Sam Raimi keeps his Evil Dead brand alive with the standalone sequel Evil Dead Burn, which arrives in theaters this weekend. The film, which Raimi produced, has received mostly positive first reviews, claiming it’s a worthy addition to the franchise, albeit not as comical as some might hope. Fans of the Evil Dead movies are sure to enjoy the intense, gory mayhem despite any minimal complaints from nitpickers.
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Here’s what critics are saying about Evil Dead Burn.
Does it live up to the Evil Dead name?
Evil Dead Burn is another rock-solid entry in a series that has yet to produce a poor outing. – Joshua Mbonu, Geek Vibes Nation
It’s another nasty, simple, brutally effective piece of genre filmmaking that proudly carries on the Evil Dead’s demented baton. – Matt Oakes, Silver Screen Riot
Evil Dead Burn continues the very successful track record of…finding promising rising filmmakers and turning them loose in their gruelingly horrific world. – Michael Gingold, Fangoria
Evil Dead Burns drives in a bold new direction while feeling like a twisted thematic union of every era in Sam Raimi’s series. – Jordan Williams, Screen Rant
Vaniček doesn’t reinvent Evil Dead, but he does reinvent how an Evil Dead movie can feel. Whether or not that ultimately works for you, it’s the rare legacy sequel that expands the possibilities of its own franchise. – Alison Foreman, IndieWire
This movie could have been given a different title unassociated with the five movies that preceded it, and nobody would blink an eye or think that it was even in the same universe. – Allison Rose, FlickDirect
Despite all its best efforts, it doesn’t quite manage to match what has come before. – Kat Hughes, THN
How does it compare to previous installments?
Evil Dead Burn is easily the most graphic and violent of the series to date, which is really saying something. – Joey Magidson, Awards Radar
It might be the meanest of the bunch. But beneath all the arterial spray lies one of its richest thematic explorations. – Matt Oakes, Silver Screen Riot
It makes every Evil Dead film before it seem like Sunday school. – Rocco T. Thompson, Slant Magazine
Evil Dead Burn would make even Fede Álvarez’s Evil Dead remake blush…[it’s] the nastiest, most black-hearted Evil Dead by a nose, and detrimentally so in terms of being too distracted by intentions of cinematic malevolence. – Matt Donato, Daily Dead
Evil Dead Burn doesn’t bring that much new to the world of this franchise (or horror in general), but it’s so great at bringing its own full-throttle ferocity to the constant evolutions to these films that it cements itself as yet another sturdy entry. – Joshua Mbonu, Geek Vibes Nation
You could call this the John Wick of Evil Dead movies. – Michael Gingold, Fangoria
Is there enough gore to satisfy fans?
Evil Dead Burn somehow manages to keep up the already ridiculous standard of imaginative cruelty previously established…delivering some of the series’ grossest moments. – Matt Oakes, Silver Screen Riot
There is quite a bit of gore, and much of it is graphically disgusting. I wouldn’t be surprised if this movie used tens of thousands of gallons of blood, as it is prevalent in over 70% of the scenes. – Allison Rose, FlickDirect
Vaniček has said one particular gory bit had to be trimmed to avoid an NC-17, but I can’t imagine anything more extreme than what they got away with in the R-rated release version. – Michael Gingold, Fangoria
Fans of the last installment should be very satisfied with this gorefest, but those with uneasy stomachs need not apply. – Joey Magidson, Awards Radar
In terms of the sheer amount of wincing it evoked, Evil Dead Burn was one of the hardest films to watch that I’ve seen in a theater. – Jordan Williams, Screen Rant
The crazed carnage on display is at an all-time high. Berserk, horrific hijinks give way to a mean-spirited carnival of gnarly, uncompromising, and vomit-inducing gross outs. It’s one for the books. – Courtney Howard, Fresh Fiction
As for the violence that gore hounds and genre sickos everywhere crave from Evil Dead films, Burn more than delivers on every front…the stylish nature of Sébastien Vaniček’s direction pushes Evil Dead Burn to a true brink of depravity. – Joshua Mbonu, Geek Vibes Nation
A few of Vaniček’s choices read as sicko for sicko’s sake and are a mixed bag, ranging from jaw-droppingly despicable to a dealbreaker for certain horror fans. – Matt Donato, Daily Dead
If bloodier is better and nothing else matters, then this is the film for you. Everyone else should steer clear. – Julian Roman, MovieWeb
What if you’ve never seen an Evil Dead movie before?
While Evil Dead Burn does tie into the previous installment, Evil Dead Rise, you don’t need any context to appreciate what’s happening…diving into the previous films is not a requirement when it comes to enjoying Burn. – Jamie Jirak, The Mary Sue
You don’t have to watch the previous movie, but it would serve as a solid warm-up. – Karina Adelgaard, Heaven of Horror
Evil Dead Burn is not the type of film that is set to convert anyone who has not already bought into this series. – Josh Parham, Next Best Picture
How are the visual effects?
Evil Dead Burn should win the approval of those who favor practical effects, even if in this case that means watching someone’s face forced down into the contents of a gooey head cavity. – Owen Gleiberman, Variety
The tendency toward practical effects over CG is satisfying, highlighting makeup designer Jane O’Kane’s gnarly work. – David Rooney, The Hollywood Reporter
O’Kane’s grotesquely standout [makeup] work is complemented by visual effects supervised by Thierry Onillon, which are largely so good and so visceral that they mesh seamlessly with the prosthetics and deliver both genuine jolts and serious gross-outs. – Michael Gingold, Fangoria
One of Evil Dead Burn’s biggest offences is an overuse of CGI…[it] adds a little too much Hollywood gloss to a franchise birthed in the woods, preventing it from feeling like a fully fledged Evil Dead movie. – Kat Hughes, THN
The supernatural forces start to become a bit too CGI-centric compared to what you’d want out of an Evil Dead picture. – Joshua Mbonu, Geek Vibes Nation
Will fans of Sébastien Vaniček’s previous horror movie like this one?
All the energy, experimentation, and ruthlessness of Infested translate into a speedier, “dangerous but I like it” Evil Dead title. – Matt Donato, Daily Dead
Vaniček’s approach is agonizingly personal, which was evident in his breakout film, 2023’s Infested. – Rocco T. Thompson, Slant Magazine
Vaniček makes this very much its own flick, even within the long-running franchise. – Michael Gingold, Fangoria
Vanicek proves himself to be a dab hand at a set piece, and though there is nothing that comes close to the intensity of Infested’s bathroom scene, there are some fantastic moments. – Kat Hughes, THN
Is it all just nonstop violence?
It’s the Energizer Bunny of haunted-house interpretations…guaranteed to make you sweat from start to finish—there’s no quit in this one once it leaves the station. – Matt Donato, Daily Dead
Just like Sam Raimi’s original, Evil Dead Burn represents an enthusiastic up-and-coming filmmaker throwing everything he has at the screen. – Michael Gingold, Fangoria
The violence, while nonstop, remains aggressively “thematic,” as the bottled-up family tensions and angers come out in the form of gnashing, bashing, gouging, severing, impaling, dismembering. – Owen Gleiberman, Variety
One of the biggest pitfalls of embracing the New French Extremity movement is an overindulgence in depravity and nihilism, to the point where it becomes more exhausting than effective. Vaniček manages to strike a fine balance here. – Casey Chong, Fortress of Solitude
Just remember to breathe, because the pace of this movie does not leave much room for that! – Karina Adelgaard, Heaven of Horror
Does it lighten things up when needed?
In a movie this relentlessly nasty, the script’s small moments of levity are totally essential. – Matt Oakes, Silver Screen Riot
Burn [has] mostly leaned into the ruthless gore of it all, but [has] also intertwined a certain pitch-black humor with their intensity, which [it] balances on quite the tightrope in its second act. – Joshua Mbonu, Geek Vibes Nation
There are moments of dark humor, but only one gag involving Grandma’s motorized stairlift that could be called laugh-out-loud funny. – David Rooney, The Hollywood Reporter
Evil Dead Burn does have a few funny moments. Much of the comedy is left to Granny Price, and although it provides a welcome respite, it isn’t pushed enough to warrant its place amongst the carnage. – Kat Hughes, THN
Where Sam Raimi brings a more Three Stooges yuck-it-up-ness, Vaniček wants you to beg for mercy. – Matt Donato, Daily Dead
How is the script?
The screenplay once again proves that straightforward horror can nevertheless support rich thematic ideas without drowning in superfluous lore. – Matt Oakes, Silver Screen Riot
Vaniček and co-writer Florent Bernard deliver the goods with their mix of dark humor, oppressive discord, and perfectly calibrated, vile violence. – Courtney Howard, Fresh Fiction
The fact that the script by Vanicek and fellow Frenchman Florent Bernard offers almost nothing unfamiliar in narrative terms is probably immaterial, though the new standalone entry could have used a more firmly established chief agent of malice. – David Rooney, The Hollywood Reporter
The script is rather pedestrian besides a few well-placed jokes, but the direction is what makes the film worthwhile. – Allison Rose, FlickDirect
The script does fall a bit short, given its occasionally heady European influences, but it’s nothing that some well-depicted gore can’t paper over. – Joey Magidson, Awards Radar
Does this one have something new to say?
Evil Dead Burn centers around the idea of domestic abuse…and ultimately how silence begets complicity that allows abuse to fester, take root, and become integral to the home itself. – Matt Oakes, Silver Screen Riot
Along with the half-baked theme of women who have toughened up to survive abusive men, xenophobic distrust of strangers plays a part in the chilly vibe of Will’s parents toward Alice from the start. – David Rooney, The Hollywood Reporter
What begins as a nasty delight chronicling a noxious family quickly becomes a meditation on gendered abuse that, while well-intentioned, ends up feeling uncomfortably literal-minded. – Rocco T. Thompson, Slant Magazine
The story arc of Alice finding her voice, standing up for herself, and fighting back all works in the context of the story, it just feels too overdone to land with any impact. – Kat Hughes, THN
Does anyone in the cast stand out?
The lead performance from final girl Yacoub is impressive. – Katherine McLaughlin, SciFiNow
Erroll Shand is a standout in undead form, whose leathery, gruff-and-tumble patriarch is the earliest to turn, and he brings out the highest form of Deadite bastard. – Matt Donato, Daily Dead
Buchanan looks like she’s having the most fun, slipping into the Deadite decay with sadistic aplomb. – Courtney Howard, Fresh Fiction
There’s Maude Davey, whose delightfully senile grandmother repeatedly steals scenes with perfectly timed bits of dark comedy. – Matt Oakes, Silver Screen Riot
The true standout of the film is Maude Davey, who plays Polly, AKA Grandma…She provides some much-needed comic relief, and earns the majority of crowd reactions. – Jamie Jirak, The Mary Sue
Are there any major complaints about the sequel?
There’s something about the film’s mean streak that is a tad out of calibration. – Matt Donato, Daily Dead
I do wish that Sam Raimi, the inventor of the series (and still its producer), found a way to make it all mischievous again. – Owen Gleiberman, Variety
I missed the antic spirit, the wicked sense of mischief and the straight-up goofy comedy that defined Raimi’s originals. – David Rooney, The Hollywood Reporter
Evil Dead Burn is dark in tone, but it’s also dark as in… hard to see. The lighting in the second half of the film is sparse and makes us wonder if the cinematographer and gaffer ever spoke to each other. – Jamie Jirak, The Mary Sue
Evil Dead Burn eventually succumbs to feeling a little repetitive. The final act seems to go on forever, and just when you think it is over, a whole new component reveals itself. – Kat Hughes, THN
Evil Dead Burn is in theaters on July 10, 2026. Buy tickets on Fandango.
