COTA's venue has been renamed the Germania Insurance Amphitheater.
Photo by Chad Wadsworth
One of Austin's biggest concert venues is ringing in the new year with a brand-new name. Beginning January 1, Circuit of The Americas' 14,000-seat Austin360 Amphitheater will now be known as Germania Insurance Amphitheater.
Though the cost of the deal remains undisclosed, it does ensure the Brenham, Texas-based company will have naming rights for the next seven years. Austin360, an extension of the Austin-American Statesman, has been the amphitheater's first and only name since it opened on April 5, 2013.
This isn't Germania's first foray into COTA, however. During November's Formula 1 Grand Prix, the company sponsored the Germania Insurance Super Stage, which hosted headliners Pink and Imagine Dragons.
Since opening nearly seven years ago, the newly minted Germania Insurance Amphitheater has attracted big-name acts thanks to its 14,000-seat capacity (at almost 17,000 concert capacity, only the Frank Erwin Center is bigger). Among the superstars expected to grace the Germania stage in 2020 are Alanis Morissette and KISS, among others.
“We are excited to partner with the largest outdoor venue in Austin in bringing the best artists in the world to the Germania Insurance Amphitheater,” said Germania chief marketing officer Min Choi. “COTA is such an iconic venue, so it makes sense that our two Texas brands work together. We are proud to contribute in retaining Austin’s status as the Live Music Capital of the World.”
Horror franchises tend to endure for several reasons. First and foremost, the title conjures up nostalgia for older viewers, as many of the most popular ones started in the 1970s or ‘80s. Sequels can recycle key elements of past films as long as they tweak the formula enough to offer something original. And they’re also relatively cheap to make, as new films can bring in young or lesser-known actors to be terrorized.
All of those factors make Evil Dead Burna smashing success, giving viewers reminders of the past while still becoming its own thing. The film is almost non-stop from the jump as a series of people, known colloquially as “deadites,” get infected by a malevolent force. A long, 15-minute opening set piece introduces the main characters, including Alice (Souhelia Yacob), her brother-in-law Joseph (Hunter Doohan), his girlfriend Thya (Luciane Buchanan), and his parents, Susan (Tandi Wright) and Edgar (Erroll Shand).
They’re all mourning the death of Alice’s husband Will (George Pullar), who they think died while driving drunk. However, the infection in Will’s corpse soon latches on to Edgar, whose descent into murderous rage is initially masked by his intense grief. With the family all gathered together in an older, decaying home, no one is safe from the rampage of the supernatural force.
Written and directed by French filmmaker Sébastien Vanicek and co-written by Florent Bernard, the film is aimed directly at horror fanatics who are used to copious amounts of blood and gore. From the opening scene to the film’s final intense moments, Vanicek and his team come up with numerous hide-your-eyes sequences that test the stomachs of weak-willed viewers. But for those who can’t get enough of such things, they also indicate a creativity and willingness to push boundaries that is both thrilling and entertaining.
While some previous entries in the Evil Dead series leaned comedic, this entry follows the previous two films in 2013 and 2023 as as a pure horror. However, that doesn’t mean that the film is devoid of lightness. One of the most enjoyable aspects is Vanicek comically adhering to the concept of Chekhov’s gun. So many different potential weapons are introduced and later used that you can’t help but laugh when they come into play.
Ultimately, it’s the performances by the lesser-known cast that make the movie what it is. Doohan (Wednesday) plays a mild-mannered character who seems to be the main protagonist early on, but he cedes the spotlight to Yacob as the film goes along. The French actress knows how to hold the screen through both her actions and line deliveries. Shand, with his craggy face and bald head, turns into a superior villain, able to chill with just his intense stare.
Evil Dead Burn is not for everybody, but it’s another great addition to what’s turning out to be a banner year for horror movies. With highly effective, cringeworthy action sequences, moments that lighten the mood when needed, and a cast that carries the story, it’s an announcement of bigger things to come for all involved.
