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There are certain parts of the world that have an inherent evil or cursed nature to them. The Bermuda Triangle, where so many ships have vanished in its waters. Death Valley, where many have met their end in the unforgiving desert. And then there’s The Pine Barrens of New Jersey. A woodland infamous for the cryptid named The Jersey Devil.

While The Jersey Devil may be the mascot or face of sorts for the area, there are other dangers within those woods. Specifically, an area known as Pine Hollow. Infamous for numerous disappearances of local and hikers. While some attribute it to natural hazards, others say the source of these incidents may be tied to folklore. An ancient mimic of indigenous legend that targets those wandering its woods. After a trio of hikers disappear and leaves only one shell shocked survivor and witness wandering the wilderness, a documentary crew attempts to clarify between fact and fiction… only to find themselves subject to their own torments.

Creature Of The Pines is a decent found footage/mockumentary endeavor, and I’m always a sucker for that kind of framing. I will also give points for taking an original approach on the region rather than using a more well known cryptid or monster. Instead, crafting their own beast with the shapeshifting demon of indigenous lore. It did make it more interesting than relying on a more infamous antagonist, allowing the movie to make up its own rules and history behind the titular creature.

Unfortunately, the story does fall into a lot of the cliches of the sub-genre as well. Lots of scenes building up strange sounds coming form the woods leading to some shaky cam segments as a character is dragged off by an unseen force and such. The talking heads portions of the mockumentary featured some decent actors and subjects that kept things fairly fresh. Especially the former forest ranger who discussed the dark and terrible history of Pine Hollow.

Even still, the third act was kind of a mixed bag with the final confrontation and reveal of the horror. Ambiguity tends to work better in found footage for a reason, sometimes its better to leave the evil up to the imagination. There’s also a twist to the ending that felt a bit obvious considering the build up.

But, if you’re a big fan of found footage and mockumentary horror like I am, (especially for New England based horror) then Creature Of The Pines is worth at least a watch.

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The Trailer: Come for Dinner, Stay Possessed

Let me tell you something right away.

If someone invites you to a secluded house after a traumatic loss and says, “the whole family will be there,” you politely decline. You fake a work emergency. You suddenly develop a mysterious illness. You do not go.

Because Evil Dead Burn takes that exact setup and drags it straight into hell.

The newly released trailer wastes no time setting the tone. A grieving woman reconnects with her in-laws after her husband’s death, which already feels like an emotional powder keg. Then the Deadites show up, because of course they do, and suddenly this becomes the kind of reunion where no one is leaving in one piece.

The footage leans hard into chaos. Possessions hit fast. Bodies start moving in ways they absolutely should not. At one point, it looks like the house itself has decided it is done being neutral and would like to join the violence.

Honestly, fair.

A Franchise That Refuses to Stay Dead

Before we get too comfortable in this new nightmare, it is worth remembering how we got here.

The Evil Dead franchise started in 1981 with Sam Raimi’s The Evil Dead, a film that basically rewired low-budget horror forever. A cabin in the woods, a mysterious book, and a group of people making increasingly bad decisions. Simple. Effective. Traumatizing.

Then things escalated.

Evil Dead II took that formula and injected it with manic energy and dark humor. Army of Darkness went completely off the rails in the best way possible, giving us medieval skeleton armies and one-liners that still live rent free in horror fans’ brains.

The 2013 remake stripped things back down and went brutally serious, pushing the violence to a level that made audiences physically uncomfortable. Then Evil Dead Rise moved the horror into a cramped apartment building and somehow made a cheese grater one of the most upsetting objects in cinema.

Now we have Burn, and somehow this franchise is still finding new ways to make us regret ever trusting a book.

This Time, the Horror Is Personal

The series has always thrived on isolation. Remote cabins. Locked apartments. Nowhere to run. But this time, the isolation is emotional as much as it is physical.

You are not trapped with strangers.

You are trapped with people you know. People you love. People you have history with.

And then they start trying to kill you.

There is something especially cruel about that setup. The horror is not just survival. It is recognition. It is seeing someone you care about twisted into something else entirely and realizing you might have to be the one who stops them.

The trailer hints at nonstop escalation. Characters are already bloodied early on, which is never a great sign. The violence looks relentless. The Deadites look meaner, faster, and somehow more personal.

So if you thought Evil Dead Rise pushed things far enough, this one looks ready to go further.

Why This Franchise Still Works

At this point, we all know the formula.

Someone finds the book. Someone reads the book. Everything goes horribly wrong.

And yet it still works.

The reason is simple. Every entry finds something human to anchor the horror. In Burn, that anchor is grief.

A woman dealing with loss walks into a house full of people connected to that loss. The past is already sitting heavy in the room before anything supernatural even happens. Then the Deadites take that grief and turn it into something physical. Something violent. Something that refuses to stay buried.

That is where Evil Dead always thrives. Not just in the blood or the chaos, but in the way it twists real emotions into something monstrous.

Final Thought: Maybe Skip Family Reunions

Director Sébastien Vaniček has made it clear he wants this film to feel intense and physically draining. And based on what we have seen so far, that tracks.

This is not comfort horror. This is the kind that grabs you, shakes you, and leaves you sitting in your car afterward wondering if you are okay.

You probably are.

You just might not feel like it for a while.

If there is one takeaway from Evil Dead Burn, it is this.

If your family starts acting strange, it is already too late.

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The ripped-from-the-headlines social thriller is currently in production, and the story behind it is just as compelling as the one unfolding on screen.

When filmmakers Sean Michael Gloria-Orn and Cailan Gloria-Orn decided they were done waiting on film industry green lights, they set out to build something on their own terms. The goal was simple: create something meaningful while raising awareness around a growing issue. Then, right when they needed it most, a new independent cinema ecosystem, ShoStak.tv, and the “First 150” Film Challenge found them.

_CIVILIAN, the debut micro-series from Alien Outlaw Media, follows a group of tenants forced to choose between compliance and survival after a predatory power company begins hiking energy costs to compensate for AI data centers, until one ordinary man becomes an unwitting symbol of resistance.

It’s a thriller pulled straight from the kinds of headlines most of us have already scrolled past and quietly dreaded. Monopolized energy systems. Power bills climbing into the thousands. The creeping realization that the system was never designed to protect you.

And this is only the beginning.

Watch the trailer for _CIVILIAN below:

The concept is built to expand far beyond the central issue explored in Season One, tapping into a broader range of everyday fears experienced by modern civilians.

_CIVILIAN was made with a skeleton crew of just three people. Sean writes, directs, handled audio on the pilot, and edits. Cailan, stepping behind the camera for the first time, operates camera while also appearing in the series. Their close friend and photographer Justin Blaine Miller handled slate and captured behind-the-scenes photography.

A married couple and a few friends proving something the industry tends to forget. With enough conviction, a great story doesn’t require permission.

_CIVILIAN is being created as part of the ShoStak.tv “First 150” Film Challenge and debuts Episode One: Powerless on the internet-native cinema platform built to support independent filmmakers bold enough to create on their own terms.

ShoStak isn’t just another platform. It’s part of a growing shift toward creator-first ecosystems that actually reward filmmakers for building an audience. ShoStak.tv pays creators based on the audiences they bring in, putting the power back where it belongs.

It’s exactly the kind of project the platform was built for, and exactly the kind of grounded, real-world horror many people are already living through.

Follow _CIVILIAN creator Sean Michael Gloria on Instagram at @seanmichaelgloria for the latest updates. “Episode One: Powerless” premiered exclusively on ShoStak.tv on Friday, May 1, 2026. Watch episode one here.

The micro-series is still casting in Atlanta and currently stars:

@seanmichaelgloria
@cailanorn
@gordontdanniels
@blaikelewis
@brettbrooks
@marcusnelson
@phaemonae.555
@devinellingwood