Sébastien Vaniček's entry into the Evil Dead franchise isn't shy about its ambitions: it wants you queasy, and it largely succeeds. As the sixth installment in Sam Raimi's 1981-born horror lineage, picking up loosely from 2023's Evil Dead Rise, this one leans hard into the series' signature — extreme, tactile violence delivered with such precision you feel it in your gut rather than just watch it on screen.

The Setup

Alice (Souheila Yacoub) marries into a family carrying more secrets than she bargained for. When her husband dies, the in-laws Susan, Edgar, grandmother Polly, brother-in-law Joseph, and his girlfriend Thya all reconvene at the family house after the funeral. Naturally, it's exactly the kind of house that draws the attention of the franchise's demonic Deadites.

The Slow Burn Before the Burn

Vaniček and co-writer Florent Bernard take their time getting the story moving. The first act is heavier on family tension than horror, and the characters whether cast as protagonists or eventual monster-fodder never quite become people you're rooting for or against. It's competent table-setting, but it drags a bit before the film finds its teeth.

Then It Doesn't Stop

Once the chaos kicks in, though, Evil Dead Burn commits fully. The practical effects are genuinely excellent, matched by sound design that does most of the heavy lifting in making the violence feel immersive rather than cartoonish. The camera work deserves credit too long, dynamic takes that put you inside the house's chaos, with foreground and background action layered so densely it borders on sensory overload. The house itself becomes a character, explored corner to corner, wall to wall.

Performances

Erroll Shand and Souheila Yacoub stand out among the cast, though nobody here reaches the iconic heights of Bruce Campbell's Ash or Alyssa Sutherland's Ellie from prior entries. This is a film driven by spectacle and gore rather than character work which is fine, given what it's selling, but it does mean the emotional stakes never quite land as hard as the physical ones.

Verdict

Uneven pacing and thin characters aside, Evil Dead Burn delivers exactly what franchise fans show up for: relentless, inventive, stomach-churning horror wrapped around just enough mythology to feel like a meaningful chapter. Stick around through the credits there's more waiting on the other side. In theaters July 10, 2026.

You can grab tickets directly here: AMC's official page