In a world where AI-generated parrots garner over a million followers on social media, it feels good when a classic horror franchise doubles down on its use of practical effects.
Right from Day 1, the Evil Dead films have given us tactile, ooey-gooey Deadites and buckets of slimy blood, a trend that’s thankfully continued with the most recent instalment, Evil Dead Burn.
While the film isn’t strictly practical (digital has its place, after all, in the age of technology), the creative team remained committed to using as many ‘in-camera’ effects as possible, giving audiences what they have come to expect from the franchise.
I had the opportunity to ask Brendon Durey, Special Effects Supervisor for Evil Dead Burn, a few questions about creating the film’s ultra-violent sequences.
Durey is no stranger to the Evil Dead Universe, having also served as the SFX Supervisor on Evil Dead Rise. Let’s get into it.
Q: Are you a fan of the Evil Dead series?
Durey: “I have vivid memories of watching Evil Dead 2 back in the ’80s on VHS at boarding school with a room full of 15-year-old boys… It was a type of gratuitous horror that none of us had really experienced before – we’d mostly grown up with more psychological horror films like The Omen, The Amityville Horror and Poltergeist.
Because of that, Evil Dead 2 will always have a special place in my mind. It was the original Evil Dead experience for me.
I also really liked Lee Cronin’s script for Evil Dead Rise. I thought taking the same premise and setting it in a high-rise urban environment was a great twist, and I enjoyed working on some of the practical gags, like the blood elevator filling up and dumping into the lobby.”
Q: Evil Dead is known for its practical effects. Was it important to preserve this in Burn as well?
Durey: “As long as I’ve been involved with these films, there’s always been an effort to achieve as much as possible practically and in-camera, only using visual effects in post-production where they’re genuinely needed.
Evil Dead Burn was no different. The philosophy has always been to capture as much of the horror physically as possible, because that’s what gives these films their impact.”
Q: How did you aim to approach the Evil Dead Burn kills, knowing each one would become part of such a much-loved franchise?
Durey: “I have a process that I go through with directors that I call ‘expectation management’. It’s easy to write or storyboard an effects sequence, but often the writer or director hasn’t actually seen or executed that particular effect before. On the page, you’re not limited by real-world physics, gravity or momentum.
Our job is to build and test what the director has imagined so everyone can see how it behaves in reality. Quite often, things happen that the director didn’t anticipate, and that’s where the collaboration begins. Together we work through how the kill will actually play on camera rather than how it exists in the imagination.
From there, we continue testing, refining and making adjustments until we’ve fine-tuned the effect so that, when we get to the shoot day, we’re as close as possible to the director’s vision.”
Q: What was the mood on set like while filming such an intense movie?
Durey: “Generally, the mood on set is led from the top – from the director’s chair, and Sébastien (Vaniček) brought a particular intensity to the violent and brutal sequences. He had a very clear vision for how he wanted to convey pain and impact, often through short, sharp shots that really emphasised the violence.
Outside of those moments, though, it was the usual ebb and flow of filmmaking. During lighting setups and technical resets, the creative teams had time to consult, troubleshoot and plan the next nightmare.
Q: Burn is being described as the Evil Dead with the least amount of blood. What are you giving us instead?
Durey: “Sebastien’s focus was definitely a little different from the traditional Evil Dead bloodbath. During filming, he was more interested in creating intense, sharp and shocking moments of violence rather than simply filling the screen with fountains of blood.
That’s not to say there’s no blood – there’s still plenty where it’s needed – but the emphasis was on making every violent moment feel impactful.”
Q: Which effect was your favourite in Evil Dead Burn? Do you have a favourite kill?
Durey: “While it’s not technically a death, the SPFX team spent a huge amount of time perfecting the slow-motion shot of Edgar shooting himself in the head.
We used the famous slow-motion head shot from Fight Club as inspiration. We mounted an air feed with smoke and an LED flash inside the gun barrel, both controlled with programmable microsecond timings so the muzzle flash and the air blast expanded the cheeks at exactly the right moment.
That was then synchronised with a pneumatic blast of blood, brains and gore from the back of the head. It was an incredibly technical effect, but one we were really pleased with.
As for a favourite kill, I really enjoyed boiling the guy in the lake. That presented its own challenges, particularly getting the smoke to travel through the bubbles beneath the water, but solving those kinds of problems is one of the things that makes practical effects so rewarding.”
Final Thoughts
While the tone of the Evil Dead films has shifted over time (and with directors), the behind-the-scenes commitment to practical effects keeps us coming back for more, even decades later.
A huge thank you to Brendon Durey for taking time out of his schedule to answer my questions, and to Tamar Münch from The Public Good for making it all happen!
All behind-the-scenes photos taken by and copyright to Matt Klitscher / (c) 2025 EDB Limited