The Evil Dead Movies Ranked
Although it has a substantial fanbase, the Evil Dead franchise hasn’t achieved the mainstream notoriety of series like Halloween, Nightmare on Elm Street, and Friday the 13th. There are probably two reasons for this. First the franchise doesn’t have a recognizable villain like Michael, Freddy, or Jason. The antagonists are demons called deadites who are summoned (usually by accident) from a mystical ancient book of spells. Second, the franchise is a volatile mix of extreme gore and goofy humor.
The juxtaposition of the gruesome imagery and the silly tone makes “Evil Dead” one of the weirder franchises in horror. With that said, Evil Dead is popular enough to have earned its own TV series (“Ash vs. Evil Dead“, which ran for three seasons on Starz) and a recent videogame, creatively titled “Evil Dead: The Game“. Here are the Evil Dead movies ranked.
The Evil Dead (1981) was a low budget effort directed by a young, unknown filmmaker named Sam Raimi. Raimi would later achieve mainstream success by directing the original Spiderman trilogy with Tobey Maguire. The Evil Dead starred Bruce Campbell as Ash Williams, a wisecracking antihero who battles the deadites. Ash is one of the few final guy (as opposed to the more common final girl) characters in horror.
The Evil Dead movies in order
- The Evil Dead (1981)
- Evil Dead 2: Dead by Dawn (1987)
- Army of Darkness (1992)
- Evil Dead (2013)
- Evil Dead Rise (2022)
Ranking the Evil Dead Movies
5. Evil Dead
Evil Dead returns the series to its roots and uses an isolated cabin in the woods as its setting. Ash Williams is replaced by a new protagonist – Mia Allen, played by Jane Levy.
Mia is a recovering heroin addict who accompanies her brother and their friends to the cabin while she goes through withdrawal. Of course, they find a mysterious book of spells and all hell breaks loose. The film is competently made and has some decent scares, but it is a bit bland compared to the original trilogy.
4. Evil Dead Rise
Evil Dead Rise is a spinoff of the main series. It doesn’t feature any characters from the previous movies other than, of course, the deadites (unless you count a brief voice-only cameo from Bruce Campbell). The main characters are two sisters. After one of them get possessed, the other sister teams up with her nephew and nieces to defeat the demons.
This installment has plenty of gore and creepiness, but lacks the humor of the other installments. In terms of tone, it is the exact opposite of the next movie on this list.
Related: Movie Review: Evil Dead Rise
3. Army of Darkness
After accidentally traveling back in time at the end of the second film, Ash must contend with bumbling knights, brainless peasants, and the ever-present deadites in medieval Europe. This is by far the most comedic installment of the series.
It is filled with entertaining scenes and hilarious lines from Ash like “This is my boom stick!” and “Give me some sugar, baby.” It’s not recommended for anyone who wants to watch a serious horror movie, but it’s one of the funniest genre films ever made.
2. Evil Dead 2: Dead by Dawn
The second installment is very similar to the first, but with a bigger budget and better special effects. Ash and his girlfriend are vacationing in a cabin in the woods. Of course, the deadites return to torment them again.
After the deadites possess his girlfriend and force Ash to kill her, he takes revenge in another bloody and gory battle. This movie feels almost like an expanded remake, rather than a normal sequel, but it’s a bloody good time.
1. The Evil Dead
A group of friends staying in a cabin in the woods accidentally unleash demons after finding a mysterious book of spells. The deadites possess some of the friends, leading to a plethora of carnage and gore as the group desperately struggles to survive.
The original Evil Dead is a wild, relentless thrill ride that effectively mixes extreme violence with a warped sense of humor. It was one of the first examples of setting a horror movie in a cabin in the woods, which later became a cliché. Evil Dead is one of the most influential films in genre history.
