The Evil Dead series is one of the most beloved horror franchises ever, and series creator Sam Raimi called the upcoming Evil Dead Rise "terrifying." However, the film isn't a Bruce Campbell-starring and Raimi-directed Evil Dead 4, which is what fans want most, but a standalone movie. The upcoming film follows two sisters trying to survive and save their family from demonic creatures known as Deadites.
While it's owning how much of the typical Evil Dead humor the film will have, it sounds like it'll be unique in the series. This isn't the first time the franchise has attempted something new, and fans have enjoyed Evil Dead in many different forms. Between the classics, a divisive remake, and a hilarious TV show that was canceled too soon, even non-horror fans will enjoy some of these.
Evil Dead (2013) - 6.5
The Evil Dead series has become a hugely successful multimedia franchise that's made up of movies, TV spin-off series, and even video games. Evil Dead, the 2013 remake of the original movie, was the first time that the series branched out and ventured outside of the original Ash-led timeline. The results were mixed, as it stripped the series of its signature horror comedy and focused more on being a full-on horror.
While the film doesn't feel like an Evil Dead release without the trademark comedy violence, it's by far the scariest Evil Dead movie. As a standalone horror flick, Evil Dead is perfectly serviceable, enjoyable, and, sometimes, truly terrifying. And compared to other horror remakes that were released at the same time, such as 2010's The Nightmare on Elm Street and 2009's Friday the 13th, the 2013 movie is a classic.
Army Of Darkness (1992) - 7.4
Fans of the Evil Dead series, and horror fans in general, are used to the tried and true premise of teenagers being haunted by spirits in a remote area. That's why the first two Evil Dead movies worked so well, as they were inventive but still worked within the constraints of the genre. The threequel, on the other hand, is a bold movie that made some huge risks. Army of Darkness is completely different from its predecessors and takes the series to medieval times.
The 1992 movie is just as much of an epic historical comedy as a horror movie, but it paid off. With the beloved Ash still at the forefront of the series and the humor being silly as usual, it worked perfectly. Ash explaining to knights what a shotgun is and where he came from is priceless. Army of Darkness is one of the best movies under 90 minutes, and it leaves audiences wanting more, as it could have been a whole hour longer and nobody would have complained.
The Evil Dead (1981) - 7.4
The original feels a lot different from its sequels, and it almost has just as much in common with the remake as it does with Evil Dead II or Army of Darkness. It doesn't have the series' trademark comedy, and Ash isn't the lead character either, as the movie has an ensemble cast. Compared to the follow-ups, The Evil Dead is a run-of-the-mill horror flick of its time, but Raimi was still more inventive with camera techniques and jump scares than any other filmmaker at the time.
Those techniques can still be found in modern blockbuster movies, such as Raimi's Spider-Man trilogy and, most, recently, Doctor Strange in the Multiverse of Madness. As The Evil Dead was the start of Ash not being able to catch a break, the 1981 release is one of the greatest movies where everything goes wrong. And now that audiences know how the character's life gets worse and worse with each release, that retroactively makes The Evil Dead that much more entertaining.
Evil Dead II (1987) - 7.7
Evil Dead II is somewhat of a soft reboot of the franchise, as the first five minutes of the movie completely recreates a truncated version of the original, and then continues with Ash fighting for survival. Everything that general audiences know about the Evil Dead series comes from this film. It's the 1987 movie that sees Ash at war with his own hand, and it's Evil Dead II that has the character replace his hand with a chainsaw too.
The movie has the most surprising end twist of any horror film, as Ash is sucked into a portal that teleports him into medieval times. He slays a dragon and is then hailed as a god, as he repeatedly screams, "No!" For as entertaining as Army of Darkness is, that shocking ending might have been even more effective if the threequel never existed. Either way, it's in a league of its own, the low-budget practical gore is more effective than CGI, and Evil Dead II still holds up today.
Ash Vs. Evil Dead (2015-2018) - 8.4
Few hardcore Evil Dead fans believe that Ash vs. Evil Dead is better than Evil Dead II, and TV shows are generally rated higher than movies on IMDb. But the series is exactly what viewers would want from an Evil Dead show, as it's full of goofy humor and gore, and Raimi even directed the premiere episode. The series lasted for three seasons before it was canceled, and each one was just as good as the last.
But while the series is perfectly faithful to the movie franchise, it frustratingly doesn't follow on from Army of Darkness, which ended with another twist where Ash is teleported into a dystopian future. Instead, the show is a direct continuation of Evil Dead II, completely ignoring the threequel. However, as unsatisfying as that is, it does leave the window open for Evil Dead IV. Another sequel is a possibility, and it could see Ash fighting off wards of robot zombies, something that the TV series couldn't deliver on.