Evil Dead Burn came out last month and hit VOD earlier in August. During its theatrical run, the film sparked discussion amongst fans about its tone—namely, whether the more recent films have been too dark for their own good and not hitting the same type of humor as the earlier ones.
You can count Bruce Campbell among those who feel that way. In a recent Men’s Journal interview, he talked about wanting the films to get funnier and incorporate more humor. “I personally have a problem with that. The three films have been mostly humorless. A little more humor wouldn’t kill you,” he said of Burn and its predecessors, Evil Dead Rise and the 2013 remake.
Burn and the remake deal with heavy material— respectively, a domestic abuse survivor ostracized and terrorized by her late husband’s family (before and after the demonic takeover) and a young woman recovering from drug addiction, neither of which easily allow for jokes like in the original movies or Campbell’s own Ash vs. Evil Dead. To that, he argued that these new films shouldn’t get get “too grim. You can be scary without doing that.”
Campbell’s been an executive producer of (and cameoed in) the newer movies and the upcoming Evil Dead Wrath. That one he’s confident about being “good,” but as to whether or not it’s got the type of humor he and other fans want, we’ll have to wait until 2027 or later before we know for sure. Until then, let us know your thoughts on Evil Dead’s perceived humor problem in the comments below.
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