The Evil Dead

Name: The Evil Dead
Genre: Horror
Released: 1982-05-25
Duration: 1 h 25 min
Rating: 7.3
Cast: Bruce Campbell, Ellen Sandweiss, Richard DeManincor, Betsy Baker, Theresa Tilly

The ultimate experience in gruelling terror.

The Evil Dead (1982)

Timing: 1:25 (85 min)

7.3/10
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Everything about the movie

Video 4

Photo 280

Actors and characters

Video for the film The Evil Dead — Official Trailer

1:37

Photo 280

Release date

1982-05-25

Country

United States

Production

New Line Cinema, Renaissance Pictures

Genre

Horror

Budget

$350 000

Box office

$2 661 944

Website

Director

Sam Raimi

Actors

Bruce Campbell, Ellen Sandweiss, Richard DeManincor, Betsy Baker, Theresa Tilly, Philip A. Gillis, Dorothy Tapert, Cheryl Klam, Barbara Carey, David Horton
All actors and roles (10)

Scenario

Sam Raimi

Producer

Robert Tapert, Gary Holt, Sam Raimi, Bruce Campbell, Robert Tapert

Camera operator

Tim Philo

Composer

Joseph LoDuca

Artist

Audition

Editing

Edna Ruth Paul
Whole Team (18)

Short description

In 1979, a group of college students find a Sumerian Book of the Dead in an old wilderness cabin they've rented for a weekend getaway.

What's left behind the scenes

After Scott says the line 'They know, they're never gonna let us go,' he lets out a high-pitched scream that is uncharacteristic of him; during dubbing, Sam Raimi layered his own scream over Scott's.
A mixture of Karo syrup, powdered milk, and red food coloring was used as blood in the film, and corn soaked in green paint was used as the demons' innards.
The backstory to the appearance of the “The Hills Have Eyes” poster is as follows: Wes Craven included a torn poster of “Jaws” in that film, justifying it by saying that his “Hills” were much scarier than Spielberg’s “Jaws.” By analogy, Sam Raimi decided it was necessary to include a torn poster of Craven’s “Hills” in his “Evil Dead.”
The original script stipulated that all characters were supposed to be smoking marijuana while listening to the tape recording during the audition. The actors decided to use real 'weed' in the shot, but due to the chaos that arose on set, the scene had to be reshot 'sober'.
The voice on the tape belongs to Bob Dorian, owner of "American Movie Classic".
The film's original title was "The Book of the Dead".
The fake log that Ash uses to hit his girlfriend in the film was borrowed from the props of Sam Raimi's early film 'Within the Woods' (1977).
During filming in the woods, Bruce Campbell caught his foot on a root and sprained his ankle. Because of this, he is visibly limping in some scenes.
When Scott and Ashley go down to the basement and find a mysterious book, a poster for Wes Craven's film "The Hills Have Eyes" (1977) hangs on the wall.
'The Evil Dead' is based on the short film 'In the Woods' (1978), which Sam Raimi filmed in order to find investors for a feature-length movie.
Although Ash's last name was never revealed throughout the trilogy, Raimi and Campbell stated that the main character's name was either 'Ashley J. Williams' or 'Ash Holt'.
The title 'The Evil Dead' was suggested by the film's producer, Irwin Shapiro. Shapiro rejected the director's version ('Book of the Dead'), as he decided that such a 'literary' undertone might deter a younger audience from the film.
In Germany, the film is called "Dance Of The Devil".
The backstory behind the appearance of the 'The Hills Have Eyes' poster is as follows: In his own film, Wes Craven included a torn poster of 'Jaws,' arguing that his 'Hills' were far scarier than Spielberg's 'Jaws.' By the same logic, Sam Raimi felt it necessary to insert a torn poster of Craven's 'Hills' into his 'Evil Dead'.
During the scene where the possessed Linda tries to stab Ash with a knife, actress Betsy Baker literally played blindfolded – the 'demonic' thick white contact lenses affected her vision.
The magnifying glass on a chain (a gift from Ash Lynde) was originally intended to focus sunlight to burn the Book of the Dead in the film's finale. However, the creators later deemed this idea silly and abandoned it. By the way, in the scene where Ash and Linda examine this chain, traces of fresh paint are visible on Linda’s hand – the original gold chain was repainted silver from a spray can for filming.
While filming in the woods, Bruce Campbell caught his foot on a root and sprained his ankle. As a result, he limps noticeably in some of the scenes.
The prop log that Ash uses to beat his girlfriend in the film was borrowed from the props of Sam Raimi's early movie 'Knows What I Mean!' (1977).
The film was shot in a real abandoned cabin, not on a studio set. The cabin mysteriously burned down a couple of years later. As it had no basement, filming took place in Sam Raimi's garage.
Among the words of the "incantation" playing from magnetic tape, the words "Sam and Rob das ist hikers dan dee roadsa" can be quite clearly heard, meaning "Sam and Rob are the hikers on the road." Sam and Rob are, respectively, Sam Raimi and Rob Tapert, who appeared at the very beginning of the film as hitchhiking fishermen.
Four years passed from the time the screenplay was written to the film's release.
In the scene where the possessed Linda tries to stab Ash, actress Betsy Baker was literally acting blind, due to the 'demonic' thick white contact lenses on her eyes.
After Scott says the line “They know, they're never gonna let us go,” he lets out a high-pitched, uncharacteristic scream—Sam Raimi overlaid his own yell onto Scott’s scream during dubbing.
"The Evil Dead" is based on the short film "Within the Woods" (1978), which Sam Raimi shot in order to find investors for a feature-length film.
After principal photography was completed in the winter of 1979-1980, many actors left the project. Filming was completed without them, resulting in Bruce Campbell’s character being surrounded by completely different people in the second half of the film (they are listed in the end credits as “fake shemps”). For example, the legs of the killed Scott are played by the legs of Ted Raimi – the director’s brother.
Among the words of the 'incantation' playing from the magnetic tape, the words 'Sam and Rob das ist hikers dan dee roadsa' can be heard quite clearly, meaning 'Sam and Rob are the hikers on the road.' Sam and Rob are Sam Raimi and Rob Tapert, respectively, who appeared at the very beginning of the film as hitchhiking fishermen.
The movie was filmed in a real abandoned cabin rather than on studio sets. Mysteriously, the cabin burned down a couple of years later. It had no basement, so those scenes were filmed in Sam Raimi's garage.
After the cabin used for filming near Morristown, Tennessee, burned down, fans of the film completely dismantled the remaining brick oven for "souvenirs".
When Scott and Ashley go down into the basement and find the mysterious book, a poster for Wes Craven's film 'The Hills Have Eyes' (1977) is hanging on the wall.
Although Ash's last name was never revealed throughout the trilogy, Raimi and Campbell stated that the main character's name is either “Ashley J. Williams” or “Ash Holt.”
The voice on the cassette belongs to Bob Dorian, the owner of American Movie Classic.
The title “The Evil Dead” was suggested by the film's producer, Irwin Shapiro. He rejected the director's option (“The Book of the Dead”) because he believed that such a “literary” subtext could “scare away” the young audience from the film.
After principal photography ended in the winter of 1979-1980, many actors left the project. Filming was completed without them; as a result, in the second half of the movie, Bruce Campbell's character is surrounded by entirely different people (listed in the final credits as 'fake shemps'). For example, the legs of the killed Scott are played by the legs of Ted Raimi, the director's brother.