1. The Evil Dead (1981)
The Evil Dead was a low budget movie. Sam Raimi was an independent movie director working on a strict low budget. The actors themselves were doing several drugs during production. In a way this made some moments more believable. The Evil Dead centers on a group of people staying at a cabin in the woods.
Please no not that movie Cabin in the Woods. They are literately staying at a normal cabin that so happens to be in the woods. One of them found a recording that has translations of the Book of the Dead aka Necronomicon Ex-Mortis. Which caused demons called the deadnites to stalk them. In a way it's similar to Hellraiser franchise.
Except that was done by a complex puzzle box that summons order demons called the cenobites. Except it is a free for all with the deadnites showing absolutely no mercy at all. Just when you watch movies about one or more getting possessed. You probably have seen the craziest of this movie yet. The special effects are surprisingly great.
The Ash character is somewhat notable. I should mention like many directors did back in the day. There is a short film called Within the Woods that was the basis for this movie. Bruce Campbell acts in both films. I do like the gore especially some of the later scenes. The Evil Dead doesn't have much humor.
I will say for being truly different from both demon & zombie movies. It is a breath of fresh air with not a lot of movies similar to them either. The Evil Dead is a great beginning for what's to come. Sure there was better 80s horror movies before & after. What truly makes this stand out on it's own is how it prefers in using demons.
The deadnites are virtually racist against all the living. They don't care what they need to do in order to kill you. Sometimes they pretend to be the person possessed to suddenly attack you. Trust me that's a recurring theme in this franchise. I would even say they are among the evilest horror movie villains I have ever seen.
2. Evil Dead II (1987)
OMG Evil Dead II is so damn good. Before I start breaking it down, there's something that must be brought up. Due to ownership issues since Raimi had to work with a movie company to get The Evil Dead release. This cause problems for what he originally was going to do in the beginning of this movie.
Raimi at the time couldn't get around this issue that quickly led to confusion among fans. He had to quickly reshoot the entire opening sequence since it was directly following the original. Remember how Halloween 1 and 2 took place on the same night. The same thing happens here with the first two Evil Dead movies.
Ash really steals the show this time. There is some twisted dark humor parts as well. The special effects are once again amazing for it's time. For a lot of people including James Rolfe, this is the best 80s horror movie ever made. Honestly I do think it is very good. Evil Dead II follows Ash more closely since he was the only person alive in the cabin.
Some of the craziest moments ever in a horror movie happens in this movie. Like when he was forced to use a chainsaw to cut off his own hand. Bruce Campbell gives off a truly amazing performance. Briefly Ash becomes possessed but turns back to normal. Yes the famous saw off shotgun & chainsaw appears in this movie.
Due to licensing issues, some characters from the original got removed entirely. Thanks to Ash vs Evil Dead show for correcting it in more ways than one. Evil Dead II really shows you how crazy the deadnites actually get. This movie is not only better than the original, I also think it is the best Evil Dead movie.
This movie is like a roller coaster from start to finish. The ending itself is very unexpected among first time watching it. Unless you watched either Army of Darkness or Ash vs Evil Dead prior. This is one of the most twisted movies I ever seen. This is the very movie that put Ash on the map. WOW what can I honestly say about Evil Dead II that already haven't been said.
3. Army of Darkness (1992)
I actually got a somewhat funny story how I first got to see Army of Darkness. Comcast used to do double feature deals where the newer movie would play first. Then it goes straight into the older movie. My family has done Walking Tall double feature. The very one I always will remember is Dawn of the Dead remake/Army of Darkness.
At the time I didn't understand why they chose Army of Darkness instead of the original Dawn of the Dead. Over the years I quickly realized why. Both movies had the undead attacking the living. They also had parts where the characters customized vehicles & weapons. Both also had their own twisted dark humor parts.
I was the only person wanted to watch Army of Darkness from that deal. Honestly I am glad I did because I like this movie a lot. I will say this is the funniest Evil Dead movie by far. Army of Darkness follows Ash after being sucked into a portal. Where he ends up during the medieval ages. No I mean literately during the medieval ages with real knights not the restaurant.
Army of Darkness further explains a few key things further explored in Ash vs Evil Dead show. Remember when Ash got possessed. This time, his darkside separates from his body to have his own to lead the army of the dead. This movie has some of the absolute strangest scenes in all of movies. For example, a lot of small evil Ashes are attacking Ash.
One particular part I'm surprised made it in the movie is he forced boiling hot water down his throat laughing. Imagines like that stay with you forever lol. I love the new metal hand Ash creates. This movie really shouldn't work at all but surprisingly it does. Ash's personality changes a lot from the previous two movies.
The deadnites are even more aggressive than ever before. They don't do some of their classic tricks. At the same time they do go to war against the living. The amount of work especially on the army of the dead was impressive. Keep in mind, there wasn't CGI at the time. They had to move several figures with wires while other had remote controllers similar to those of toy cars.
4. Evil Dead (2013)
Evil Dead remake I got to be honest was actually good. There I said sure I had a few issues with it. I personally prefer the classic deadnite looks especially the eyes. Although the newer ones are just as sick possibly more self harming nature. The big surprise is Mia was the Ash of this movie along. Despite being the first to be attacked by them.
The very plot is similar to the classic movie. Obviously this plays heavily on CGI effects. The characters themselves are much better than I was expecting. The same also goes for their acting. Usually you have the older version with better acting while newer version ends up not being great. Thank god that doesn't apply to this movie.
Similar to the classic horror movie it follows a group of people staying at a cabin. Yes this again I swear if Cabin in the Woods wasn't made I didn't have to make any references at all. They did change some key things like the only way to free anyone possessed is burn them alive. I believe Ash vs Evil Dead revealed the souls don't stay possessed after death.
The actual ending can be a bit confusing to explain. The real question would you rather have ruin it or go watch the movie instead? Obviously the choice is yours but I will say it is kinda dark too. It turns out there was a way to bring Mia back to her body in a way that would be killing someone. Her body loses oxygen with her heart stopped.
He then uses a defibrillator to bring her back to life. Sadly this lead to him getting killed by the abomination. The fact our heroine was already gone to suddenly be revived to become the lone survivor is pretty mess up. Especially considering how she got possessed in the first place. Yeah I would say she classified as another Ash in my book.
Obviously minus his personality and weapons. Mia spends most of the time being possessed up til close to the end. The actual gore is very good although parts of it does go a little over board. This is coming from a guy who loves seeing blood & gore all over the place. Evil Dead is a still great movie but I still prefer the original Evil Dead more.
5. Ash vs Evil Dead (2015-2018)
Oh yes the big one has finally arrived. I started getting into this show around close to half way in season 2. OMG this is one of the most awesome horror shows I have ever seen. For me in terms they allowed everything on Stars for this show is mind blowing. Many years ago HBO did the same thing for Tales from the Crypt.
Another personal favorite horror show of mine. Ash vs Evil Dead does make the actual time line very confusing to discuss. The very beginning of it takes place 30 years after the first two movies. Some point very late in season 2, they were able to discuss Army of Darkness on the show. Speaking of that, several characters from those movies does return.
Just when you thought you seen how crazy the deadnites gets. You really haven't seen a damn thing until you watch this show. Trust me there's plenty of stuff I honestly wish I could unseen. Bruce Campbell does a great job being Ash. There's much more humor this time around. WOW the gore is so disturbing, sick & disgusting that you would think it simply couldn't be aired on TV.
Guess what all of it has now take that to the bank. A lot of great moments you really won't see coming at all. Most major questions you may have about Evil Dead is very likely answered on this show. I still can't believe Ash killed himself to bring back souls of his allies. The fact he got to life after they returned is mind blowing in & of itself.
This show has a lot of death with especially for a Stars show. I am very surprised Sam Raimi got this show on there. Then again he was the same guy who directed three Spider-Man movies. So in a way I guess I shouldn't be surprised. Ash vs Evil Dead is essentially Evil Dead 4. Although there were plans of connect those movies to the remake at one point.
I got to be honest I was heavily disappointed this show got canceled. I became such a huge fan of it during season 2. Yes I officially watched every episode awhile back. I would even say this is actually better than Evil Dead II I'm dead serious. I really don't think we will get shows like this in a long time.
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