Evil Dead Burn (2026) Review – Deadites are Back in Gross-Out Splatter-Horror

Welcome to Knockout Horror. Today we are reviewing the latest entry into the Evil Dead franchise Evil Dead Burn (2026). This movie is currently in the middle of a pretty successful cinema run and if you enjoy splatter horror, you might want to book a ticket. Let’s take a look.

The Deadites Return

It’s kind of insane that Sam Raimi’s Evil Dead series is still seeing new entries 45 years after the first film released. That’s a pretty impressive accomplishment and, as someone who grew up in the 90s, it’s almost a little strange to see. The Deadites went on a decades long hiatus after the 1992 release of Army of Darkness.

“Bruce Campbell became a horror icon and the perfect ambassador for Evil Dead in the decades absent of new movies to speak of.”

That film was considered to be a big step down from the titles that preceded it but has since gone on to become a huge cult hit. I remember watching it with a friend, in the late 90s, thoroughly expecting to be disappointed but actually loving every second. It’s the film that features Ash in his most Ash form, if you get what I mean. Wise cracking and whupping ass.

Indeed, the sheer fact that we are talking about a brand new Evil Dead film in 2026 likely has something to do with Ash actor Bruce Campbell never allowing the series to fully evaporate into the horror ether. Campbell wrote books about the movies, took part in interviews where he constantly referenced Ash, appeared at conventions, and narrated documentaries.

Campbell became a horror icon and the perfect ambassador for Evil Dead in the decades absent of new movies to speak of. In 2013, Fede Alvarez rebooted the series and it has been full throttle ever since with video games, books, comics, a number of movies, and even a television series. Hell, there’s even a new title already in the works with Francis Galluppi’s Evil Dead Wrath in development as we speak.

Evil Dead without the Boomstick

So, full disclosure here, I actually haven’t watched the 2013 Evil Dead reboot and I also completely missed Evil Dead Rise. I know, as a horror reviewer that’s pretty irresponsible of me but there was something about an Evil Dead experience, sans Ash, that really didn’t interest me. In fact, as it stands, I have only ever reviewed Evil Dead 2 on this site.

As you can probably guess, Evil Dead Burn does not feature the charms of Ash outside of a few photos that are more of an Easter egg for longtime fans of the series rather than anything meaningful. The story follows Alice (Souheila Yacoub), a young woman attempting to come to terms with the loss of her husband after a tumultuous marriage.

Alice spends time with her in-laws after her husband’s funeral. What starts as a rather awkward reconnecting with people she thoroughly believes don’t like her very much, quickly turns into a nightmare as an ancient curse begins transforming them into Deadites.

This is my first experience of Evil Dead without Ash and his trusty boomstick and chainsaw. So, how did I find it?

It starts off slow… Too slow!

Evil Dead is so beloved because, in its rawest form, it’s pure, unadulterated slapstick, splatter-horror carnage. As you can probably see, the synopsis above isn’t exactly conducive to laughs and silliness. Evil Dead Burn’s plot is pretty heavy and goes to some places ill-fitting of the medium.

“I wouldn’t blame anyone for wondering when things are going to get going, especially if they are fans of the original films.”

Alice’s story is built on a platform of grief and, being perfectly honest, it spends far too long examining this subject.

In fact, it’s going to be about 40 minutes before the action starts in earnest. The majority of this time is spent showing each of the family’s very specific responses to the death of their son, brother, grandson etc.

The strange thing is, despite this keen focus on the loss of a loved one, the story feels very surface deep. It isn’t well developed or all that interesting. The reason this entire event takes place is about as pointless and poorly thought out as it gets.

I wouldn’t blame anyone for wondering when things are going to get going, especially if they are fans of the original films. Linda was already a Deadite in Evil Dead 2 by the time we meet the protagonist of this film.

It is seriously gross out

That long wait is surprising, too, because the opening scene tantalises with a pair of seriously brutal kills, reintroducing us to Deadite Jessica from Evil Dead Rise. It’s a brittle thread to connect the two stories but they are suitably gory and pretty damn wince inducing so we can allow it.

“When Evil Dead Burn is doing its best impression of the original films and ignoring its narrative threads, it is a hell of a lot of fun.”

The death that follows is less so. This will become a bit of a pattern.

Director Sébastien Vanicek has seemingly chosen to alternate on-screen brutality with off screen deaths that are more about using your imagination. Splatter horror is a very visual style so it’s probably a good thing that some of the violence here is particularly nasty. The unkillable nature of the Deadites means chunks can be blown off of them only for them to come right back to life moments later.

It’s not so much the kills that are going to make you want to turn away from the screen, though. It’s the gross out nature of the visuals. Vanicek has dug deep into the bag of disgusting bodily fluids and utterly stomach turning exchanges of saliva and viscera to really keep you on your toes.

Some of the scenes had me covering my eyes thanks to a rather delicate constitution that may or may not have been the result of a bit too much whisky the night before. One scene featuring the oral exchange of a set of false teeth inspired a level of disgust in me that I haven’t felt in quite a while.

Evil Dead Burn is nasty and those of you looking to be grossed out, either by blood or other bodily fluids, are going to have a lot of fun. Certain scenes are seriously visceral and the special effects are, for the most part, utterly fantastic.

There’s minimal plot armour for characters here, too, as the Deadites are not a prejudiced bunch when it comes to who gets the curse. Expect a high kill count. When Evil Dead Burn is doing its best impression of the original films and ignoring its narrative threads, it is a hell of a lot of fun.

Where it doesn’t work so well…

The moments where Evil Dead Burn doesn’t work so well are when Vanicek tries to develop the story and then goes back to the same well one too many times with diminished returns.

“It’s best to look at it as a gross-out, gory monster movie first and a film bearing the Evil Dead name second.”

The film develops a very predictable pattern early on and it’s easy to see certain story beats coming. It can feel a bit silly in a way that doesn’t fit with the vibe, on occasions, too.

There are certain scenes where one Deadite will step away from the action for a little to allow another to take centre stage and these are almost always handled very clumsily.

One takes itself out for about twenty minutes using a handgun and it just feels stupid and nonsensical; another was handily dealt with using just a Stannah chairlift. That scene ties into some of the fleeting moments of comedy dotted vacantly throughout the film which might inspire a chuckle but do feel just a tad out of place due to never being fully leaned into.

Characters are a bit of a problem, too. There’s been some attempt to give the family members specific traits to define them, but it feels like a bit of a pointless waste of runtime when they simply turn into monsters completely predisposed to one task – mayhem.

The fantastic Tandi Wright stands out, though, as she manages to flesh out her character tremendously just through stellar line delivery. I absolutely loved Luciane Buchanan, as Thya, too.

A facsimile femme fatale and an unwelcome finale

In my opinion, as a huge fan of horror femme fatales, Alice is a pretty uninspired lead. She’s not particularly charismatic, more just mentally damaged, and it feels like the movie is begging for that as a counter to the carnage.

Souheila Yacoub does do a great job with the physical stuff, but it feels like Alice is a less interesting facsimile of Ready or Not’s Grace.

Camera work is… interesting. There’s been a huge attempt to replicate some of the original film’s trademark frantic filming style but the results are mixed. Sometimes a few shots will give fans of the series the warm and fuzzies while other times it just feels too chaotic and spasmodic.

Vanicek seems to enjoy having his characters literally dead-centre of the shot, too. He showed a bit of a propensity for geometric symmetry in Infested (2023) and that continues here. A nod to Raimi’s own style, perhaps, but it starts to feel a bit uninspired after awhile.

The finale is pretty terrible, too. Vanicek has opted for some utterly terrible CGI that looks simply awful. It’s really hard to watch those closing moments without wondering why the movie didn’t end fifteen minutes ago.

All in all, if you are looking for some ridiculous splatter-horror carnage, Evil Dead Burn is a good option. As a movie that feels earnestly like an Evil Dead successor, I’m not so sure. It’s best to look at it as a gross-out, gory monster movie first and a film bearing the Evil Dead name second because you could change the Deadites to something else and it would make no difference to the vibe.

Our Scoring Philosophy: A Fair Fight

Horror is a genre that thrives thanks to indie film makers and low budget creators. At Knockout Horror, we firmly believe that every movie that we review deserves a fair fight. That's why we grade on a curve. Our star ratings are all about context, judging a film on what it achieves with the resources it has.

A 4-star rating for a scrappy indie horror made for $10,000 is a testament to its ingenuity and raw power. A 4-star rating for a $100 million blockbuster means it delivered on its epic promises. We don't compare them side-by-side; we celebrate success in every weight class, from the back-alley brawler to the heavyweight champion. Please keep this in mind when considering star ratings.