When it comes to horror franchises, there are few which have maintained a following like the Evil Dead franchise. Let’s rank them all, from worst to best!
Horror and comedy share quite a few things in common. Not limited to evoking a reaction from the audience through timing. Horror through fear and comedy well through laughter obviously. Mixing the two is never an easy feat, to say the least. Only a few films have really mastered it. Films like Shaun of the Dead and Tucker and Dale vs Evil. Others focus more on one than the other and really don’t find that sweet spot.
Why do I bring this up? Because today we are talking about the Evil Dead franchise.
When casual fans see a film from this franchise, they immediately wait for Ash to say “groovy” or one of his other rather popular catchphrases that make people laugh and cheer with delight.
What the hardcore fan knows is that comedy aside these are some of the bloodiest films ever made, and anything can happen to anyone at any time. At times the violence is so over the top it’s equal parts ridiculous and unnerving.
So let’s rank the Evil Dead movies, from worst to best!
5. Evil Dead (2013)
When the announcement came down that a remake of the iconic Evil Dead was coming soon, I was skeptical. How could they match the sheer madness from the original? Who could do as good a job as Sam Raimi and what about Ash?
Turns out there would be no Ash, and Fede Alvarez would be directing after they discovered some of his short films on YouTube. The story would be focusing on a group of friends going to a cabin in the woods to help their friend kick a nasty drug habit.
It is in fact a blood bath of the highest proportions but not in the way that the original was. It lacked the camp, over-the-top feeling that we got back in 1981. Everything was deadly serious and super realistic looking. The deadites didn’t really have a chance to be the jerks that they are really known to be either.
If you are going to remake a film you have to add your own flair to it. Ultimately make it your own. This is almost a carbon copy of the first film but with a far less fun nature behind it. Ash even shows up in a cameo, proving that at this point he was still needed in the franchise, even if only for just 30 seconds.
4. Evil Dead Rise
After the end of Ash vs Evil Dead, there was much conjecture as to what would happen with the Evil Dead franchise. Bruce Campbell said he was done playing the character in a live-action setting, so, to fans, everything was in upheaval.
Then it was announced that a new film with an urban location about a mother and her kids against the forces of the Necronomicon was in the works. I was part excited and part nervous. The remake was a decent enough movie, but could Evil Dead Rise, the first completely non-Ash film catapult a new era into the Evil Dead franchise?
The answer is…maybe? There are plenty of things in this film that are new. Like there are three books. Remember in Army of Darkness and the three books in the cemetery? Yep. That’s a thing now. And this is just another of those three books.
For everything new that was introduced in Evil Dead Rise, they depended on a few things that were iconic mainstays of the franchise. Like certain catchphrases, or weapons that were for the most part something that Ash Williams used. But if this is the way that they wanna continue the franchise it would be more than okay. They had jerk deadites, some camp, and a lot of blood – everything that the Evil Dead needs.
3. Army of Darkness
Trapped in time. Surrounded by Evil. Low on gas. From that tagline alone you know what you are in for when you get the third installment of the Evil Dead franchise. The first real studio version of the ultra-violent, ultra-fun horror franchise.
Originally titled EVIL DEAD III: Army of Darkness, Universal felt that people wouldn’t recognize the name Evil Dead despite it having a huge cult following, and being overwhelmingly acclaimed by critics and fans alike. Army of Darkness is more of a dark fantasy horror comedy as opposed to the horror or horror comedy that was given on offer with the first two.
Ash is trapped in the middle ages and he has to find the Necronomicon to get his way home. As things happen for Ash, he screws up and awakens the army of darkness and has to battle them before he can head back to the modern age.
This is way more of a Three Stooges-style slapstick film that stands out from the rest of the franchise, especially in the blood department. With only one giant gusher near the beginning of the film. Bruce Campbell does more of his trademark physical acting and has an amazing delivery while holding the entire film on his shoulders.
It’s not the best in the franchise, but it’s also not the worst. So right here in the middle may be the absolute best place for it.
2. The Evil Dead
You have to be doing something right if Stephen King calls your film “The most ferociously original horror film of the year…” and well, Sam Raimi and the crew behind The Evil Dead did just that.
Five friends go on vacation in an isolated cabin in rural Tennessee. In the basement of the dilapidated cabin Scott and Ash find what turns out to be The Necronomicon Ex-Mortis, a Kandarian dagger, a shotgun, and a tape recorder. Upon playing the tape recorder, one by one, all of Ash’s friends are taken by the Kandarian demons and dispatched in various bloody ways.
For those that haven’t seen the film, I will spare any spoilers suffice to say this is something that should be on the top of the list Just because you think something is going a certain way, don’t think it won’t change on a dime.
While the makeup effects are a little primitive, they really do an amazing job. There are two scenes in particular that you will not be able to forget after seeing them for a long long time. To this day, I still don’t know how they did one of them. I still have to look away when it happens sometimes.
It would take one heck of a film to top this one, but somehow they did.
1. Evil Dead 2: Dead By Dawn
So before we get into why this is the best horror sequel and one of the best horror films ever made, let’s address the elephant in the room.
Why would Ash go BACK to the cabin after what happened to his friends?
He didn’t. At the end of The Evil Dead, Ash is attacked by an unseen entity before the credits roll. When Evil Dead 2 begins it would appear that Ash is dumb enough to go back but this is all just a recap from part 1. They couldn’t get the rights to use footage from part 1 so they couldn’t show Scotty, Cheryl, and Shelly being up there with him. So if you want to watch 1 and 2 back to back, the minute the entity hits Ash, start up part 2 where the same thing happens to him.
This film is something that you don’t see a lot of. A sequel better than the original and going on to be one of the best horror films of all time. Everything that was great about the first one is ramped up, and Bruce Campbell’s physical acting with his hand is one of the most amazing things that you will see on film. If The Evil Dead is on your list to watch this should be right after it.
Evil Dead 2 has something for almost everyone. The way that the environment interacts with Ash, the horror, the comedy, the drama, and 1,717 gallons of blood, that pretty much ended up ALL on Bruce Campbell. You would be hard-pressed to find horror fans who don’t love this film. The legacy it has created by inspiring filmmakers is immeasurable and will remain on the list of the best horror films for a very long time to come!