven series Ash vs. Evil Dead from 2015-18 .

But no matter where the series goes from here, nothing will ever top the rush brought on from popping a copy of the original film in the VCR in a shroud of darkness and experiencing the sheer thrill of it all for the first time. Thankfully, I’ve managed to hold on to my personal copy on VHS since high school, and can still do just that at any given time.