Evil Dead Burn’s director of photography, Philip Lozano, is no stranger to the world of horror. With twenty years of experience in the film industry, working on independent films and big-budget studio projects, Lozano has carved out a name for himself in the horror genre, with titles like Marianne (2019), The Nun II (2023), and Cobweb (2023). With Evil Dead Burn, however, Lozano has an increased sense of responsibility, as the film franchise started with Sam Raimi’s independent, genre-defining film, The Evil Dead. The 1981 film changed the visual language of horror films, using low-budget techniques to turn amateurism and a lack of resources into inventive filmmaking choices. According to Lozano, Sebastien Vanicek, the director of the upcoming film, wanted to extend upon the franchise’s signature visual grammar. “Sebastien really wanted the film to be always handheld and very much organic-looking.”

Speaking about setting the film's mood, Lozano reveals how they kept sunlight to a minimum in every frame. He says, “There’s no sun in the whole thing, and that creates the atmosphere and the mood we wanted for the entire film.” The DOP further describes the visual palette as “deliberately stripped back, and walks on the edge of darkness.” He further reveals that the director did not want any saturated colours. He says, “A lot of the color palettes were kind of desaturated. Flames were an important topic, but otherwise we embraced the darkness. When you can’t see much, your brain starts to imagine what’s hidden. It makes the audience think about what they’re not seeing, and that’s what’s scary.” 

That visual philosophy extended to every single frame.“We were always embracing the low light. There’s almost no static shot; Sebastien wanted the camera to breathe, to be handheld, organic. It’s very immersive for the audience,” says Lozano. The DOP confesses to being “not a big fan of one-shot takes because they can feel like showing off.” However, speaking about the one-shot take in Evil Dead Burn, he says, “This one is so generous for the audience. So much is happening in the foreground and background. It’s intense and emotional.”

While the team committed to keeping sunlight to a minimum within the frames, they wanted to give special prominence and meaning to fire. “The movie’s called Evil Dead Burn, so I definitely didn’t want the fire to be VFX or fake. Shooting real fire looks real, and on set, it’s immersive for the actors. You can’t compare that with CGI flames. We used a lot of real fire,” says Lozano.

With a single-minded focus on presenting a dark and visceral experience, Philip Lozano and the rest of the team are confident about the film’s response. He concludes, “We tried to shoot real stuff, practical, generous, not fake. We made real artistic choices in-camera, and I hope it gives audiences an immersive, generous experience, something you can only really feel on the big screen.”