Evil Dead II

Evil Dead II (referred to in publicity materials as Evil Dead 2: Dead by Dawn) is a 1987 American comedy horror film directed by Sam Raimi and a sequel to the 1981 film The Evil Dead. The film was written by Raimi and Scott Spiegel (they wrote the screenplay during the production of another collaboration Crimewave), produced by Robert Tapert, and stars Bruce Campbell as Ash Williams.

Filming took place in Michigan and North Carolina in 1986 and the film was released in the United States on March 13, 1987. It was a minor box office success, achieving just under $6 million. It garnered positive reviews in which critics praised Raimi's direction and Campbell's role as the protagonist.

Like the original, Evil Dead II has accumulated a cult following. The film was followed by a third installment in the Evil Dead series, Army of Darkness (1992).

Plot

The film begins with a simplified recap of the events of the first film. Ash Williams and his girlfriend Linda take a romantic vacation to a seemingly abandoned cabin in the woods. While in the cabin, Ash plays a tape of an archaeology professor (the cabin's previous inhabitant), reciting passages from the Necronomicon Ex-Mortis (or Book of the Dead), which he has discovered during an archaeological dig. The recorded incantation unleashes an evil force that kills and later possesses Linda. Ash is then forced to decapitate his girlfriend with a shovel in self-defense.

Evil Dead (franchise)

Evil Dead is an American horror film franchise created by Sam Raimi consisting of four feature films. The films revolve around the Necronomicon Ex-Mortis, an ancient Sumerian text which wreaks havoc upon a group of cabin inhabitants in a wooded area in Michigan. The protagonist, Ashley J. "Ash" Williams (Bruce Campbell) is the only character to appear in every installment of the original trilogy (Linda, Ash's girlfriend makes an appearance in all 3 films, but her only appearance in Army of Darkness is during the prologue). The original trilogy includes The Evil Dead (1981), Evil Dead II (1987), and Army of Darkness (1992), all written and directed by Raimi, produced by Robert G. Tapert, and starring Campbell. The franchise has since expanded into other formats, including video games, comic books, a musical, and a television series.

The franchise was resurrected in 2013 with Evil Dead, both a reboot and a loose continuation of the series directed by Fede Alvarez and produced by Raimi, Campbell and Tapert. It is rumored that there will be three other installments of the franchise that are considered: a sequel to the 2013 reboot currently entitled Evil Dead 2 but will not be directed by Alvarez, a direct sequel to the original trilogy currently entitled Army of Darkness 2 rumored to be directed by Sam Raimi and starring Campbell, and a seventh and final film which would merge the narratives of both chronologies.

Army of Darkness

Army of Darkness is a 1992 American dark fantasy comedy film directed by Sam Raimi. It is the third installment of the Evil Dead franchise. The film was written by Raimi and his brother Ivan, produced by Robert Tapert, and stars Bruce Campbell (also acting as co-producer) and Embeth Davidtz. Continuing from Evil Dead II, Ash Williams (Campbell) is trapped in the Middle Ages and battles the undead in his quest to return to the present.

The film was produced as part of a production deal with Universal Studios after the financial success of Darkman. Filming took place in California in 1991. Army of Darkness premiered on October 9, 1992 at the Sitges Film Festival, and was released in the United States on February 19, 1993. It grossed $11.503 million domestically and another $10 million outside the USA for a total worldwide gross of $21.5 million. Critical response was positive. Since its video release it has acquired a massive cult following, along with the other two films in the trilogy. The film was dedicated to Irvin Shapiro, who died during the film's production in 1989 on New Year's Day. The makeup and creature effects for the film were handled by two different companies: Tony Gardner (designer) and his company Alterian Studios, Inc. (Alterian, Inc.) were responsible for the Ash & Sheila Makeup Effects, while Kurtzman, Nicotero & Berger EFX Group was credited for the remaining Special Makeup Effects characters.

The Evil Dead

The Evil Dead is a 1981 American supernatural horror film written and directed by Sam Raimi and executive produced by Raimi and Bruce Campbell, who also stars alongside Ellen Sandweiss and Betsy Baker. The film focuses on five college students vacationing in an isolated cabin in a remote wooded area. After they find an audiotape that releases a legion of demons and spirits, members of the group suffer from demonic possession, leading to increasingly gory mayhem. Raimi and the cast produced the short film Within the Woods as a "prototype" to build the interest of potential investors, which secured Raimi US$90,000 to produce The Evil Dead. The film was shot on location in a remote cabin located in Newport, Tennessee, in a difficult filming process that proved extremely uncomfortable for the majority of the cast and crew.

The low-budget horror film attracted the interest of producer Irvin Shapiro, who helped screen the film at the 1982 Cannes Film Festival. Horror author Stephen King gave a rave review of the film, which helped convince New Line Cinema to serve as its distributor. Though a meager commercial success in the United States, the film made its budget back through worldwide distribution, and grossed $2.4 million during its theatrical run. Both early and later critical reception were universally positive and in the years since its release, The Evil Dead has developed a reputation as one of the largest cult films and has been cited among the greatest horror films of all time. The Evil Dead launched the careers of Campbell and Raimi, who would collaborate on several films together throughout the years, including Raimi's Spider-Man trilogy.