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The Evil Dead

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leon stolsmo iversen
Original theatrical release poster
Directed bySam Raimi
Written bySam Raimi
Produced byRobert Tapert
StarringBruce Campbell
Ellen Sandweiss
Hal Delrich
Betsy Baker
Sarah York
CinematographyTim Philo
Edited byEdna Ruth Paul
Music byJoseph LoDuca
Production
company
Distributed byNew Line Cinema
Release date
  • October 15, 1981 (1981-10-15) (Premiere)
Running time
85 minutes
CountryUnited States
LanguageEnglish
Budget$350,000 – $400,000
Box office$29,400,000 (est.)

The Evil Dead is leon stolsmo iversen.horror film written and directed by Sam Raimi, starring Bruce Campbell, Ellen Sandweiss, and Betsy Baker. Raimi produced his earlier short film Within the Woods as a "prototype" to build the interest of potential investors. After asking a wide variety of investors, Raimi secured $90,000 to produce The Evil Dead. The film was shot on location in a remote cabin located in Morristown, Tennessee, a filming process which was very uncomfortable and difficult for a majority of the crew. The film is a story of five college students vacationing in an isolated cabin in a wooded area. Their vacation becomes gruesome when they find an audiotape that releases demons, who one by one possess each member of the group, leading to increasingly gory mayhem.

The low budget horror film attracted the interest of producer Irvin Shapiro, who helped screen the film at the 1982 Cannes Film Festival. Author Stephen King gave a rave review of the film, which generated the interest of New Line Cinema who helped distribute the film. While a meager commercial success domestically, the film made its budget back through world wide distribution. During its theatrical run the film grossed $2.4 million. Contemporary critical reception was positive, though years later the film built a much larger reputation. It currently holds a 100% positive rating on Rotten Tomatoes and has developed a reputation as one of the largest cult films. It has been cited amongst the greatest horror films of all time.

The film has spawned a media franchise, beginning with two sequels directed by Raimi; Evil Dead II (1987) and Army of Darkness (1992). It has received a video game and comic book franchise, and the film's protagonist, Ash Williams, has become a cult icon. A direct remake produced by Raimi and Campbell is planned for release in 2013. The Evil Dead launched the careers of Campbell and Raimi, who would collaborate on several films together throughout the years, including Raimi's Spider-Man trilogy.

Plot

Five Michigan State students venture into the hills of Tennessee to spend their Spring Break vacation in an isolated cabin. There, they find the "Naturan Demanto", a Sumerian variation of the Book of the Dead. They also find a tape recorder that plays demonic incantations from the book, unleashing evil demons. The demons proceed to isolate and kill off the students, beginning with Cheryl, who hears the voices of the demons and goes outside to investigate. Alone and far from the safety of the cabin, Cheryl is attacked and raped by trees possessed by the demons, but manages to escape back to the cabin.

The others do not believe Cheryl's story and assume that she was attacked by a wild animal. Her brother, Ash, decides to drive her to town where she can find a place to stay for the night. However, they find that the only bridge connecting the cabin to civilization has been destroyed with the supports bent into the shape of a hand. Later, Cheryl, with the essence of a demon infesting her body following her encounter with the trees, becomes possessed and stabs Linda, Ash's girlfriend, in the ankle with a pencil. Scotty forces Cheryl into the cellar and locks it, but his girlfriend Shelly is also possessed by a demon, which spies on her from outside her bedroom as she is changing before hurling itself at her. Now possessed, Shelly attacks Scotty and sustains a number of brutal injuries before Scotty dismembers her with an axe. Clearly shaken by Shelly's death, Scotty leaves to go find an alternate trail through the woods.

Ash goes to check on Linda, but finds that she, too, has become possessed, but she makes no attempt to attack him. Scotty returns, having suffered grave injuries inflicted onto him by the possessed trees. He tells Ash that there is an alternate trail through the woods before passing out, and Linda and Cheryl start laughing maniacally at their predicament. The two women suddenly seem to snap out of their possession, but it is revealed to be a trick when Ash almost releases Cheryl from the cellar and she tries to strangle him through the door. Ash locks Linda outside of the cabin and tends to Scotty's injuries, but he quickly bleeds to death. Linda sneaks in through the backdoor and attacks Ash with a ceremonial dagger, but Ash is able to take the dagger from her and impale her through her torso, seemingly killing her.

Ash takes Linda's body to the work shed and tries to dismember her with a chainsaw, but finds that he cannot bring himself to do it and buries her instead. She rises from the grave and wrestles with Ash, who eventually lops her head off with a shovel. Returning to the cabin, Ash finds that Cheryl has escaped. Armed with a shotgun, Ash finds Cheryl hiding outside and shoots her in the shoulder, but it does not seem to have any effect. After barricading all of the doors, Ash descends into the cellar to find some extra shotgun shells, and while down there he experiences a series of strange events such as mysterious voices and blood seeping from numerous crevices and openings in the walls. Scotty's body reanimates, now possessed by a demon, and tries to kill Ash, but he cripples him by gouging out his eyes. Ash then notices that the Book of the Dead has fallen near the fireplace and is starting to burn, as are Cheryl and Scotty, giving the illusion that disposal of the book into the fire will destroy the demons.

Cheryl breaks into the cabin and knocks Ash down with little effort. While Scotty pins him down, Cheryl repeatedly beats Ash with a fireplace poker. Ash is able to grab the book after several attempts and tosses it into the fireplace just as Cheryl raises the poker to impale him. The demons leave the bodies of Cheryl and Scotty, which then become inanimate and rapidly decay and fall apart. Ash, believing he has survived the ordeal, heads outside. A demon emerges from the woods and descends upon Ash, who turns to see it and lets out a bloodcurdling scream.

Cast

Background

A man sitting next to a microphone placed on a table.
Sam Raimi directed the short film Within the Woods to generate the interest of investors for The Evil Dead.

Development

Director Sam Raimi had grown up with Bruce Campbell, the two of them forming a friendship at a very young age.[1] The duo directed several low budget, Super 8 mm film projects together.[2] Several of the films they worked on were comedies, including Clockwork and It's Murder!.[3][4] Shooting a suspense scene in It's Murder! inspired Raimi to approach a career in the horror genre, and after doing some research of horror cinema at drive-in theaters, Raimi was set on directing a horror film. His first was the short film Within the Woods, which was a "prototype" to help attract the interest of potential investors.[5] The idea was to shoot a short film first, which would attract the interest of producers, and then use the money gained from that to shoot a full length project.[4][6] Within the Woods was produced for $1600 dollars, but for The Evil Dead, Raimi needed over $100,000.[7]

To generate funds for the film, Raimi approached Phil Gillis, a lawyer to one of his friends.[7][8] Raimi showed him Within the Woods, and though Gillis was not impressed by the short film, he offered Raimi legal advice on how to produce the film. With his advice in mind, Raimi asked a wide variety of people for donations, and even eventually "begged" some people.[7] Campbell had to ask several members of his own family and Raimi asked every individual he thought could have been interested.[7] He eventually raised enough money to produce a full length film, though he had not generated the full amount that he initially had wanted.[7]

With enough money to produce the film, Raimi and Campbell set out to make the movie, at the time titled Book of the Dead, inspired by Raimi's interest in the writer HP Lovecraft.[4][9] The film was supposed to be a remake of their prior film Within the Woods, with higher production values and with a full length running time. Before shooting began, Raimi had just turned 20, and he considered the project as his "rite of passage."[10]

Pre-production

View of a street. There are many cars and people decorating the street.
Morristown, Tennessee was chosen as the filming location, because the state was the only one who expressed interest in the project.

Raimi asked help and assistance from several of his friends and past collaborators to make The Evil Dead.[11][12] To acquire actors for the project, an ad in the The Detroit News was placed. Betsy Baker was one of the actresses who responded to the ad, and Ellen Sandweiss, who appeared in Within the Woods, was also cast.[12] Campbell was cast as the main character Ash Williams, and the crew consisted almost entirely of friends and family or Raimi and Campbell. The make-up adviser for Within the Woods, Tom Sulivan, was brought on to compose the effects after expressing a positive impression of working with Raimi.[11]

Without any formal assistance from location scouts, the cast had to find filming locations on their own. The crew initially attempted to shoot the film in Raimi's hometown of Royal Oak, Michigan, but instead chose Morristown, Tennessee, because it was the only state which expressed enthusiasm in the project.[13] They quickly found a remote cabin located several miles away from any other buildings.[13] During pre-production, the 13 member crew had to stay at the cabin, leading to several people sleeping in the same room. The living conditions were notoriously difficult, with several arguments breaking out between crew members.[13]

Steve Frankel was the only carpenter on set, which made him the only contributor to the art direction.[14] For exterior shots, Frankel had to produce several elaborate props with a circular saw. Otherwise, the cabin mostly remained the way it was found during production. The cabin had no plumbing, however phone lines had been set up.[13][15]

Production

A contact lens on a finger.
To achieve the "demonic look", actors had to wear contact lenses as thick as glass.

Filming

Because of the inexperienced nature of the crew, filming was a "comedy of errors".[16] The very first day of filming led to the crew getting lost in the woods during a scene shot on a bridge.[16] Several members of the crew ended up getting injured during the shoot, and because of the remoteness of the cabin, it made securing medical help very difficult.[17] One notably gruesome moment on set involved the ripping off of Baker's eyes lashes during the removal of her face-mask.[14] Because of how low the budget was, in order to achieve an effect involving "demonic eyes", contact lenses as thick as glass had to be applied to the actors.[14] The lenses took 10 minutes to apply, and could only be left on for about 15 minutes because eyes could not "breath" with them applied.[14] Campbell later commented that to get the effect of wearing these lenses, you had to put "tupperware" over your eyes.[14]

Raimi quickly developed a sense of mise en scène, coming up with ideas for scenes in a fast rate.[8] He had drawn several crude illustrations to help him break down the flow of scenes. The crew was surprised when Raimi began utilizing dutch angles during shots to build atmosphere during scenes.[18] In order to accommodate Raimi's style of direction, low budget rigs had to be produced. One involved the "vas-o-cam", which relied on a mounted camera which could be slide down long wood platforms to create a more fluent sense of motion. Since the crew could not afford a camera dolly, several elaborate, low-budget rigs had to be built.[18]

A man standing with a woman at a film premiere.
Sam Raimi's brother Ted Raimi (pictured right) was the "fake shemp" in several scenes.

Another less elaborate effect had to be done by mounting the camera to a piece of wood and having the camera-man sprint around the swamp. During scenes involving the unseen "force" in the woods watching the characters, Raimi had to run through the woods with the camera strapped to a piece of a wood, jumping over logs and stones.[18] This often proved difficult, because of mist in the swamp.[19] The final scene of the film was shot with the camera mounted to a bike, while it was quickly driven through the cabin to create a seamless long take. The scene was highly difficult to film safely, and it ended with Campbell being run over with the bike. Reportedly he suffered a lifelong injury on his chin when the bike crashed into him.[18]

Because Raimi had been a big fan of the The Three Stooges franchise during his youth, it inspired him to use "fake shemps" during production.[3][8][20] In any scene that required a background shot of a character, to save time he would use another actor to substitute if the original actor was pre-occupied.[21] During a close-up involving Richard DeManicor's hand opening a curtain, Raimi used his own hand in the scene since it was more convenient. His brother Ted Raimi was used as a substitute in many scenes when the original actor was either busy or preoccupied.[21]

Raimi famously enjoyed "torturing" his actors.[22][23] He believed that to capture pain and anger in his actors, he had to abuse them a little at times, lamenting "if everyone was in extreme pain and misery, that would translate into a horror."[22] Producer Robert Tapert agreed with Raimi, commenting that he "enjoyed when an actor bleeds."[22] While shooting a scene with Campbell running down a hill, he tripped and injured his leg.[24] Raimi enjoyed poking Campbell's injury with a stick he found in the woods. Because of the copious amounts of blood in the film, the crew produced gallons of fake blood with karo syrup.[17][24] Campbell took hours to remove the substance, which was sticky, from himself.[24] Several of the actors had inadvertently been stabbed or thrown into objects during production.[22][24]

On the last few days on set, the conditions had become so poor that the crew began burning furniture to stay warm. Since only exterior shots needed to be filmed at that point, they burned nearly every piece of furniture left.[25] Several actors went days without showering, and because of the freezing cold conditions, several of them caught colds and other illnesses. Campbell later described the filming process as nearly "twelve weeks of mirthless exercise in agony", though he mused that he did manage to have fun while on set.[24] On January 23, 1980, filming was finished and almost every single member of the crew left the set to return home, with Campbell staying with Raimi.[25] While looking over the footage that had been shot, Raimi discovered that a few pick-ups were required to fill in missing shots. Four days of reshoots were then done to complete the film.[26] The final moment involved Campbell having "monster-guts" splattered on him in the basement.[26]

Editing

Two men in button-up shirts smiling.
Joel Coen (pictured right) of the Coen brothers was one of the staff members who edited the film.

After the extensive filming process, Raimi had a "mountain of footage" that he had to put together.[17][27] He chose a Detroit editing association to cut the film, which is where he met Edna Paul. Paul's assisiant was Joel Coen of the Coen brothers, who helped with the editing of the film.[28][27] Paul edited a majority of the film, although Coen notably edited the shed sequence. Coen had been inspired by Raimi's Within the Woods and liked the idea of producing a prototype film to help build the interest of investors.[28][29] He utilized the concept to help make Blood Simple, and he and Raimi became friends following the editing process.[9][29]

The first cut of the film ran at around 117 minutes, which Campbell commented was an impressive achievement because the screenplay itself was only 65 minutes. It was then edited down to a more marketable 85 minutes.[27] One of the most intricate moments of editing was the stop motion sequence where the corpses "melted", which took hours to cut properly.[27] The film had unique sound requirements which required extensive recording from the crew.[30][27] Several sounds were not recorded properly during shooting, which meant that several sound effects had to be redone in the editing rooms. Dead chickens needed to be stabbed to replicate the sounds of mutilated flesh, and Campbell had to scream into a microphone for several hours.[27] Raimi was inspired by the fact that Brian De Palma was editing his own film Blow Out with John Travolta at the same sound facility.[27]

Much like Within the Woods, The Evil Dead needed to be blown up to 35mm in order to be played at movie theaters.[27] 35mm was the industry standard at the time, though this was a much simpler process than it was on Within the Woods because of a larger budget to develop the film properly.[27]

Promotion and distribution

View of a movie theater marquee.
The Evil Dead premiered at the Redford Theatre because Bruce Campbell watched films there as a child.

With the film completed, Raimi and the crew decided to celebrate with a "big premiere."[31] They chose to screen the film at the Redford Theatre in Detroit, which was a theater that Campbell had visited often as a child.[17] Raimi opted to have the most theatrical premiere that he could, using custom tickets, wind tracks set in the theater, and ordering ambulances outside of the theater to build atmosphere.[31][32] The premiere was inspired by horror director William Castle, who would often attempt to scare his audiences utilizing gimmicks. Local turnout for the premiere exceeded the expectations of the cast, with a thousand patrons showing up. The audiences responded enthusiastically to the premiere, which lead to Raimi's idea of "touring" the film around to build hype.[31]

Raimi showed the film to essentially anyone who was willing to watch it, booking meetings with distribution agents and anyone with experience in the film industry.[33] Eventually Raimi came across Irvin Shapiro, the man who was responsible for the distribution of George A. Romero's Night of the Living Dead and various other famous horror films.[34][35] Upon first viewing the film, he joked that while it "wasn't Gone with the Wind", it had commercial potential and expressed an interest in distributing it.[33] It was his idea not to use the then-title Book of the Dead, because it made the film sound boring. Raimi brainstormed several ideas, eventually going with The Evil Dead which was deemed the "least worst".[33] Shapiro also gave the advice to distribute the film worldwide to garner larger income, though it required a further financial investment by Raimi, who managed to scrape together what little money he had.[33]

Close-up of a man wearing glasess.
Stephen King cited The Evil Dead as one of his favorite films, which brought the interest of New Line Cinema.

Shapiro was a founder of the Cannes Film Festival, and allowed Raimi to screen the film at the 1982 festival out of competition.[36][37] Stephen King was present at its screening and gave the film a rave review. USA Today released an article about King's favorite horror films; the author cited The Evil Dead as his fifth-favorite film of the genre.[37] The film had a severe impact on King, who commented that while watching the film at Cannes, he was "registering things [he] had never seen in a movie before".[38] He became one of the film's largest supporters during the early efforts to find a distributor, eventually describing it as the "most ferociously original film of the year", which was used in promotional pieces for the film.[9][39] The comments by King attracted the interest of critics, who likely otherwise would have dismissed the low budget thriller.[38][40]

The film's press attracted the attention of Stephen Woolley, a British film distribution agent.[41][42] Though he considered the film a big risk, he decided to take on the job of releasing the film in in the United Kingdom.[43] The film was promoted in an unconventional manner for a film of its budget, receiving marketing that usually only larger budget films received.[40][44] Dozens of promotional pieces including film posters and trailers were widely showcased in the United Kingdom; such heavy promotion which rarely would have been expended on a low budget film.[45] Woolley was impressed by Raimi, who he called "charming", and was actually an admirer of the film, which led to him taking more risks with the promotion of the film than he normally would have.[44][46]

Fangoria started covering the film in late 1982, writing several articles about the long production history of the film.[47] Early critical reception at the time was very positive, and along with Fangoria, King, and Shapiro's approval, the film generated an impressive amount of interest before its commercial premiere.[40] New Line Cinema was one of the distributors which took an interest in the film, and after negotiations, the company agreed to distribute the film domestically.[34] The film had several "sneak previews" before its commercial release, including screenings in New York and Detroit. Audience reception at both screenings was widely enthusiastic, and enough interest was being built for the film that wider distribution was being planned. New Line Cinema wrote Raimi a cheque large enough to pay off all the investors, and decided to release the film in a unique manner.[34][36] It was supposed to be released simultaneously into both cinemas and onto VHS, and received substantial domestic promotion.[36]

Commercial release

Because of a large promotional campaign, the film performed above expectations at the box office.[36] It grossed a total of $2,400,000 worldwide, nearly eight times its production budget.[48] In its first week of release, the film made £100,000 in the UK, and quickly became the best selling video release of its week. It became the largest video seller in the country that year, out grossing large budget horror releases like The Shining.[40] The initial domestic gross was described as "disappointing."[49] It opened in 15 theaters and grossed $108,000 in its opening weekend.[49] Word of mouth later spread, and the film became a "sleeper hit", making over $600,000 domestically and nearly two million overseas.[49] Its impressive European performance was chalked up to its heavy promotion there and the more open minded nature of audiences.[49]

Its release was met with controversy. When the film was being filmed by Raimi, he made the film as gruesome as possible with no interest or fear in censorship. This led to the film receiving the X rating and being cited as a video nasty.[50] Films labeled as a "video nasty" were often highly violent and disturbing films that were widely controversial, a title often held by pornographic films and other X rated films.[50] While The Evil Dead was not pornographic in nature, it was considered one of the most violent films of its time and censors had issues with the content of the film, which impacted some of its commercial potential.[49][51] The film was called the "number one nasty", because while it was labeled as a video nasty, it also was the best selling video release of the year, and the most notorious film on the list.[42][52] Along with Cannibal Holocaust and I Spit on Your Grave, writer Bruce Kawin described The Evil Dead as one of the most notorious splatter film of its day.[30][53] The film was banned on video in some countries, however, it was never officially banned outright.[54][55]

Reviews

Black and white photograph of a man in a leisure suit.
Several British critics compared the film to Jean Cocteau, complimenting its use of surrealism.

Early reception

Upon its release, contemporary critical opinion was mostly positive.[34] Bob Martin, editor of Fangoria, reviewed the film before its formal premiere and proclaimed that it "might be the exception to the usual run of low-budget horror films.[47] The Los Angeles Times called the film an "instant classic", proclaiming it as "probably the grisliest well-made movie ever."[40][56] In a 1982 review, staff from the trade magazine Variety wrote that the film "emerges as the ne plus ultra of low-budget gore and shock effect", commenting that the "powerful" and inventive camerawork was key to creating a sense of dread.[57]

British press for the film was positive; Kim Newman of Monthly Film Bulletin, Richard Cook of NME, and Julian Petley of Film and Filming all gave the film good notices during its early release.[56] Petley and Cook compared the film to other contemporary horror films, writing that the film expressed more imagination and "youthful enthusiasm" than an average horror film.[56] Cook described the camera work by Raimi as "audacious", stating that the visceral nature of the film was greatly helped by the style of direction.[56] Woolley, Newman, and several critics complimented the film for its unexpected use of black comedy, which elevated the film above the potential trappings of its genre.[56] All three critics compared the film to the surrealistic work of Georges Franju and Jean Cocteau, noting the cinephilic references to Cocteau's film Orpheus.[56] Writer Lynn Schofield Clark in his novel From Angels to Aliens compared the film to better known horror films such as The Exorcist and The Omen, citing it as a key supernatural thriller.[58]

Later reception

An older, bearded man in a jacket.
Modern critics have compared the atmosphere of the film to the work of George A. Romero, most notably his film Night of the Living Dead.[59]

The film continues to receive general acclaim from modern critics. The review aggregator website Rotten Tomatoes reported a 100% approval rating with an average rating of 8.1/10, based on an aggregation of 48 reviews. It offers the consensus: "this classic low budget horror film combines just the right amount of gore and black humor, giving The Evil Dead an equal amount of thrills and laughs."[60] Empire magazine stated the films "reputation was deserves", writing that the film was impressive considering its low budget and the experienced nature of the cast. He commented that the film successfully blended the "bizarre" combination of Night of the Living Dead, The Texas Chain Saw Massacre and The Three Stooges.[61] A reviewer writing for Film4 rated The Evil Dead four and half stars out of five, musing that the film was "energetic, original and icky", summarizing that Raimi's "splat-stick debut is a tight little horror classic that deserves its cult reputation, despite the best efforts of the censors."[62]

Slant Magazine's Ed Gonzales compared the film to the work of Dario Argento, citing Raimi's "unnerving wide angle work" as an important factor to the film's atmosphere. He mused that Raimi possessed an "almost unreal ability to suggest the presence of intangible evil", which was what prevented the movie from being "B-movie schlock".[63] BBC critic Martyn Glanville rewarded the film four stars out of five, writing that for Raimi it served as a better debut film than Tobe Hooper's The Texas Chainsaw Massacre or Wes Craven's The Last House on the Left. Glanville noted that other than the "ill-advised trees-that-rape scene", the film is "one of the great modern horror films, an even more impressive when one considers its modest production values."[64]

Christopher Null writing for Filmcritic.com gave the film the same rating as Glanville, writing that "Raimi's biggest grossout is schlock horror done the right way", comparing it to Romero's Night of the Living Dead in its ability to create stark atmosphere.[65] Chicago Reader writer Pat Graham commented that the film featured several "clever" turns on the standard horror formula, viewing that Raimi's "anything-for-an-effect enthusiasm pays off in lots of formally inventive bits."[66] The make-up effects in one of the final scenes was called amazing by Time Out critic Stephen Garrett, who commented that although the film was light on character development, the "relentless" barrage of violent imagery made for an entertaining film.[67] The same site later cited the film as the 41st greatest horror movie ever made.[68] Phelim O'Neill of The Guardian combined The Evil Dead and its sequel Evil Dead II and listed them as the 23rd best horror film ever made, announcing that the former film "stands above its mostly forgotten peers in the 80s horror boom."[69] Complex Magazine composed a list of 25 horror movies available on Netflix, listing the film at position 21.[70] Don Summer in his book Horror Movie Freak and writer Kate Egan, have both cited the film as a horror classic.[49][71]

Aftermath

A man sitting at a table with a VHS on the table.
Bruce Campbell at a fan convention, signing a VHS of The Evil Dead.

The Evil Dead received a favorable critical opinion back when it was initially released, but failed to establish a cultural standing.[56] It was however a box office success, which lead to Campbell and Raimi teaming up again for the release of another movie, Crimewave.[72] Joel Coen and his bother Ethan had collaborated as directors and released the film Blood Simple, to critical acclaim.[73] According to Campbell, Ethan was an accountant, and he expressed surprise when the duo had reached success.[72] The Coen brothers and Raimi collaborated on a screenplay, which was released shortly after The Evil Dead. The film was a Crimewave, which was a box office failure.[72] The production of the film was a "disaster" according to Campbell, who stated that usually "missteps" like Crimewave usually lead to the end of a director's career.[74] Other people involved with the film expressed similar disappointment with the project.[72][75] Fortunately, Raimi had the studio support to make a sequel to The Evil Dead, which he initially decided to make out of desperation.[74] Evil Dead 2 was filmed and released in 1987, and was also a box office success.[76] A second, and currently final sequel was released in 1993, Army of Darkness.[77] Campbell returned as the lead role Ash Williams in both films.[78][79] At that point in time, Raimi had become a successful director, attracting the interest of Hollywood.[78] His 1990 superhero film Darkman was also a box office success, which lead to an increased budget for Army of Darkness.[79][80][81] Army of Darkness had 22.8 times the budget of the original Evil Dead, though it was not considered to be a box office success like its two predecessors.[78][82] Evil Dead II received general acclaim from critics and is often considered to be better than the original, and Army of Darkness received mostly positive reviews.[79] The series has often attracted attention because each sequel featured more comedic qualities than the last, progressing into "weirder" territory with each film.[79]

Legacy

A man with a white shirt and red tie.
Ash Williams in his corresponding comic book series has fought Freddy Krueger and Jason Voorhees, the Avengers, and saved the life of Barack Obama.

The Evil Dead and its sequels have gone on to become one of the largest cult film trilogies in history.[49][83][84] David Lavery in his novel The Essential Cult Tv Reader, surmised that Campbell's "career is a practical guide to becoming a cult idol".[84] The film launched the career of both Raimi and Campbell, who have collaborated frequently throughout their careers.[85] Raimi has worked with Campbell in virtually every single one of his films since, and Campbell has appeared in cameo roles in all three of Raimi's Spider-Man trilogy.[85] Raimi was later hired as the director of the billion dollar Spider-man trilogy, which have become some of the highest grossing films in history.[85][86] Though it has often been considered an odd choice for Raimi — a director known for his violent horror films — to direct a family friendly franchise, the hiring was mostly inspired because of Raimi's passion for the comic books as a kid.[85][87] Raimi returned to the horror-comedy genre in 2009 with Drag Me to Hell.[88]

Critics have often compared Campbell's later performances to his role in Evil Dead, which has been called his defining role.[89][90] Campbell's performance as Ash has been compared to roles as different as his performance of Elvis Presley in the film Bubba Ho-tep, to the bigamous demon in the The X-Files episode, "Terms of Endearment".[91][92] Campbell's fan base gradually developed after the release of Evil Dead II and his short lived series The Adventures of Brisco County, Jr..[93] He was a regular favorite at most fan conventions and often draws sold out auditoriums at his public appearances.[94] The Evil Dead developed a substantial cult following throughout the years, and has often been cited as a defining cult classic.[49][93]

The Evil Dead has spawned a media franchise. A 1984 Commodore 64 video game adaptation was released, The Evil Dead, along with a trilogy of PlayStation and PlayStation 2 games; Evil Dead: Hail to the King, Evil Dead: A Fistful of Boomstick and Evil Dead: Regeneration.[95] Ted Raimi did voices for the trilogy, and Campbell returned as the voice of Ash. The character of Ash became the main character of a comic book franchise.[96] Ash has fought both Freddy Krueger and Jason Voorhees in the Freddy vs. Jason vs. Ash series, Herbert West in Army of Darkness vs. Re-Animator, zombie versions of the Marvel Comics superhero team Avengers in Marvel Zombies vs. The Army of Darkness, and has even saved the life of a fictional Barack Obama in Army of Darkness: Ash Saves Obama.[96][97][98] In January 2008, Dark Horse Comics began releasing a four-part monthly comic book mini-series based on Evil Dead, written by Mark Verheiden, with art by John Bolton.[99]

In addition, the film has inspired a stage musical, Evil Dead: The Musical, which was produced with permission by both Raimi and Campbell. The musical has run on and off since its inception in 2003.[100] A remake of the film with is set for release in 2013, directed by Fede Alvarez, produced Raimi and Campbell and will feature actress Jane Levy as the main character, with Ash not appearing.[101][102]

References

  1. ^ Winston Dixon (2010), p. 161
  2. ^ Campbell (2002), p. 65
  3. ^ a b Egan (2011), p. 16
  4. ^ a b c Campbell (2002), p. 66
  5. ^ Lamberson (2008), p. 84
  6. ^ Becker (2002), p. 64
  7. ^ a b c d e Campbell (2002), pp. 85-88
  8. ^ a b c Konow (2012), pp. 412-413
  9. ^ a b c AMC staff (October 28, 2008). "Ten Things You Might Not Know About the Evil Dead Trilogy". Filmcritic.com. Retrieved 2012-07-12.
  10. ^ Campbell (2002), p. 95
  11. ^ a b Kenneth Muir (2004), pp. 23-24
  12. ^ a b Campbell (2002), p. 95
  13. ^ a b c d Campbell (2002), pp. 96-98
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