Whereas the OG Evil Dead trilogy is best remembered for its comedic, tongue-in-cheek slapstick stylings, the Evil Dead reboot films of recent years have gone in a completely different direction, eschewing levity and laughs in exchange for pure blood-soaked carnage. Whether that is a good thing or not wholly depends on your horror sensibilities, but even fans who like their scary movies to be gnarly as hell may struggle to stomach the latest, Evil Dead Burn, which pushes the boundaries of taste more than any of its predecessors.

Director Sébastien Vaniček (Infested) takes the reins for this latest installment, which returns the Deadites to their traditional haunt of an isolated house in the woods (following Evil Dead Rise‘s detour into urban L.A). The setting this time is a family wake, where recently bereaved Alice (Souheila Yacoub) and her late husband’s family gather to mourn, only to come up against demonic factions of Deadites intent on tormenting and torturing their entire brood. Cue buckets of blood, multiple mutilations and incredibly visceral body horror, as characters are sliced, carved and violated in all kinds of ways imaginable.

Whether it’s the goriest film in the series or not is hard to judge, considering the bloodbaths of previous entries, but Evil Dead Burn certainly dials up the cruelty to a level that those who came before never quite hit. What Vaniček conjures up is nothing short of a nihilistic orgy, laden with torture, gore and body horror, from fingers being sliced off to ears being punctured with pens (and those are probably the tamest gags herein). The film is relentlessly nasty, and mean-spirited in terms of the depths it plumbs, and no character gets out unscathed (including, remarkably, the family dog – an instant litmus test for how far audiences are willing to stick with the film and its unyieldingly spiteful streak).

It’s entertaining enough, if you can wince through the pain and misery depicted on screen, and the film is certainly enlivened by some incredible camera work and cinematography, especially once the carnage kicks off in full. The cast sell the horror incredibly well, and the underlying tensions between certain characters explode in all manner of involving ways that only serve to further push the audience to breaking point. Our leading lady, Alice, is an incredibly sympathetic and interesting character, brilliantly portrayed by Souheila Yacoub, who shines throughout, but especially in her scenes with antagonistic mother-in-law Susan (played to icy perfection by Tandi Wright).

The pace is what ultimately lets the film down. Evil Dead Burn hits the ground running with a disturbing and kinetic opening scene, and from there it never stops to take a breath, much to its detriment. A few quieter moments dotted throughout would go a long way in fleshing out the characters and to allow the dread to slowly soak into proceedings, but instead veers from set-piece to set-piece at breakneck speed with little build-up, resulting in an exhausting viewing experience. The schizophrenic editing doesn’t help matters, with frantic, almost clumsy jump cuts proving to be more of a distraction than anything else, despite the occasionally creative visual transition.

Basking in nihilism and soaked in misery, Evil Dead Burn is less of a film and more of endurance test for much of its run-time, largely thanks to its unrelenting story and uneven editing. These faults aside, the film certainly delivers the goods for gorehounds, though whether it has much else to offer in terms of entertainment for the more casual audience members is questionable at best.

Evil Dead Burn is in UK and Irish cinemas