After the successful reboot of Evil Dead back in 2013 it would be a further 10 years before another film was made and Sami Raimi’s curating of a beloved and blood drenched franchise saw him look to new directors. His attention was caught by director Sebastien Vanicek and his film ‘Infested’ that was suitably gnarly to make him ideal to helm an Evil Dead film. After pitching an idea to Raimi and producer Robert Tapert he began work with co-writer Florent Bernard on what would be the sixth film in the franchise with titled Evil Dead Burn 4K UHD and Blu-ray that is now released on 4K UHD and Blu-ray.
The film is set after the loss of her husband, Alice (Souheila Yacoub) who seeks solace with her in-laws in their secluded family home. But one by one they are transformed into Deadites, turning the gathering into a family reunion from Hell, she comes to discover that the vows she took in life… live on even in death.
Vanicek relished the opportunity and the film in keeping with its predecessors doesn’t let up on the gore, grime and gruesomeness of the many visceral effects. It makes for a relentlessly gory film with little relief which was always the directors intention but it does make for an exhausting viewing experience. But there are several astonishing set pieces most notably one shot inside the confines of a car that sees a head rest used to brutal effect. There’s also a scene where a characters head is bludgeoned with a dishwasher door that caused the director endless problems with the censors and was perhaps understandably significantly trimmed.
But most impressive are a number of one shots that are quite brilliantly orchestrated which includes a scene in the bathroom where a character is pushed up the wall and across the ceiling as she is brutalized by a Deadite. But best of all is the shot that was used in the films first trailer that sees a character scrabbling around the floor of the house desperately looking for a safe place whilst in the background a Deadite wreaks havoc hurling a family member around crashing through furniture. It’s brilliantly orchestrated and it rightly makes up the best of the bonus features which include:
Evil Dead Burn 4K UHD and Blu-ray special features:
The Hot Shot: Evil Dead Burn’s One-Shot Sequence
Evil Dead: Blazing the Trail
This One’s Gonna Burn
But there’s far more to this 4K UHD which has been lavished with further extras that includes a book of the films production notes which makes for an interesting behind the scenes read, a book of storyboards, posters and a set of art cards.
Evil Dead Burns didn’t perform as well as its predecessor Evil Dead Rise that Irish director Lee Cronin helmed and perhaps its weakness lies in the sheer relentlessness of the gore, a cast that were there to be killed off and a few too many call backs but it’s still something of roller coaster ride that somewhat ironically hides it’s brutality behind a beautifully presented blood red package.
related feature : Evil Dead Burn: Director & cast introduce the new horror film and share Behind-the-Scenes
related feature : Evil Dead Burn – reviewed
Here’s the trailer……
