If there was a competition to find new and weird ways to brutally mutilate and torture humans on the cinema screen, ‘Evil Dead Burn’ would surely win the gold medal. Within minutes of the film starting, body parts start flying through the air, bones crack, flesh rips and so much blood spills onto the screen that an entire blood bank is depleted. But here’s the problem – after an hour of watching such gruesome carnage, you stop being afraid or shuddering. The mind goes numb and you wait for the devastation to end.

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The original mood of the franchise was forgotten

The films in the ‘Evil Dead’ franchise have never been very subtle or stealthy. This was the USP of Sam Raimi’s cult classic films—extreme gore, foul-mouthed evil spirits, and above all, a brilliant dark humor. In earlier films, when someone was cut in two with chains, there was entertainment in the craziness. Both the producers and the audience knew it was a fun scary ride. Sadly, Evil Dead Burn, directed by Sebastien Waniak, has lost all that humor.

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Weak mythology and scattered story

The story of the film revolves around Alice (Sohela Yakub). She is a grieving widow who is reluctant to visit her late husband’s family in their abandoned ancestral home. Following the clichéd formula of horror movies, there’s a mysterious attic, a house with a terrifying past, characters with their own secrets, and then as expected, everyone starts dying in gruesome ways.

The biggest strength of this franchise has been its unique ‘mythos’ (history of ghosts and evils), which is completely ignored here, much to the chagrin of the audience. The film fails to explain why and how these demonic forces or ‘deadites’ were called back. The producers are assuming that the audience will accept this chaos without knowing the reason.

Extreme carnage, but terrible disappearance

Technically nothing has been left out in the film. Every subsequent scene has been tried to be more terrifying than the previous one. If one deadite is crushing someone’s face, the other is tearing someone’s body apart in ways you can’t even imagine. Everyday household items become murder weapons. For those who are pure fans of ‘slasher’ or ‘gore’ cinema, this may be heaven, but for the general audience it becomes a headache and tiring experience.

The problem is not the violence of the film, rather this violence has become the entire identity of this film. Whenever the screenplay tries to touch on emotional aspects like grief, guilt or broken family relationships, one or the other character is possessed by an evil spirit and a massacre ensues.

Lack of performance and weight loss

Lead actress Sohela Yakub has tried her best to bring some humanity and emotion to her character in this bloody game. But most of the time she looks shocked at the carnage going on around her. When the script is more interested in eye-popping scenes on screen than developing characters, what can an actor do?

This time the villains of the film i.e. ‘Deadites’ also seem incomplete. The monsters in this franchise have always been scary, but also a bit quirky, dramatic, and delightfully cruel. But in ‘Evil Dead Burn’ they are reduced to screaming killing machines. That memorable villainous persona is missing in him. The result is that after a while, every murder starts to look the same, the shock value is lost and no emotional connection can be made.

The visual and practical effects are amazing

It’s not that the film is completely bad. The film is at its best when it ditches the forced horror and builds up a bit of thrill. An action sequence involving a car brings surprising tension and speed to the story. Director Waniek has shot some amazing ‘long takes’ (long scenes without cuts) that showcase his visual prowess. The camera moves confidently through the blood-soaked corridors, hinting that a great horror film lurks behind the carnage, suppressed by the script.

Also, in this day and age where computer graphics (CGI) are used everywhere, the amazing and hideous combination of old-school ‘practical effects’ and make-up shown in this film is worthy of appreciation.

‘Evil Dead Burn’ will definitely give you at least three-four new horrors related to everyday household items. But buried under flowing rivers of fake blood and endless body horror, the film forgets the franchise’s most fundamental lesson—just being disgusting doesn’t make it entertaining.

Rating: 2/5 stars