More than 40 years ago, director Sami Raimi made one of the most creative and absurd films that irrevocably changed horror Genre with his B movie Marvel, the evil dead. Since the first movie was released in 1981, evil dead It has become the gold standard for campy horror and an influential horror franchise that ranks high among blockbusters in its genre.
These films expertly blend horror and comedy. It has some seriously disturbing gore between bouts of physical comedy, almost slapstick comedy, thanks to the fantastic Bruce Campbell, that makes this series stand out. Some movies lean more towards comedy than horror and vice versa, but each entry understands what its goal is and delivers.
Evil died We are introduced to the dead, evil spirits summoned by the Book of the Dead intent on destroying everyone who reads from the Book in the most violent of ways. Since then, the franchise has spawned two live-action series, a reboot, a TV show, and most recently, Lee Cronin. evil dead rise, which is currently showing in theaters. Raimi and Campbell made the first movie with a cast of just 13 people back in ’81, so it’s amazing to see how far this story has come since then.
Each entry in this franchise offers something different from the last while still maintaining the signature campy style that Raimi created all those years ago. So where do each installment of this bizarre horror series fall in order? Well, it is hard to decide considering that they are all excellent in their own way. However, here it is all evil dead Movie and display arrangement.
6 evil dead 2013)
Fede Alvarez evil dead It is one of the rare instances in which a remake lives up to the original. Released more than 20 years after the conclusion of the original trilogy, this movie isn’t so much a remake as it is a sequel and reboot. Again, it uses a cabin in the woods and centers around a group of young friends who inadvertently summon the dead like they did in the first movie, but it also took place in the present day and had a cast of completely different characters. The film also gives its characters more detailed backstories than the original film did and provides the protagonist with a complex history.
This is certainly one of the darker entries in the franchise as it takes the Book of the Dead’s sinister presence more seriously than any of the previous films and lacks the true meaning of the original trilogy, but absolutely nails the horror elements. It’s actually quite disturbing at times, and Jane Levy makes for one of the best final girls in modern horror.
5 Ash vs. Evil Dead (2015-2018)
Chainsaw-wielding monster hunter Ash Williams returns more than 30 years after his last battle with the undead in a TV series produced by Raimi and Campbell, Ash vs. Evil Dead. Our favorite fighter manages to avoid both responsibility and the deadly demons who gave him his chainsaw hand until an act of carelessness causes them to be unleashed once again. The show enhances the blood, energy and fun found in the movie trilogy and adds new characters for Ash to battle with. All three seasons have been praised by critics and fans alike for their outrageous violence and hilarious absurdity. It’s actually the highest-grossing entry in the franchise, with a score of 99% from critics and a 95% from audience on Rotten Tomatoes. It was a welcome addition to the franchise and remains a proud entry that fans still cherish to this day.
4 Evil Dead (1981)
Now, putting the guy who started it all in fourth place might be a bit controversial, but this franchise doesn’t have a bad entry in it. Each entry is unique, and we wouldn’t have this very funny series without it. Evil died It is gloriously weird and conveys both horror and laughter. The dead are absolutely disgusting, and you wouldn’t want to touch them with a 39-and-a-half-foot column. Since the budget was low and there were only 13 people working on the film, Raimi had to get creative with the camera. He didn’t have a Steadicam, so he used a “shaky camera” by mounting the camera on a plank of wood and running through the woods or mounting the camera on a bike, giving the film its distinctive look. Raimi even helped Joel Cohen of the Cohen brothers edit the film. Evil died It launched the craze for the franchise we know and love today, and delivered some grueling scares along the way.
3 Army of Darkness (1992)
Listen up, neanderthals! dark army It is undoubtedly the funniest, most chaotic and widely entertaining installment in the series evil dead franchise. Nothing in this movie’s narrative makes sense which is why it works so well. Now, we all know that time is a build-in evil dead universe, and we just follow every Sam Raimi crazy thing.
The film picks up exactly where the second movie kicked off, as Ashes is transported back in time to the Middle Ages. What awaits him there? More dead, of course. Getting our reluctant hero out of the cabin in a forest setting allows him to have some fun and become a leader. Despite a complete lack of excitement and chills, dark army It proves to be very interesting for most people evil dead Fans to take care of. There were definitely moments from this movie that could have used for gory horror, but Ash’s bizarre medieval adventures make up for it.
2 Rise of the Evil Dead (2023)
Taking the story out of the cabin in the woods and moving it to a high-rise apartment complex in Los Angeles might have been considered a risky move, but it undoubtedly paid off. Lee Cronin evil dead rise It’s already certified fresh on Rotten Tomatoes with a critics score of 84% and an audience score of 79%. It beats expected box office numbers, and has fans saying it might be the scariest movie in the franchise. This time around, we follow a family of five who soon discover that the apartment building is haunted just like their cabin and that the Necronomicon has once again unleashed a horrific nightmare.
Quite possibly the deadliest yet, which is saying a lot, as an estimated 1,700 gallons of blood was used for the movie. This film leans into the full horror elements and further proves that we are in the midst of a horror renaissance after the incredible year the genre had last year. It stands on its own while still capturing the spirit of the original films, and with Raimi and Campbell on board as executive producers, it’s through and through. evil dead film.
1 Evil Dead II (1987)
Try to decide whether Evil Dead II is a pointless remake or sequel because we’ve already established that time is just a building block in these movies. It’s Remy’s world, and we just live in it, baby. Evil Dead II It takes the same plot as its predecessor but replaces old characters with new ones. The combination of horror and comedy is at its most extreme, and this is the first time in the franchise that we’ve given a truly unforgettable talent a spin. The Dead brings a more subtle sense of humor and somehow stirs up the violence than the first movie. In this movie, Ash famously wields his chainsaw hand and uses it to fight bloodthirsty demons, as well as inanimate objects, that constantly taunt him. It has some of the most memorable horror scenes as well as some of the most memorable comedy scenes ever filmed, and the pacing makes the 90 minutes fly by. Raimi is clearly more confident behind the camera at this point and Campbell releases it in the best way possible.
One of the best aspects of the movie is that it wastes no time restating what happened in the first movie. The cabin, Ash and his girlfriend, and the Book of the Dead are introduced in the first few minutes of the movie. This allows the film to kick the action into gear and launch first into the absurdities we’ve come to know and love. Doing a remake of a movie released just six years ago is a risky move, but it works perfectly here. the evil dead A franchise isn’t the kind of franchise that has to rely on a fully polished narrative structure for a movie to work, so Raimi honed in on all the gory comedy gold that makes this franchise one of the best in the horror genre.
