‘Evil Dead Burn’ Review: The Gonzo Comedy Is Gone, but the Series’ Sixth Entry Is an Effective Piece of Gross-Out Guignol

Much as you may long for the lost prankishness, the evil dead spirit is alive.

By Owen Gleiberman

Owen Gleiberman

Chief Film Critic

Latest

• ‘Moana’ Review: The First Disney Live-Action Remake That Works 100% 1 hour ago
• Hollywood Movies Have Always Been About America. On the 250th July 4, Are They Still? 4 days ago
• ‘House of Criticism’ Review: A Pensive and Touching Portrait of Married Art Critics Jerry Saltz and Roberta Smith (It Is Only, at Moments, a True-Life Christopher Guest Movie) 2 weeks ago

The original “Evil Dead” films were pivotal in the creation of the multiplex gore matrix. Yet there was a lightness to them; the second one, “Evil Dead II” (1987), was even a kind of gonzo comedy. (The very phrase “evil dead” was a joke, a knowing redundancy.) But there’s nothing light, or funny, about “Evil Dead Burn.” The third movie in the series since its 2013 reboot (and the sixth entry in the franchise overall), it’s a stand-alone drama of family rancor and family demons — at times, it suggests a Eugene O’Neill play staged by Herschell Gordon Lewis. But on those terms it’s an effective piece of gross-out guignol.  

Related Stories

'Criminal Minds' Star Paget Brewster Tells TV Journalist to 'Work at a Shelter' After Mixed Review, Sparking Outrage From Other Critics