Dir. Sébastien Vaniček · 2026 · 109 min · streaming on HBO Max
Evil Dead Burn is the newest entry in Sam Raimi's franchise, co-written by Vaniček and Florent Bernard. Souheila Yacoub plays Alice, and the story gathers a family around a funeral, which is exactly the sort of room the Deadites like to turn up in. Reviews describe a household that is already wounded before anything supernatural arrives. That is as far as this review goes.
It opened in cinemas in July 2026, reached digital in August, and landed on HBO Max on 2 October. Critics split on it more than the headline numbers suggest: around seven in ten reviews on Rotten Tomatoes are positive, while the weighted Metacritic average sits in the "mixed" middle.
It is the evilest "Evil Dead," and that feels right.
William Bibbiani, TheWrap
The craft gets the most praise. Slant's Rocco T. Thompson admires Vaniček's "tightly choreographed sequences of violence" and a camera that uses shuddery handheld work, whip pans and showy long takes. TheWrap points to the cinematography of Philip Lozano and to Yacoub's performance, and Critical Popcorn singles out both Yacoub and Tandi Wright as the household's antagonistic mother-in-law. IndieWire's Alison Foreman is the most enthusiastic of the lot, calling it a legacy sequel that expands what the franchise can do.
The gore is a selling point rather than a side effect. Reviewers consistently call this the most graphic and cruellest film in the series, and several point to practical effects as the main event.
The same reviews supply the complaints. Several find it relentless to the point of exhaustion, with little of the original films' slapstick. TheWrap notes anxious editing in the first act, and Critical Popcorn calls the editing jarring and the whole thing an endurance test. Slant is the clearest dissenter: it thinks the film starts as nasty fun, then turns into a meditation on gendered abuse that ends up "uncomfortably literal-minded". One critic quoted by Rotten Tomatoes also objects to an overuse of CGI.
Tap what applies. This is a rough guide built from what critics report, not a promise.
Pick any that fit.
Evil Dead Burn arrived on HBO Max on 2 October 2026 according to trade and entertainment coverage. Availability varies by country, and some regions carry HBO Max titles on a different service, so check your local listings. It is also out on digital and physical media.
Score: 3 out of 5. A well-made, deliberately punishing film with real admirers and real doubters. Go in knowing which camp you are likely to be in.