How A Sneaky Evil Dead Burn Easter Egg May Hint At The Future Of The Series
by Bill Bria · /FilmThis article contains spoilers for "Evil Dead Burn."
This month's "Evil Dead Burn" may have its own distinct, New French Extremity-inspired flavor, but it's also a film on par with several prior entries in the "Evil Dead" franchise. It continues the brutal, gore-soaked, mean-spirited violence exhibited in Sam Raimi's 1981 original "The Evil Dead" and then resurrected by Fede Alvarez in 2013's "Evil Dead." It also contains Easter eggs to the prior films, a big part of Alvarez's film and Lee Cronin's "Evil Dead Rise." "Burn" establishes tighter continuity than the last two movies did, directly connecting the events of the film to "Rise" while offering tantalizing teases about where the series might be headed. Some of these glimpses are big moments or plot points, such as the return of a certain character from "Rise" and the new Kandarian dagger's importance to the plot. Yet others are Easter eggs, such as a newspaper clipping likely referencing the events of "Evil Dead" and a photo of Bruce Campbell (Ash from the original films) on the wall.
One Easter egg in the film is a clever reference to 1993's "Army of Darkness," the sequel in which Ash is accidentally sent back through time to the Middle Ages to continue his battle with the Deadites. While there, Ash is helped by the Wise Men, a mixture of scientists and sorcerers who advise the King. "Burn" reveals that Benjamin Price, patriarch of the Price family, studied the evil Naturom Demonto (aka Book of the Dead) and the Evil within it as part of a cult dubbed The Circle of the Wisemen. This name may be more than just a cheeky reference. In fact, it might just telegraph where the "Evil Dead" series could go from here.
The Circle of the Wisemen could be the Evil Dead version of S.H.I.E.L.D.
While the creation of The Circle of the Wisemen cult in "Evil Dead Burn" might have simply been an Easter egg if the only member mentioned was Benjamin Price, what makes it an intriguing new concept is the fact that, within Price's journals, it's revealed that Professor Raymond Knowby was also a member. "Evil Dead" fans will recognize that name from the original "The Evil Dead" as the archeologist who initially uncovered the Book of the Dead and read its passages. So, not only does this mention tie "Burn" to the original "Evil Dead" trilogy, but it also implies that the Circle could be an overarching organization in a manner similar to the S.H.I.E.L.D. agency in the Marvel Cinematic Universe.
So far, the "Evil Dead" franchise has enjoyed a notably loose continuity, with the last few films feeling fairly standalone. So, it's not yet clear whether the Wisemen are intended to tie the series' disparate threads together into a single timeline, or if they're more of a fun excuse to keep everything loosely connected. Either way, it's not too much of a stretch to see the Wisemen being somehow involved with the local exorcists seen in the opening of "Evil Dead," as well as the priests we learn about in "Rise," who found a Book and read its passages in the 1920s. Perhaps the next film, "Evil Dead Wrath," might reveal more about this mysterious group. Maybe they'll be seen throughout history investigating (or carelessly unveiling) multiple Books of the Dead? We shall see!
"Evil Dead Burn" is in theaters everywhere.