Evil Dead series

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The Evil Dead series started as a series of films created by Sam Raimi. They focus on Ashley J. Williams - better known as Ash and played by Bruce Campbell - dealing with 'deadites', which are demoniacs created by the Necronomicon. The series has since expanded into other formats such as video games and comic books. An off-Broadway musical opened in New York in October, 2006.

Contents 1 Films 1.1 Within the Woods 1.2 The Evil Dead 1.3 Evil Dead II 1.4 Army of Darkness 1.5 Rumored sequels 1.6 La Casa 1.7 Remake 1.8 Indirect sequels 2 Video games 3 Comic books 3.1 Army of Darkness adaptation 3.2 Dynamite Entertainment 3.2.1 Mini-series 3.2.2 Ongoing series 3.2.3 Other 4 Musical 5 References in pop culture

[edit] Films

[edit] Within the Woods

Main article: Within the Woods

While it is not technically a part of the series, Within the Woods was the first creation in what would become the Evil Dead universe. It was made to secure funds to make The Evil Dead properly.

[edit] The Evil Dead

Main article: The Evil Dead

Released in 1981, this is the first official film in the series. It introduces the series' protagonist, Ash, and the Book of the Dead and what it brings with it. The Evil Dead is a horror movie with some elements of black comedy.

[edit] Evil Dead II

Main article: Evil Dead II

Released in 1987, this is the film that introduced the series' trademark humor, while expanding on the horror themes of Ash's dealings with the Necronomicon and demons.

[edit] Army of Darkness

Main article: Army of Darkness

Released in 1993, this is the last film in the trilogy, taking Ash back in time to England in 1300 AD. The movie has horror attributes, but is based more on humor and action. This time the evil creatures are referred to as deadites.

[edit] Rumored sequels

It has been rumored for years that there will be an Evil Dead 4. Sam Raimi has stated in an interview that he would like to make this film, as soon as he has completed work on Spider-man 3.^{[citation needed]}

Another popular rumor is that the sequel to Freddy vs. Jason will include Ash, and possibly be named Freddy vs. Jason vs. Ash. Raimi has decided against it, as he would not have creative control over the character.^{[citation needed]}

[edit] La Casa

In Italy, The Evil Dead was released under the title La Casa ("The House") and Evil Dead II became La Casa II. These were followed by three unrelated movies: Umberto Lenzi's La Casa 3 - Ghosthouse (1988), Fabrizio Laurenti's La Casa 4 - Witchery (1988) and Claudio Fragasso's La Casa 5 (1990). This is similar to what has happened in George Romero's Living Dead series.

[edit] Remake

It has been confirmed that a remake will be made of The Evil Dead. It will be produced by Bruce Campbell and Sam Raimi, but will not include the Ash character. It is also said that the movie will be about a group of teenagers that go to the cabin and find the book, and the similarities with the original will end there.[1]

[edit] Indirect sequels

Bruce Campbell is currently writing, directing and starring in a film titled My Name is Bruce.[2] It does not continue the story of Army of Darkness but is a pseudo-documentary about Bruce living his everyday life in which he is mistaken as Ash and must fight real-life deadites in his home town in Oregon. The film is set to be released in 2007.

[edit] Video games

There have so far been four Evil Dead video games:

• The Evil Dead (1984) for Commodore 64
• Evil Dead: Hail to the King (December 18, 2000) for PlayStation, Sega Dreamcast, and PC
• Evil Dead: A Fistful of Boomstick (May 24, 2003) for PlayStation 2 and Xbox
• Evil Dead: Regeneration (September 13, 2005) for PlayStation 2, Xbox, and PC

[edit] Comic books

[edit] Army of Darkness adaptation

The first Evil Dead related comics appeared in 1992, in the form of a mini-series adaptation of Army of Darkness produced by Dark Horse Comics. A trade paperback of this series is being released by Dynamite Entertainment on September 25, 2006.

[edit] Dynamite Entertainment

A new Army of Darkness series was released by Dynamite Entertainment in 2004, this time as a continuation of the stories taking place after the Army of Darkness movie. Initially, two mini-series were released, but soon after an ongoing series was released. There has also been one Tales of the Army of Darkness special which included multiple short stories by different writers and artists. It has been said that this is to be an annually released series. Also, a new bi-monthly mini-series, Darkman vs. Army of Darkness, has been announced which will be released at the same time as the ongoing series.

[edit] Mini-series

• Ashes 2 Ashes
• Shop Till You Drop Dead
• Army of Darkness vs. Re-Animator
• Darkman vs. Army of Darkness
• Marvel Zombies vs. Army of Darkness

[edit] Ongoing series

• Issues 1-4: "Army of Darkness vs. Re-Animator", which included Herbert West from H.P. Lovecraft's Re-Animator stories. This was because both the Necronomicon used in Evil Dead, as well as the Re-Animator were both created by Lovecraft and therefore have a similar, and sometimes overlapping, fanbase.
• Issues 5-7: "Old School" in which Ash returns to the cabin in the woods to destroy the nexus of Deadite evil.
• Issues 8-11: "Ash Vs. Dracula" in which Ash begins his mission to destroy all other creatures spoken of in the Necronomicon before they wake the Anti-Christ; he starts with Dracula, Frankenstein's monster, the Werewolf and the Mummy (a resurrected Evil Ash).

[edit] Other

• Tales of the Army of Darkness

[edit] Musical

Main article: Evil Dead: The Musical

The production team of George Reinblatt, Christopher Bond and Frank Cipolla will be opening Off-Broadway Evil Dead: The Musical based on the original The Evil Dead film. It will be directed by Bond and Hinton Battle, who also choreographed the show. Tying in with the midnight movie plot of a group of friends visiting a wooded cabin and unleashing untold evil, performances will be offered starting at 11 p.m. on Fridays and Saturdays. Previews begin October 1 with the opening November 1 at New World Stages.

[edit] References in pop culture

• The Necronomicon from the Evil Dead trilogy is visible on the table of the witch Miss Osie in the 1994 horror movie Pumpkinhead II: Blood Wings.
• In episode 3.1.1 "To Mend And Defend" of ReBoot, the main characters are in a FPS-like game. The character they are fighting is a modified version of Ash from the Evil Dead series. The episode replicates the cabin, including details such as the deer's head, the moving lamp, the tape recorder, piano and the basement trap-door. It also includes the "Dead by dawn" and "Groovy" quotes along with the user's chainsaw, arm and shotgun.
• In the Voorhees home, in Jason Goes To Hell: The Final Friday, the Necronomicon is seen sitting on a table.
• Strapping Young Lad's video for "Love?" is based on Evil Dead.
• Hard Rock band Lordi's video for "Blood Red Sandman" is a tribute to Evil Dead.
• The video for The Foo Fighters song "Everlong" is based on the laughing room scene in Evil Dead.
• The Showbread song "Dead By Dawn" is a tribute to the series.
• In the 2000 film High Fidelity, the two main characters played by John Cusack and Jack Black have a humorous discussion about seeing Evil Dead II. (In Nick Hornby's original novel, the film discussed is Reservoir Dogs.)
• In an episode of Aqua Teen Hunger Force, Frylock accidentally digs up the Necronomicon while searching through his book collection.
• In The Simpsons episode Treehouse of Horror V, Homer Simpson tries to get his toaster off his hand just like Ash tries to get his girlfriend's decapitated head off his hand in Evil Dead II.
• Hoss Delgado from The Grim Adventures of Billy and Mandy is a combination of Ash and Snake Pliskin from Escape from L.A. and Escape from New York.
• In Donnie Darko, Donnie and Gretchen attend a screening of The Evil Dead. Director Richard Kelly personally obtained permission from "Sam Raimi's producing partner" (presumably Robert Tapert) to use scenes from The Evil Dead in his film.[3]
• In episode 2 of Moral Orel, Orel and his friend Doughy use the Necronomicon to reanimate the town's dead.
• In World of Warcraft, dwarfs can be seen shooting a target with guns when one of them holds his up and says, "This is my boom stick", a line from Army of Darkness