Sam Raimi’s trilogy-capper leaves the claustrophobia of the cabin-in-the-woods setting behind and musters all the action that can possibly be thrown at Bruce Campbell on triple the second movie’s budget as he forces him into medieval castles and battles with entire armies, pushing the story into more of a fantasy vibe that some people really appreciated, while also fleshing out Ash and giving Campbell’s natural charisma more room to shine as he embraces his character’s innate arrogance and penchant for one-liners.
But since we’re ranking the movies today, we would say that Army of Darkness is far too goofy for some, and in this case, “some” includes us. We do prefer the scarier entries over Army’s strong slapstick approach, and though we appreciate Raimi’s attempt at broader comedy and Ash as a goofy action hero here, a more grounded Ash is a better Ash, in our humble opinion.
5. Evil Dead Burn
Mainstream audiences still aren’t ready for New French Extremity horror, even in the rather watered-down approach of Sébastien Vaniček and Florent Bernard’s Evil Dead Burn. 2026’s franchise entry was immediately labeled meaner, nastier, and more brutal than the other Evil Dead movies, but after the horrors of Evil Dead and Evil Dead Rise, we would say that’s quite an accomplishment, really.
Out of all the Evil Dead movies to date, Burn arguably pushed the horror envelope the farthest, and while that absolutely delighted the sickos amongst us (including your writer), many fans simply just did not care for the colder, more European approach in this one, which finds a woman on the verge of a divorce also having to deal with her husband’s possessed family after he’s transformed into a Deadite. One particular scene, in which a loyal family dog is stabbed repeatedly in the face at the dinner table, even created a point of no return for some who walked out of the theater in disgust.
Burn may find more fans over time, but right now, it’s the nastiest cousin in the Evil Dead bloodline (with some of the worst CGI vs. its impressive practical effects) and may remain confined to cult status for years to come.
4. The Evil Dead
Sam Raimi proved himself one of the wildest and most interesting American filmmakers in 1981 with his debut feature film, The Evil Dead, using a tiny budget to innovate and draw curious viewers into the world of Ash and the Deadites. The Evil Dead didn’t make much of a splash at first, but it later became a sleeper hit, mostly thanks to overseas audiences who seemed far more interested in its chaotic gore and thin yet delightfully supernatural story.
