Get ready to return to the terrifying world of Deadites with Evil Dead Burn, the latest installment in Sam Raimi's iconic horror franchise. Directed by Sébastien Vaniček (Infested), this film promises to be the goriest yet, but before it hits theaters, the stars are spilling secrets about their characters that you won't see on screen.
In an exclusive interview with Collider's Perri Nemiroff, stars Luciane Buchanan (The Night Agent), Hunter Doohan (Wednesday), and Souheila Yacoub (Dune: Part Two) dive into the hidden backstories that shaped their performances. The film follows Alice (Yacoub), a woman grieving her husband's death, who stays with his in-laws, including his younger brother Joseph (Doohan) and his girlfriend Thya (Buchanan). What starts as a mourning family gathering quickly turns into a hellish nightmare when Alice uncovers a dark family secret.
The Secret Backstories That Didn't Make the Cut
Vaniček provided the cast with extensive character backgrounds, including a two-page PDF for each actor. Buchanan revealed that the director even detailed how Joseph and Thya met: Joseph was donating blood and fainted, and Thya, feeling sorry for him, struck up a conversation. "Which is so Joseph," Doohan laughed. "No one ever mentions it, but you're like, 'Yeah, I'd believe that. That guy's a fainter.'"
Doohan also shared that the audition packet included YouTube links to videos of bugs for Deadite inspiration. "There was this beetle upside down that was, like… its body keeps moving after it's dead for, like, a minute," he said. Buchanan added that the twitching bug was a key reference for the Deadite movements.
Yacoub, who didn't receive a PDF, worked closely with Vaniček and co-writer Florent Bernard in Paris to build her character Alice. They discussed everything from hair color to wardrobe, aiming to subvert the typical portrayal of Parisian women in American films. "We wanted to show something else that Paris can offer, also physically different," she explained.
Co-Star Performances That Blew Them Away
The cast also took time to praise their fellow actors. Yacoub highlighted George Pullar, who plays her on-screen husband, for his intense performance in a club scene. "What he delivers in the club scene is insane," she said. "He was just owning the scene, and we were reacting to what he was doing."
Doohan singled out Tandi Wright, who plays his mother Polly. "She's so amazing, and it all comes through in the scene," he said. "Even the moment when Polly finally says her name, you can just read every emotion. She kind of made all of us step up to her."
For fans of the franchise, Evil Dead Burn promises to deliver the gruesome thrills they crave, with a deeper emotional layer thanks to these hidden backstories. As Doohan put it, "There are so many little things" that inform the performances, making this a must-see for horror enthusiasts.
For more on the cast's insights, check out our coverage of Maximum Pleasure Guaranteed Stars Dive Into Episode 9's Wild Pool Confrontation and Demon Slayer Infinity Castle Hits Crunchyroll This Month.
