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If your goal is to spend as little as possible on fuel, the obvious choices usually come from Toyota or Honda. Those brands dominate the hybrid conversation, but they don't actually build the most efficient SUV on sale today. That honor belongs to a smaller, often-overlooked crossover that quietly outperforms them all at the pump.

Meta is facing a fresh wave of criticism over a new AI image generator — which encourages users to generate AI images using other people's public photos.

On Tuesday, Facebook and Instagram's parent company, Meta, introduced an AI tool called Muse Image, created by its AI division, Superintelligence Labs.

Muse Image is available via Meta's AI app, as well as WhatsApp and Instagram Stories. According to Meta, Muse Image "uses advanced reasoning to understand complex prompts, seamlessly blending multiple photos into high-quality creations you can download and share anywhere."

So far, so normal — but the AI image generator also lets users @ mention a specific Instagram account within the Meta AI app in order to add that Instagram account to the Muse Image creator.

In other words, Muse Image can add an Instagram user to their AI creations without the Instagram user's awareness. 

"Tagging a username lets Meta AI use public photos to build a visual that’s ready to post," Meta says. Any public Instagram profile can be used by Muse Image, unless that user explicitly opts-out.

Not surprisingly, privacy experts and watchdog groups are criticizing Meta over the feature. The nonprofit consumer advocacy group Public Citizen called the feature "an egregious invasion of user privacy."

"Meta has once again chosen the creepiest possible path," said J.B. Branch, the Public Citizen's director of federal AI governance and technology policy, in a statement. "People should not wake up to discover their face has become raw material for someone else's AI experiment.

"This is another invasion of consumers' privacy. Instead of asking for meaningful consent, Meta quietly defaults users into the system and buries the opt-out in account settings. It’s a playbook we've come to expect from a company with a long history of putting its business interests ahead of the public."

How to opt-out of Meta's Muse Image

Speaking of opting-out, there are two ways to make sure your public Instagram images and likeness aren't used by the @ mention Muse Image feature.

If your Instagram profile is set to private, Instagram respects that privacy setting as Muse Image requires access to Instagram account's public photos in order for the tool to generate AI images. Muse Image will inform a user that they cannot use your Instagram account likeness if they try to @ mention your account to generate an image.

If you have a public Instagram profile, however, you do now need to opt-out in your account settings.

Open the Instagram app on your phone. Head to your Profile. From there, tap the menu button in the top-right hand corner and then tap on Sharing and Reuse. On that page, scroll down to the "Allow people to reuse your content on Instagram and with AI features at Meta" section.

There are two settings, Posts and Reels, each with their own toggle. Turn both of them off if you don't want Meta's AI tools to use either your Posts, which include images, or your Reels, in order to generate content for Muse Image.

If your Netflix My List, like mine, is usually refreshed with documentaries as new monthly schedules roll around, July's schedule has plenty to offer. The streaming platform is releasing a mix of true crime, disaster, and historical documentaries that revisit shocking events and cases.

When it comes to Emmy snubs, the Mashable team is most dismayed by Dropout walking away with nothing in this morning's nominations.

Game Changer isn't just a program on Dropout; it's also a fitting description of the platform itself. CEO and game show host Sam Reich has been rewriting the rules of Hollywood with labor practices that include paying for auditions and profit-sharing. Plus, with his comedy collaborators, he's launched inventive TV shows like Game Changer, Dimension 20, and Very Important People.

And yet the Television Academy has recognized none of the above.

SEE ALSO: Dropout is a game-changer for comedy and creators

Earlier this year, for Mashable 101, I interviewed Dropout stars, including Reich, Brennan Lee Mulligan, and Vic Michaelis. As Michaelis said of the indie streamer's Emmy nomination potential, "It does really feel like we are at a tipping point right now."

Michaelis, who performs across several Dropout shows and hosts the comedy show Very Important People, noted, "The Oscars are moving to YouTube," and "There's a podcast category now for the Golden Globes. Things are starting to change." 

So, what happened?

Why did Dropout get snubbed at the Emmys?

Last April, Variety reported that Dropout had submitted for 11 categories for the Emmy Awards. Very Important People was submitted for Outstanding Variety Series, and Michaelis for Lead Comedy Actress. Meanwhile, Game Changer pitched for Outstanding Game Show and Outstanding Host for a Game Show, for Reich. Other submissions were in the creative Emmys categories, including direction, costumes, make-up, and picture editing.

For Dropout fans, this seemed like a strong strategy. On Very Important People, Michaelis plays a version of themself who is a desperate journalist, seeking to impress at all costs. Each week, as they welcome a new surprise guest — a prosthetics-covered comedian who improvises a character "on the spot" — Michaels is challenged to create an arc with her collaborator, while keeping in character and going off the rails for comedy greatness wherever possible.

Who did get nominated for the Emmys Dropout was aiming for?

The make-up accomplishments alone should have made Very Important People a lock. But instead, the nominations for Outstanding Makeup For A Variety, Nonfiction Or Reality Program went to Dancing with the Stars, the Oscars, and Saturday Night Live. This hints at an issue critics of the Emmys have pointed to over and over: The Emmys favor legacy over innovation.

This year, the Emmy nominations for Outstanding Variety Series went to The Daily Show, Jimmy Kimmel Live!, Last Week with John Oliver, The Late Show with Stephen Colbert, and Saturday Night Live. Each is an institution for comedy, leaving no room for the new voices that are cracking up audiences.

Outstanding Game Show nominees include Celebrity Family Feud, Jeopardy!, The Price is Right, Wheel of Fortune, and Who Wants to Be a Millionaire. Once more, all legacy shows.

Outstanding Lead Actress in a Comedy Series nominees are Quinta Brunson for Abbott Elementary, Ayo Edebiri for The Bear, Elle Fanning for Margo's Got Money Troubles, Lisa Kudrow for The Comeback, and Jean Smart for Hacks. None are underserving of this honor. But all are in more traditional comedy shows than what Michaelis creates with the VIP team.

Outstanding Host for a Game Show nominees include Steve Harvey for Celebrity Family Feud, Ken Jennings for Jeopardy!, Colin Jost for Pop Culture Jeopardy!, Jimmy Kimmel for Who Wants to Be a Millionaire, and Martin Short for Match Game. No real surprises, but also in this bunch, no one who hosted a different game every week and then unexpectedly became a contestant when his collaborators turned the tables. (See the epic "Samalamadingdong," and tell me Jost could pull that off.)

SEE ALSO: Dropout's Brennan Lee Mulligan knows he can't win. But could that be about to change? Dropout defies easy categorization.

In an interview with Mashable, Reich spoke about the challenge of picking episodes for submission that would get across what makes Game Changer special.

At the time, he said, "'Rulette' is a pretty good bet. It's very funny, [a] very well-celebrated episode. It's very in the spirit of our show, despite even feeling a little bit basic for the show. It's like a great introduction to our show, and it's almost traditional enough that your average Emmy voter could look at it and go like, 'Oh, I understand how this is a game show like the game shows I'm used to, and how it's different.'"

A similar debate went into where to submit Very Important People, a parody talk show. As Michaelis put it, "Do [our shows] fit perfectly into those boxes? No."

But as Dropout grows, it seems the Emmys are an almost inevitable next step. And some progress has been made for creator representation, as fellow Mash 101 honoree Kareem Rahma’s "Subway Takes" earned an nomination in "Outstanding Short Form Comedy, Drama Or Variety Series."

It took years for the Emmys to acknowledge the excellent shows coming out of streaming studios like Netflix over traditional broadcast programs. Now, indie streamers like Dropout are facing that same uphill climb. How will it take for the Television Academy to recognize the incredible craftsmanship, creativity, and comedy that's coming out of Dropout? At least one more year.

KolibriOS is an open-source project that brings you an entire operating system in just over a megabyte. The operating system has a graphical interface and lots of neat utilities and games. Let's boot into it.

Craving desert power with a side of devastation? Then you're in luck, because Warner Bros. has released a new trailer for Dune: Part Three.

SEE ALSO: 'Avatar Aang: The Last Airbender' trailer: The Gaang is all grown up, and there's a new airbender in the mix

The film concludes director Denis Villeneuve's acclaimed sci-fi trilogy, which took Paul Atreides (Timothée Chalamet) from young duke to Emperor of the universe. His ascent was paved with bloodshed, and by the looks of the trailer, his reign is no less bloody. (Dune Messiah readers know that Paul and his followers' jihad claims a whopping 61 billion lives.)

Dune: Part Three takes place 17 years after the end of Dune: Part Two, which saw Paul become Emperor, meet his future wife Princess Irulan (Florence Pugh), and lose his lover Chani (Zendaya). In a huge deviation from Frank Herbert's novels, Chani fled into the desert after witnessing Paul's brutality, setting up a major rift between the two.

In addition to focusing on Paul and Chani's evolving relationship, Dune: Part Three brings several key new characters into the fold.

Irulan will take on a much more prominent role, as will Paul's sister Alia (Anya Taylor-Joy). Now an adult, Alia must reckon with the extraordinary powers she gained when her mother Jessica (Rebecca Ferguson) drank the water of life while pregnant. Also joining the cast of characters is Face Dancer Scytale, who can shape-shift thanks to genetic alterations from the Bene Tleilax order, and who's apparently got a plan to kill Paul and usher in a regime change.

Finally, Jason Momoa returns, but not as the late Duncan Idaho. Instead, he's Hayt, an artificial human, or ghola, also created by the Bene Tleilax.

To witness these characters in action and witness what's next for Paul and Chani, check out the full trailer above.

Dune: Part Three hits theaters Dec. 18.

Most PCs ship with just one Ethernet port, and for most people, that's plenty. But, even though my own computer only had one such port, I decided to add a second one with a USB-to-Ethernet adapter. It cost me about $10, and it was a shockingly good little upgrade.

Connor Storrie just earned his first Emmy nomination — but not for the role that turned him into one of the internet's newest heartthrobs.

The 26-year-old actor received the nod Wednesday for Outstanding Guest Actor in a Comedy Series. That was for hosting Saturday Night Live earlier this year.

While many fans had hoped to see Storrie recognized for his breakout performance as Ilya Rozanov in Heated Rivalry, the queer hockey drama wasn't actually eligible for the Primetime Emmys — because it was entirely financed in Canada.

SEE ALSO: 'Heated Rivalry' star Connor Storrie embraces childhood YouTube videos as 'self-acceptance'

Still, the nomination felt like a victory to fans, many of whom celebrated it as overdue recognition for an actor whose career has skyrocketed since Heated Rivalry premiered. Over the past year, Storrie has gone from breakout star to awards-season regular, appearing at the Golden Globes, making his Met Gala debut alongside co-star Hudson Williams, landing luxury campaigns with Saint Laurent and Tiffany & Co., and preparing for the show's anticipated second season.

While Heated Rivalry couldn't compete at the Emmys, it dominated Canada's awards season, taking home 16 Canadian Screen Awards, including Best Drama Series. Because Storrie is American, he wasn't eligible for an individual acting prize there either, making Wednesday's nomination his first major acting nomination tied to the Heated Rivalry era, even if it came through an unexpected role.

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Fans were quick to celebrate the news, with many joking that the universe had found a loophole to honor the actor after Heated Rivalry was shut out of eligibility. They also declared they couldn't wait to watch "Emmy-nominated Connor Storrie" return for Heated Rivalry Season 2.

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The excitement also reignited calls for broader recognition of Heated Rivalry, with fans lamenting that one of the year's most talked-about new dramas couldn't compete at the Emmys because of eligibility rules rather than a lack of acclaim.

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The moment also seemed like a full circle for the actor, who spent his adolescent years uploading videos to YouTube under the name "Actorboy222," chronicling his ambitions of making it in Hollywood. On Wednesday, many pointed out that the younger version of Storrie had finally gotten the recognition he'd always dreamed about.

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Whether or not Storrie takes home the trophy, the nomination marks another milestone in what's been a meteoric rise. With Heated Rivalry already renewed for a second season and production expected to begin soon — not to mention an A24 project in the works — fans won't have to wait long to see him back on screen, Emmy nominee status included.

Earlier this year, I discovered the many joys of self-hosting. Since then, I've canceled countless subscriptions and replaced my favorite cloud services with apps running on my own hardware. Yet, I can't seem to stop using a note-taking app that isn't the most powerful and lacks many features techies look for. Of course, I'm talking about Google Keep.

SAVE $200.99: As of July 8, get the GoPro MAX2 Action Camera for $299 at Amazon, down from its usual price of $499.99. That's a discount of 40%.

Opens in a new window Credit: Amazon GoPro MAX2 Action Camera $299 at Amazon
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If you've been trying to figure out the best way to capture all your action-oriented footage this summer, your phone is a great option, but a GoPro is an even better one. There are several models out there, but we've found one that's on sale that you won't want to pass up.

As of July 8, get the GoPro MAX2 Action Camera for $299 at Amazon, down from its usual price of $499.99. That's $200.99 off and a discount of 40%.

SEE ALSO: GoPro unveils new action cameras with 360-degree video and inbuilt light

No matter what you're getting up to throughout the rest of the summer, the GoPro MAX2 can be your constant companion. Not only can it film a 360-degree view in 8K resolution, but it's small enough to travel anywhere you do. Whether you're surfing, swimming, jogging, or climbing throughout the rest of the year, you can take it with you to capture every single feat you pull off.

Use the accompanying app to get the best possible footage, edit within the app, and put together a highlight reel of your perfect, active summer. And if you're planning on being by the water all season long, don't worry about getting it wet. It's durable and waterproof up to 5 meters, so you're covered.

This is a great way to share everything you're doing throughout the season, with a durable and perfectly portable camera that's built for an active lifestyle. You can use it long after summer has come and gone, so splurge on one now and see how you can capture some positively sweet footage all year round with it.

If you're not eating free fries this week, you're doing life wrong. Just kidding (kind of).

Friday, July 10, is National French Fry Day, which means a bunch of your favorite fast food chains are giving away free fries. While some require a minimum purchase of some kind or a (free) rewards membership, others require nothing but your will to face the crowds at a local establishment. Regardless, this is a made up holiday I, for one, can get behind.

If you're curious which fast food chains are participating in the free fry celebration, we have a running list below. Just be sure to check the details before rushing out to the restaurant of your choice.

Arby's

Arby's Rewards members can get a free fry of any size on July 10 with the purchase of a Cheesesteak online or in app.

Checkers & Rally’s

Celebrate National French Fry Day at Checkers & Rally’s from July 10 through 12 with BOGO free Famous Seasoned Fries of any size and $1 sauce trios.

Chick-Fil-A

From July 7 through 13, Chick-Fil-A is giving out free medium-size Waffle Fries as a reward in the restaurant's app. Just play the in-app "Spot the Cow" game to get the deal. It's limited to one fry reward per person.

Del Taco

July 10 through 13, you can score a free regular fry at Del Taco with with a $3 minimum purchase.

Five Guys

From July 8 through 10, customers who buy a burger, hot dog, or sandwich through the Five Guys app or Five Guys.com will get one free Little Fry. Sign in or create a Five Guys account and enter promo code FRYDAY26 at checkout to get the freebie.

Jack in the Box

Sign up to be a Jack Pack Rewards member if you're not already and you'll be able to grab a free fry of any size on July 10 with a minimum purchase of $1.

McDonald's

On July 10th, National French Fry Day proper, McDonald's is giving out free medium-sized French Fries to Rewards members. Just make a purchase of at least $1 through the McDonald's app to get the deal.

Sheetz

From July 10 through 16, Sheetz is giving away one free bag of fries with any purchase of $10 or more through the Sheetz app (under the OFFERZ tab). The freebie is limited to one per My Sheetz Rewardz member.

Wendy's

Are you a Wendy's Rewards member? Head to the app and make a purchase of at least $5 and you'll get a free fry in any size on National French Fry Day, July 10.

Whataburger

Whataburger rewards members can score a free medium fry with no purchase required on July 10. The offer is valid online or in the app.

White Castle

Head to White Castle on July 10 and pick up free Cheese Fries by using the promo code CHEESY when you place an online or in-app order.

For years, Netflix had a clear goal — get subscribers to come back for the next season or blockbuster. Now, it is no longer competing with other streamers. It’s coming for YouTube’s turf, too. On August 3, Netflix will add videos from popular digital publishers, letting you watch home tours, recipe clips, and celebrity profiles without ever leaving the platform. None of these videos are produced or funded by the streaming service itself. Instead, Netflix is licensing existing series that millions of people already watch elsewhere.

The Toyota RAV4 closed out 2025 as the third-best-selling vehicle in the United States, making it the best-selling vehicle that wasn't a pickup, with almost half a million units sold. The RAV4 has topped the compact SUV segment every year since 2017, thanks to its reputation for reliability, fuel-sipping powertrain options, and a lineup wide enough to cover nearly any budget.

SAVE 52%: As of July 8, you can get the Skullcandy Crusher Evo wireless Bluetooth headphones at Amazon for $99.99, down from $209.99.

Skullcandy Crusher Evo Wireless Over-Ear Headphone $99.99 at Amazon
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If you're looking for a pair of budget headphones that don't sound like budget headphones, you should check out Skullcandy. While I don't think everyone wants to physically feel their music vibrating against their head (especially if you're easily overstimulated), there's definitely a market for it.

SEE ALSO: The 12 best headphones of 2026 — we tested the top contenders from Sony, Apple, Bose, and Beats

Right now, you can get the Skullcandy Crusher Evo wireless Bluetooth headphones at Amazon for $99.99, down from $209.99. That's a 52% discount or $110 savings. It's also just a few bucks above their all-time low of $94.99.

These over-ear headphones feature patented "Multi-Sensory Crusher Bass Technology," which is just a fancy way of saying that they have extra dual bass drivers that let you physically feel your music and movies. If the idea of skull-rattling bass sounds a bit too intense, you can use the Skullcandy app to run a quick hearing analysis to auto-adjust the sound profile specifically for your ears.

The Crusher Evo are also built for travel; just fold them in half and throw them in your bag. You'll get up to 40 hours of battery life on a single charge, plus an additional four hours of listening time from a quick 10-minute charge. They also feature a built-in microphone and on-device buttons, so you can answer calls, adjust the volume, or skip tracks without pulling out your phone.

SAVE $510: The Segway Navimow i110N robot lawn mower is on sale at Amazon for $789, down from the list price of $1,299. That's a 39% discount and the lowest price we've seen at Amazon.

Opens in a new window Credit: Segway Segway Navimow i110N robot lawn mower $789 at Amazon
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Life is short. Unless you get joy from mowing the lawn, it's a tedious task that genuinely never ends. In the same way that we've employed robot vacuums to keep the floors clean inside, a robot lawn mower can take care of keeping the grass well maintained outside. Check out this Amazon deal on a robot lawn mower.

As of July 8, the Segway Navimow i110N robot lawn mower is on sale at Amazon for $789, marked down from the list price of $1,299. That's a 39% discount that takes $510 off the normal price. It's the lowest price we've ever seen at Amazon.

SEE ALSO: Combat power outages this summer with $200 off the Bluetti Apex 300 portable power station

Without requiring a perimeter wire fence, the Segway Navimow will tackle mowing lawns of up to a quarter of an acre. It uses RTK+ vision to navigate its way around your yard, mowing to your desired height between 2 and 3.6 inches. Its cutting width measures 7.1 inches, and it'll mow for up to 120 minutes per charge.

From the app, you'll be able to set a mowing schedule, as well as monitor recharging status, and set up zones within your yard. Tell the Navimow to mow the backyard once a week and the side lawn once every 10 days. Plus, Segway mentions the maximum sound from the robot mower is just 58 decibels. For comparison, Segway says some push-style mowers reach 90 decibels.

Spend the rest of summer enjoying a well manicured lawn instead of working away on keeping it mowed. Since the Segway Navimow i110N robot lawn mower is on sale at Amazon for the lowest price we've ever seen, now is a great time to make the upgrade.

From Nia DaCosta's 28 Years Later: The Bone Temple, to Curry Barker's Obsession, to Sam Raimi's Send Help, and Lee Cronin's The Mummy, 2026 has had no shortage of gloppy, gory carnage for horror fans. But graphic violence and buckets of blood alone aren't enough to make for a satisfying or even scary film. Sadly, the team behind Evil Dead Burn missed the memo, which is wild because Raimi and Cronin are both producers on this one.

SEE ALSO: Best horror movies of 2026, and where to watch them now

Evil Dead Burn director Sébastien Vaniček broke through in 2023 with Infested, a goosebump-inducing creature feature about a wickedly aggressive nest of spiders taking over an apartment building. For his crack at the Evil Dead franchise, Vaniček reteamed with his Infested co-writer Florent Bernard, crafting a story similarly vicious, violent, and thin on character development.

However, since the 2013 Fede Álvarez reboot of Evil Dead, the ties to the original trilogy have gotten thinner and thinner as this franchise limps along. Yes, the evil dead rise, beckoned by an ancient artifact. They cause chaos and lots of grisly assaults on everyday friends and family. And they may be beaten down, but they're never truly out — not as long as audiences will still come to theaters to see the barrage of blood, guts, and bile.

What is lost in these subsequent sequels are the humor and heart that Raimi and his leading man Bruce Campbell (also a producer on this sequel) brought to the original trilogy, to thrilling effect. Those movies were wild, not only for their outrageous violence but also for the sheer glee of their audacity.

Decades later, I can still remember the shock of seeing those trees chasing after Cheryl, the thrill of seeing Ash battle with himself in the mirror, and the excitement when his chainsaw arm revs into action. Yet all the sequels that followed lack this macabre silliness. This twisted glee keeps Raimi's filmmaking fresh even in 2026. (Again, see Send Help.) Without it, no matter what edgy horror filmmaker they plug and play into the franchise, the result is a sequel that feels tedious, gray, and soulless.

SEE ALSO: Rachel McAdams' highly rated survival thriller 'Send Help' is now streaming — how to watch it at home What's Evil Dead Burn about? A Deadite stands on a boat in "Evil Dead Burn." Credit: Warner Bros. Pictures

Vaniček and Bernard thrust audiences into a nondescript rural vacation home, where an American family is grieving the loss of their eldest son, Will (George Pullar). With some help from a Deadite, Will dies in a car accident after fleeing a public argument with his French wife Alice (Souheila Yacoub) at their — uh — restaurant.

Okay, to be clear, his mom Susan (Tandi Wright) insists it's a restaurant. But the only scene set there begins with an extreme close-up on a Black woman's behind as she shakes it for the camera, which then tilts up to reveal a packed dance floor, flooded with writhing bodies, red mood lighting, and loud music. So, does Susan not know her son as well as she thinks she does? Or is Will's restaurant less about the French cuisine he reportedly adored and more about overpriced cocktails and nightclub vibes? It doesn't really matter because nothing in Evil Dead Burn does.

These movies are about the hapless folks who are plagued by Deadites, usually through an idle mistake or no fault of their own. Raimi has made magic with this premise even beyond the franchise. (Drag Me to Hell is still a wild ride.) In the case of Evil Dead Burn, Will's younger brother Joseph (Hunter Doohan) accidentally unearths a hidden artifact that awakens the evil dead. How? Well, he was doing research for his novel, of course!

Maude Davey in "Evil Dead Burn." Credit: Warner Bros. Pictures

Yes, it's a cliché that the sensitive guy is an aspiring author. Evil Dead Burn is full of such clichés, with little else to build character. So, we meet restaurateur/nightclub owner Will, who is belligerent to his French wife Alice, who we know is deep because she likes taking black-and-white photographs. And Joseph has a girlfriend Thya (Luciane Buchanan), who presumably has interests beyond him. But before we'll learn any of these, she's turned Deadite. C'est la mort.

Also in the mix are Joseph and Will's sneering mom Susan and glaring dad Edgar (Erroll Shand), and their one-legged grandmother Polly (Maude Davey), who has dementia. Polly might be intended for comic relief, but the closest she comes to a joke are bits about her memory loss and racism.

Souheila Yacoub is engaging, but can't elevate this mess of a movie. Souheila Yacoub plays Alice in "Evil Dead Burn." Credit: Warner Bros. Pictures

Were the first three Evil Dead movies a mess? Absolutely. But Bruce Campbell, with a lantern-shaped jaw as outsized as his charisma, made that mess undeniably entertaining. He was electrifyingly alive in moments serious, scary, and deeply stupid. The vibe of Evil Dead Burn never allows Yacoub to showcase such range.

Instead, she is a woman gripped by grief and trauma, forced to play nice to in-laws who openly resent her — and then try to murder her with an array of homewares and power tools. Why does she stick around, even before the Deadite business begins? Evil Dead Burn will not even attempt to get that deep into a motivation. So, her in-laws spew not only spittle, blood, mashed potatoes, and more blood, but also vile sentiments about her and her not-so-loving relationship with Will.

There might have been a version of this where the barbs were witty in their cruelty, like in What Ever Happened to Baby Jane? or Who's Afraid of Virginia Woolf? There might have been an execution where the characters felt distinct instead of people-shaped wallpaper, set up only to be torn to shreds. But Vaniček shows no interest in complexity, depth, or genre-bending.

The most lively moments of the film have nothing to do with the central characters. The film opens on a fishing trip, where two friends (Keanu Karim and Victory Ndukwe) razz each other before their hobby turns to homicide. Later, a carefree crematorium employee (Shyamal Singh) dances to a rap song while going about his duties, moments before being brutally slain offscreen. These are lively, enjoying laughs and something specific before being ripped into ribbons, which is more than can be said for the family at the film's core. However, it is troubling that all these tertiary characters set up for early slaughter are people of color, as is the first victim in the house, whose face is battered until all that's left is a row of teeth and mush of blood and brain.

Into all this, Yacoub brings a Final Girl resilience. To Vaniček's credit, he doesn't slide her into a skin-tight white tank top or otherwise offer an outfit that urges audiences to leer at her body, even as it's being abused. Dressed in a simple sweatsuit, she wears her weariness plain from the start, even at her husband's sparsely attended funeral. But as the family around her crumbles into pain or possession, she grits her teeth and drags us all through Evil Dead Burn's grueling final act. She's compelling. But a film so resolute in dealing in cliché and cruelty only gives her so much room to play, explore, or shine.

Raimi unknowingly built a sandbox in the 1981 Evil Dead, one he'd return to twice more, twisting horror into comedy, outrageousness, and epic action. He found his voice in those films. But given the same chance, a new generation of horror filmmakers (Fede Álvarez with 2013's Evil Dead, Lee Cronin with Evil Dead Rise, and now Sébastien Vaniček with Evil Dead Burn) have delivered movies that are mean, ugly, and lifeless. They are more interested in shocking than they are provoking us to revel in the weird space where humor and horror collide. Instead, they are just a pastiche that lacks the color, creativity, and verve of the original trilogy. So, yeah, I'm bored.

Evil Dead Burn opens in theaters on July 10.

SAVE $17: As of July 8, get the Lexar ES3 1TB External SSD for $152.99 at Amazon, down from its usual price of $169.99. That's a discount of 10%.

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$169.99 Save $17   Get Deal

When it comes to computer components like RAM and hard drives, everything's getting a little more expensive here and there. So if you're looking for storage that you can use to keep all your important files, photos, or games on, it's good to hop on it while it's still affordable. Luckily, if you're in the need of a hard drive for some expandable space but don't want to have to install it internally, you can snap up a deal from Lexar through Amazon right now that should buy you a bit more time before you're out of space completely.

As of July 8, get the Lexar ES3 1TB External SSD for $152.99 at Amazon, down from its usual price of $169.99. That's $17 off and a discount of 10%.

SEE ALSO: The best microSD, portable SSDs, and hard drive deals to grab this week

This 1TB hard drive is external, so it doesn't need to be installed. You can also tote it around or store it wherever is convenient when you're not using it. It features high-speed data transfer speeds with 1050MB/s read speeds and 1000MB/s write speeds, so transferring files is quick and easy work.

If you don't plan on using it as a more permanent external fixture with your computer at home, this is a great portable opton as well. It's thin, lightweight, and attractive at just 42k and 10.5mm tickness. It's smaller than a card and can fit in your pocket for easy transportation -- just throw it in a bag and go. And if you're concerned about needing encryption for your files, it uses Lexar DataShield 256-bit AES encryption so all your documents are safe within.

Whether you just need a bit more leeway with how you store things or you're hitting critical mass with your computer, more storage is never a bad idea. Be sure to grab one before this Lightning Deal comes to an end.

A new study from the University of Colorado Boulder examined how people emotionally engage with "generative ghosts" — AI chatbots trained to simulate deceased loved ones.

The study found that users generally preferred bots that spoke as the deceased in the first person ("reincarnation") over those that merely described them ("representation"), despite acknowledging the risk of becoming too attached.

SEE ALSO: 'Use a gun': AI chatbots help people plan violence, report says

First author and information science doctoral candidate Jack Manuel Manning presented the research at the Association for Computing Machinery's Designing Interactive Systems Conference in June.

Researchers conducted a qualitative study with 16 participants aged 22 to 50. Each of them interacted with two chatbot versions of a deceased loved one: one that spoke in the first person, mimicking the deceased directly, and one that described the person in the third person, more like a narrator.

According to the study, participants found the first-person "reincarnation" mode more emotionally vivid and comforting, though some worried about the psychological risks of relying on it too heavily. One participant, referred to as P4, described the experience as offering unexpected closure. "In the [reincarnation], it just feels like I'm getting the closure I needed so bad," she told researchers.

Another participant, P11, expressed more caution, saying, "I am worried that over time I will come to be reliant on the voice... it's going to end up very similar to how people are falling in love with AI characters."

The researchers also found that participants cared more about whether a chatbot's tone and phrasing "felt right" emotionally than whether it was factually accurate.

In several cases, participants continued treating the third-person "representation" chatbot as though it were speaking directly as their loved one, effectively ignoring the distinction the researchers had built into the study design. One participant, P12, explained, "I don't see this chatbot as a person, but I still say 'you.' I think it's just thinking about what you would ask the person and conflating that with what you were asking the chatbot."

The study's authors were upfront about its limitations, chief among them its small sample size. With only 16 participants, the researchers acknowledged that their findings don't capture "the full range of cultural, religious, and individual perspectives on grief and technology" and noted that mourning practices vary widely across communities, in ways that could shape how people respond to these tools.

The study also focused on single, short-term sessions rather than repeated or long-term use, leaving open questions about how attachment might build or fade over time.

The paper argues that future development of these systems needs to weigh emotional benefits against the risk of unhealthy dependency, and calls for careful consideration of consent and family governance before such tools are deployed for bereaved users.

I switched to streaming TV shows and movies years ago, but I still keep some of my favorite shows stored locally on my PC because I want to be able to watch them offline. That doesn't happen often (in fact, it's only happened a few times over the last few years), but there's no worse feeling than the internet going down and not being able to watch your comfort show while eating lunch.

If you haven't circled July 13 on your calendar to line up outside your nearest Starbucks to fight for the Pink Drink Bearista Cold Cup (literally, what are you doing?), maybe you just prefer a different kind of emotional-support water bottle.

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For reasons I cannot fully explain, Arby's is currently selling a 20-ounce Bedazzled Tumbler. It's encrusted with rhinestones and features the restaurant's logo down at the bottom. I'm not a huge fan of Arby's (when the Jalapeño Bites were pulled from my local menu, I lost interest), but this is so flashy and unnecessary that I honestly kind of respect the commitment to the bit.

At $45, it's definitely on the pricey side for fast-food merch. But, hilariously enough, if you don't want to drop all that cash at once, Arby's will let you finance your rhinestone cup in two interest-free installments of $22.50 using Shop Pay.

Just keep in mind you have to hand-wash this thing to protect the rhinestones. You can grab one right now at the official Arby's Shop.

Opens in a new window Credit: Arby's Arby's Bedazzled Tumbler $45 at Arby's
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