This film is an adaptation of the 1981 film The Evil Dead (1981), which was originally written and directed by Sam Raimi. Raimi serves as a producer and creative constant on this film.
Leading up to the film's release there was some fan debate as to whether this may actually be a spin-off or sequel that is set within the continuity of Sam Raimi's original Evil Dead films, with a different set of characters tormented by the same demons from the original films. However, the film is actually a re-imagining of the story of the first two films. There are many continuity elements that directly contradict things from the original films, such as the owner of the cabin, how the Book of the Dead reacts to fire, and the way in which the demon possession occurs and reacts in people. However, both Evil Dead II (1987) (1987) and Army of Darkness (1992) (1992) purposefully contradicted story elements from each previous film, so anything is possible in future sequels. Director Fede Alvarez stated in an interview that it was kept deliberately ambiguous. All of the coincidences between the original movies and the new one suggest a remake. Yet, since the cabin survived at the end of Evil Dead II, it is possible that the new movie simply takes place 30 years later, ownership of the cabin has changed, and the demonic book has magically re-manifested itself back in the cabin to force a new generation of youngsters into a similar series of events. Bruce Campbell said at WonderCon 2013 that he hopes for a crossover movie between his character and the surviving character of Evil Dead (2013).
Originally, in the The Evil Dead and Evil Dead II, the cabin is owned by the family of Professor Knowby, the doctor who discovered the Book of the Dead and brought it to his cabin for study. In those films, the main characters are staying at the cabin as trespassers, believing the cabin to be long abandoned. In this new film the cabin belongs to the family of Mia and David, the main characters. They arrive at their family cabin for the first time in years and discover that in the interim unknown people used the cabin basement to exorcise a demon and after doing so left the Book of the Dead behind. As for the book itself, in the first movie fire destroyed it and all its evil minions along with it. In the new film the book can not be burned and in fact is never destroyed by the end of the film. The book is also different in appearance, but it has always looked different in every film of the franchise.
The most immediate difference is that the demons of this film are more directly tied to the physical laws of nature. In order for a possession to occur a physical invasion must happen first. Mia is possessed after being violated by the trees. Olivia is possessed after ingesting Mia's vomit. Natalie is infested by a bite to the hand and bloody tongue kiss from Mia. And Eric is most slowly possessed by consistent, incidental contact with all the demon blood. In the original films, physical invasion by a demon assured possession but was not necessary. Likewise, the demons can not affect the physical world like they could in the original films. They can not morph their host bodies into non-human monsters. They do maintain the ability to float through the air (Mia flies around the basement while posessed), and some aspects of telekinesis (closing and locking cabin doors), where in the original they could affect the cabin in many other ways (though it may be debated that some of that was Ash losing his mind). The demons are also never called Dead-ites, which is the term commonly used in Army of Darkness and the common ventricular by fans to refer to all Evil Dead creatures. In addition, Dead-ites from original series had characters and were unique, e.g., Shelly always screamed, Linda always laughed, and Cheryl was always creepy. In this remake, each demon is like a part of the one soul collector so there is not much difference between them.
After the dog is not seen for a while, David finds a trail of blood that leads to a foxhole under the shed. He looks and sees the dog whimpering at the end of the hole. By the time he reaches the dog and pulls it out it seems that the dog has died and David is upset. Nothing else is mentioned or seen of the dog afterward but it can be assumed that David may have laid the dog aside somewhere to bury later, since the next scene is him going to confront Mia about what happened. In the script, which was posted online, the dog is explained to have been dead when found and no mention is made of him whimpering in the hole. The whimpering heard in the movie may have been added in post-production, either to make it clearer to audiences that it is the dog in the hole or to make the scene a little less upsetting if it seems he isn't completely dead when found. The movie also implies that the dog was killed with a hammer, while the original leaked script implies that Mia, acting under possession of the evil, beat the dog with her bare hands and that the dog fought back by biting into her arms.
The script and film refer to the final monster that rises out of the ground as a demon called The Abomination. In the film the monster appears as a tall, emaciated, clawed version of Mia, brought into this world by the claiming of five souls throughout the film's main story. What is less clear is which five souls are used to summon it. Olvia, and Natalie were unquestionably two of the claimed souls. Another may have come from the mother of the unnamed possessed girl from the opening scene, mentioned as being killed by her. Grandpa the dog may not have counted because he was a not a human. Mia's soul may not have been used to raise the Abomination because she ends up cured of her possession before it rises; but, her soul may have been used because a deleted post-credit scene shows she is still under the influence of the evil even after defeating it. David's soul may not have been used because he was never possessed and was not directly killed by the demons; but, his soul may have been used because he dies right before the Abomination rises. Like Mia, Eric and the unnamed possessed girl's souls ought to have been 'cleansed' of their possession (through fire,) and might not have counted, though Eric dies just before the Abomination rises. Eric does admit to having an incomplete knowledge and understanding of what the Necronomicon says. It is possible that being cleansed simply kills the summoned creature, without releasing the soul, or that other souls had been claimed during un-shown and unmentioned previous summonses; the film leaves this unclear.
During the end credits the voice recorder audio of Professor Knowby explaining his discovery of the Book of the Dead from the original film is played. There is also a short scene after the credits.
Yes, but not within the film's story. He appears after the end credits, in a dark, nondescript location, turns to the camera and says, "Groovy."
No, it does not mean that. The idea that, when a remake or reboot is made, it prevents the original series from continuing is understandable because that is how it normally happens. In fact, there is an Evil Dead TV series, Ash vs Evil Dead (2015) (2015–), which premiered on Starz, on October 31st, 2015, and stars Bruce Campbell as Ash. It is a continuation of the original Evil Dead trilogy.
The original stinger (post credit scene) was cut almost entirely from the final cut of the film. In the final cut, we see Bruce Campbell, who says Ash's catchphrase "Groovy" before turning to the camera. The script and an interview with the director put his appearance into context. The initial idea was to have Mia walking down the road at night when an S-Mart truck pulled up next to her. A voice called out to her, asking if she was alright. Mia turned to the driver of the truck, visibly possessed. At this point we would have seen Bruce Campbell, this time more obviously in character as Ash, say "Groovy" and turn to the camera. This ending would have alluded to the fact that not only would we be seeing Ash in the next film, but that, after the announcement of Army of Darkness II, there may be the possibility of a crossover film.
Yes. Apart from the basic plot elements and setting, there are quite a few moments that are directly inspired by iconic scenes from the original trilogy, and often pay (comic) respect to them. These include (but are probably not limited to): (1) When the car arrives at the cabin, you can vaguely hear "Join us!", a sound clip lifted from Evil Dead II. The entire recording of professor Knowby from this movie can be heard during the credits as well. (2) The iconic Oldsmobile Delta 88, which director Sam Raimi has included in every Evil Dead film can be seen as the car where Mia is sitting on in the beginning. (3) A girl raped by the trees famously occurred in Evil Dead as well. (4) The picture of the Abomination rising from the ground in the book strongly resembles the movie poster of the original Evil Dead. The picture of a woman cutting of the flesh from her head resembles the poster of Evil Dead II (which featured a skull with eyes). Finally, Ash' dismembered hand giving the middle finger from Evil Dead II can be seen in a picture in the book as well. (5) The iconic point-of-view shots of the "evil" flying through the woods from the original trilogy return. The phrase "I'll swallow your soul" from the original trilogy is re-phrased as "I'll feast on your soul". (6) After being bitten in the hand, Natalie saws off her arm with an electric knife, mirroring Ash getting bitten in the hand and subsequently sawing it off with a chainsaw in Evil Dead II. (7) David and Eric's conversation about "Everything's gonna be fine" resembles the scene in Evil Dead II where Ash has a talk with his mirror image. (8) David hears Mia singing a lullaby they learned as kids from inside the cellar. The same thing happened in Evil Dead II with Annie and her possessed mother. (9) There was a notoriously poor effect of lightning striking a tree in Evil Dead, which Raimi had removed from some versions of the film. The scene returns properly in the new movie. (10) David enters the shed, seeing the chainsaw but ignores it. Ash did the same in Evil Dead II, only he did pick it up. (11) The scene of David burying Mia is reminiscent of the scene in Army of Darkness where Ash talks to Bad Ash while burying him. (12) Mia loses her hand, and saws the Abomination in half with the chainsaw. In Evil Dead II. Ash also lost his hand, and used the chainsaw to saw Linda's head in II. (13) Ash from the original trilogy makes a post-credit appearance, saying his signature line "Groovy!"
It was announced pretty early that they did not intend to hold back on violence, an R-rating being the goal. And they kept their word. In fact, the movie was so drastic the Motion Picture Association of America (MPAA) rated it NC-17. Problematic for the theatrical version though which is why Alvarez had to make alterations until the movie was finally rated R (for strong bloody violence and gore, some sexual content and language). An unrated version was announced for Blu-ray/DVD but it has never been released, at least not on one of these media. On the QT, an extended cut of Evil Dead aired in January 2015 on the British "Channel 4". Besides additional plot scenes, there is more violence, as well. Among other things, the MPAA cuts have been reversed and the infamous chainsaw scene from the trailer is back in the movie, too.
Powered by Alexa
- How long is Evil Dead?1 hour and 31 minutes
- When was Evil Dead released?April 5, 2013
- What is the IMDb rating of Evil Dead?6.5 out of 10
- Who stars in Evil Dead?
- Who wrote Evil Dead?
- Who directed Evil Dead?
- Who was the composer for Evil Dead?
- Who was the producer of Evil Dead?
- Who was the executive producer of Evil Dead?
- Who was the cinematographer for Evil Dead?
- Who was the editor of Evil Dead?
- Who are the characters in Evil Dead?Mia, David, Eric, Olivia, Natalie, Teenager, Harold, Toothless Redneck, Long Haired Redneck, Demon Hands, and others
- What is the plot of Evil Dead?Five friends head to a remote cabin, where the discovery of a Book of the Dead leads them to unwittingly summon up demons living in the nearby woods.
- What was the budget for Evil Dead?$17 million
- How much did Evil Dead earn at the worldwide box office?$97.5 million
- How much did Evil Dead earn at the US box office?$54.2 million
- What is Evil Dead rated?R
- What genre is Evil Dead?Horror
- How many awards has Evil Dead won?6 awards
- How many awards has Evil Dead been nominated for?25 nominations
Contribute to this page
Suggest an edit or add missing content