"Evil Dead": the franchise of the "dead" that has outlived them all

      From "Category B" to Cult Classic

      Sam Raimi's debut in 1981 was received extremely positively by the audience — the film "The Evil Dead," from the so-called "Category B," grew into a full-fledged universe with sequels, games, comics, and remakes. The cult status of "The Evil Dead" was, in my opinion, given by the approach of young Sam (he was 21 at the time of filming). Horror and slasher films were a favorite genre at the time, but by no means exotic. Most young directors made them to earn money.

      The main difference in Raimi's film is that he creates an almost superhero-like picture from the typical horror of that time — the main character of the first film, Ash (Bruce Campbell), the only survivor (sorry for the spoilers, but the film is soon approaching its sixth decade), who, after a battle with Deadites, chooses the path of a protector and fighter. He appears in two more films of the main series (the second part of "The Evil Dead" and "Army of Darkness," 18+), several games, comics, and even the series "Ash vs Evil Dead" (18+, 2015–2018). So essentially, we have Superman with a chainsaw instead of a hand, fighting the dead. For its time, this mix was explosive and extremely engaging, especially against the backdrop of tired, emotionless maniac brutes. Undoubtedly, most cult franchises, like "The Texas Chainsaw Massacre" or the series of films about Freddy Krueger, are much more multifaceted and interesting to be called "tired slashers," but this could fill more than one essay.

      "Army of Darkness," the last film of the main trilogy, was released in 1992. After it, both Raimi and Robert Tapert, and Campbell spoke about a continuation, but all plans in the form they were originally conceived were never realized.

      New Blood and New Faces

      In 2013, a remake of the first part was released — "Evil Dead: The Black Book" (18+). At my tender age of 11, this film inflicted a significant "trauma" on me — I still remember that scene in the bathroom, brr...

      The main difference from previous films was the abundance of blood and violence. The main character also changed — now it is not Ash, but Mia. After the release of "The Black Book," which was received quite warmly (it grossed $97 million worldwide), there were plans to make Mia "the second Ash," to shoot another sequel, but that also has not happened yet.

      Instead, in 2023, the highest-grossing film in the series was released — "Evil Dead Rise" (18+). The fifth film is not a direct continuation of either "The Black Book" or other films in the universe. At the same time, many note that it was well-made, fans are satisfied, and it fits well into the overall landscape of the franchise. And the box office confirms this: with a budget of only $15 million, the film grossed over $147 million worldwide.

      A Future That Has Already Arrived

      Forty-five years after the release of the first film, we eagerly await the release of the sixth part — "Evil Dead: Hell" (2026, 18+). Its world premiere will take place at the end of July. The director is Sebastian Vaniček, and the project is produced by Sam Raimi himself. The film received an R rating for "high levels of bloody violence in the horror genre, cruelty, excessive dismemberment, and profanity." The plot will revolve around a woman who, after her husband's death, seeks comfort from his family, but, as usual, one of them finds a sinister book and unleashes Deadites upon the world.

      I will say even more — in January 2026, filming began for the seventh part "Evil Dead: Wrath" (2028, 18+). It is expected to be released in 2028 and, according to producer Robert Tapert, will be a prequel set before the events of the original 1981 film.

      Why This Franchise Is More Resilient Than Others

      So why has the "Evil Dead" universe managed to stay afloat and not perish like Freddy or Michael Myers? In my opinion, the most successful decision for the future of the franchise was to move away from the story with Ash and focus on developing the universe itself. The last four films (including the still-in-production "Wrath" and the upcoming "Hell") show us different stories, different people, but occurring in one world.

      Everything has become more effective, scarier (the earlier parts were still somewhat comedic). Who knows, maybe in one of the latest films, a decision will be made to unite all this, bring Ash back to the screens, or come up with something else, but in any case, we currently have a quite successful example of how they could handle the "Exorcist" franchise (18+), for instance. Not to stubbornly stick to a monotonous plot to squeeze money from fans, but to develop the story from different angles and do it qualitatively, rather than in the way it is often done.

      So we eagerly await.