Is Evil Dead Rise Connected To Evil Dead Burn?
Originally announced as a stand-alone Evil Dead movie, during the marketing campaign for Evil Dead Burn, it became very apparent to fans that it was more connected than first thought.
Director Sébastien Vanicek and actor Hunter Doohan have both teased that the film will fit into the wider Evil Dead series, but how?
The plot sees a bereaved wife, Alice, reunite with her estranged in-laws for her deceased husband’s memorial, only to have the Deadites arrive and cause carnage. With no familiar franchise faces amongst the main cast, fans have been desperate to know how Evil Dead Burn connects to the other movies, especially Evil Dead Rise. Having seen Evil Dead Burn, JustWatch has all the answers.
For those wishing to go into the film blind, be warned, big Evil Dead Burn spoilers lie ahead!
Evil Dead Rise's Jessica Is Back - And Causing Havoc
Although not a main character in Evil Dead Rise, Jessica will be familiar to fans. She is seen at both the beginning and end of Rise, and the one who levitates during that epic title card reveal. After her cold open in Rise, the events rewind and join DJ Beth as she visits her sister Ellie and her kids who live in an apartment building. After the Deadites are summoned, a bloody battle ensues. Believing that she has vanquished everything, a blood-soaked Beth and niece Kassie leave the building.
Oblivious to the chaos, fellow building resident Jessica then heads to her car for a weekend at the lake. As she gets into the car, she hears a noise, and after investigating it, is attacked by an unseen threat. This circles beautifully back to the opening, in which a sick Jessica scalps her cousin and murders her friends. Evil Dead Burn continues the story after her lake levitation, with her dispatching a couple of fishermen before walking to the road. There she waits until nightfall before eventually stepping out in front of an oncoming car.
Alice’s husband, Will, is driving the car, and so his death is Deadite-induced, the entity needing Will dead so that they can follow him back to his family with whom they have history. Interestingly, this means that the Deadite outbreak in Burn is the one that began in Rise.
How Evil Dead Burn Fits In With Evil Dead and The Evil Dead
While many expected a connection between Evil Dead Burn and Evil Dead Rise, most assumed that the original and remake would be forgotten. That, thankfully, is not the case. In addition to some fun Easter eggs, such as a muddy pair of boots that are a clear nod to the remake, and the obvious inclusion of a chainsaw, Burn has much deeper roots.
Will’s younger brother Joseph is writing a book based on his grandfather's research. This upsets his mother, Susan, who insists that he throw away all traces of the man who abandoned her. Among this ‘trash’ is a detailed diary that not only features newspaper clippings referencing the events of the 2013 remake and the devastation caused in Rise, but also mentions events in 1983. Most specifically, that he tried to warn those kids in the cabin. The Evil Dead premiered in 1981, but it took until 1983 for it to get a wider US release, so this date stamp works in the franchise canon. Although no one turns up in person to warn Ash, there is the archaeologist's tape recording. Could Joseph's grandfather be Raymond Knowby?
The Kandarian Dagger is also back for Burn, a weapon last seen in the film world during The Evil Dead II, although it was a primary method of attack in the Ash Vs Evil Dead series. In Burn, it is this item that has drawn the Deadites to Alice’s in-laws, the family being the last known guardians of the artefact.
The Biggest Connection To Evil Dead Rise Comes During the End Credits
For the most direct connection to Evil Dead Burn, you have to sit all the way through the end credits, during which there are two stings. The first reveals Polly's fate, who has crawled out of harm’s way. As a young woman stops to offer her assistance, it becomes clear that she is to become the next Deadite, meaning that the wave begun in Evil Dead Rise with Danny’s accidental summoning is not over yet.
The second sequence begins right at the end of the credits, and finds the viewer back at the crematorium that held Will’s funeral. The funeral director returns to work accompanied by her daughter. After the earlier death of one of her staff, she must now look to fill the vacancy, and is not happy about the new task. She steps out, leaving her daughter in a room surrounded by uncollected urns. The girl begins reading the names on the urns, one of which reads ‘Ellie’. A noise is then heard, and as she glances into a mirror, there is Rise’s lead Deadite, Ellie.
Ellie then springs forth from the mirror, kills the funeral director’s daughter, before proclaiming that "Mummy is back!" This is how Burns ends, with the return of the primary antagonist from Rise. With the next instalment, Evil Dead Wrath, confirmed to be a prequel to the original The Evil Dead, it looks like it’ll be a little while before we see the full pay-off of Ellie’s return, but it certainly points to an exciting future.
