‘Evil Dead Burn’s’ Luciane Buchanan Took Inspiration for Her Deadite Performance from Sources that Will Delight Fans

I’m still smiling after seeing Evil Dead Burn. Sébastien Vaniček’s sequel is a ferocious banger, continuing the franchise’s consistent streak of good-to-great Evil Dead movies.

One of my favorite elements of the film comes from Luciane Buchanan‘s performance as Tia/a Deadite (she’s prominently featured in the trailers for a reason). The franchise has a long history of memorable Deadite performances. I had the chance to sit down with Buchanan, so, of course, I had to ask…did she take any inspiration from previous performances in the franchise for her Deadite portrayal?

“You know, I’m a big fan of Jane Levy’s Mia and Alyssa Sutherland’s Ellie,” said Buchanan.

Me too, Luciane. Me too.

The actress continued, “I just find their physicality really interesting, as well as their facial expressions. It’s so simple, but they’re doing so much. But I didn’t want to replicate it. I wanted Tia to be her own person. So, yeah, it was just a collaboration with all departments and trying to figure out who she was.“

The mention of Alyssa Sutherland didn’t shock me whatsoever. Almost immediately, Sutherland became a fan favorite for her performance as Ellie/a Deadite in Evil Dead Rise. Despite one hell of a portrayal by star Lily Sullivan, I’d argue Sutherland is the one who makes that movie work. She’s just that good.

While I don’t want to call Levy’s portrayal of Mia/a Deadite in Fede Alvarez’s “underrated”, it does feel that way after Sutherland came onto the scene. That said, Levy is incredible. Not only does she have one of the most satisfying moments in the entire franchise (that chainsaw to the face), but her Deadite performance scares the living hell out of me.