Very rarely does a horror franchise endure for as long as Evil Dead, and many find success even without the massive cultural footprint that Sam Raimi’s possession horror has laid over the years. It’s undergone genre shift, tonal evolution, and even multiple mediums in its long road from independent to mainstream, mid-budget studio fare. Every film is, at minimum, extremely exciting, darkly funny, and horrifyingly rewatchable. The latest entry, Evil Dead Burn, hits theaters this Friday, and in celebration of its return to the big screen, here is every Evil Dead movie ranked.
6. Evil Dead Burn
The current direction the Evil Dead franchise, in which a new promising, up-and-coming genre filmmaker crafts their own take on the mythology in loosely-connected installments, is genius. It takes the pressure off of creatives following in the footsteps of their peers, and allows them to stamp their own personality and tonality onto a highly adaptable formula. The latest director to take the reins is French multi-hyphenate Sébastien Vaniček, who directed 2024’s Infested (in which a Paris high-rise is overrun with giant killer spiders), and his entry in the franchise, Evil Dead Burn, is infused with a decidedly unique sensibility; not only does it include a variety of hysterical, unconventional edits and needle drops, but it twists the expectation of what an Evil Dead movie is supposed to be. It’s violent in a viscerally uncomfrotable way (this was my first Evil Dead movie in theaters, for what that’s worth), and feels both meaner and more upsetting than its older siblings, though still carrying much of the same gleeful brutality that makes each Evil Dead movie extraordinarily watchable. If that sounds vague and general, that’s because Burn merit lies in particular moments, including some of the most creative gore and inventive kills of the entire series, that made me grin and giggle in a sicko manner that very few movies bring out of me. Souheila Yacoub is a stellar protagonist, and her victorious moments are absolutely riotous. Burn is not always lit; the aforementioned subversion doesn’t work all of the time, but when it does, it sizzles. Because of the longevity of the franchise, Burn has an uphill battle to fight in its road to cultural endurance, but historically, time is kind to the Evil Dead.
5. Evil Dead
Fede Álvarez’s debut feature (which, according to those in charge, is actually a “stealth sequel” to the original) builds on Raimi’s foundations to craft a meaner, somehow even more violent reimagining of the classic “cabin in the woods” narrative blueprint that the 1981 original pioneered. Despite that, it carves out a unique tone amongst the blanket anonymity of the aughts and early 2010s horror, and it’s smarter than one might initially think – instead of a straight remake, the film swerves from the lazy “bland teens get slaughtered” structure and instead pursues a genuinely thoughtful story about addiction and familial strain (and it even throws in a clever subversion in the last act as a bloody bow on the whole affair). Jane Levy is the best of the bunch, and it’s not even close; she’s the clear standout in a largely forgettable group, though that marker comes with the franchise territory. Because of that, it suffers from the lack of a central protagonist we can connect to (an Ash type, if you will), but Evil Dead thrives in the gross and twisted just the same, conforming to modern horror sensibilities while maintaining a fresh pace throughout. Usually, I’m allergic to “gross for the sake of gross,” but much like the character expectations, it comes with the territory, and it’s executed so damn well, adding that extra visceral punch that paradoxically makes it feel both painfully real and violently silly.
4. The Evil Dead
This is it. The horror film that defined and popularized the “cabin in the woods” cliché as we understand it today. A 20-year-old Sam Raimi revolutionized the horror genre and pioneered the template for much of the possession horror of the modern era, and it’s the whole reason this list and this franchise exist in the first place. Because of all that, it’s hard to examine The Evil Dead with an unbiased critical lens, but after two days of watching all five films nearly back-to-back, the original still stands out for its unabashed earnestness and pure spirit of experimentation. It’s funny that Bruce Campbell became the face of the franchise – while he is the survivor, he doesn’t particularly stand out from the group that much. In fact, the only thing truly distinct about him is that he does survive; the truly iconic aspects of Ash (and the franchise in general, aside from the POV rushing through the woods) come from Evil Dead 2, but its predecessor is incredible on its own merits. It contains some of the most creative visuals and visceral gore I’ve ever seen, especially considering its budgetary limitations.
3. Evil Dead Rise
Enter Lee Cronin of (Lee Cronin’s The Mummy fame). The Evil Dead franchise has been slumbering for ten years, and this Irish newcomer has just the shot in the arm the series needs to be revived…for good this time, it seems. With a title that reflects both the stunning opening title and the film’s high-rise setting, Evil Dead Rise is another excellent horror film about the ties that bind; blood is thicker than water, after all. The choice to center the newer Evil Dead movies around family is one of the best decisions the franchise could have made to keep itself fresh after more than four decades, and Cronin takes that assignment and runs it all the way to the end zone. Rise captures the spirit of Dead with grit and glee, just as emotionally effective as it is scary, and with an uncomfortably gnarly quality that I hope future installments take as a challenge to surpass. Alyssa Sutherland delivers a performance thus unparalleled across the franchise as Ellie, an overwhelmed single mother of three who suffers a fate worse than death: transformation into an accursed Deadite that wants nothing more than to murder her entire family. It’s especially painful, considering that Rise has the most interesting and sympathetic characters in the whole series by a mile.
2. Army of Darkness
In what might be the biggest left turn in horror history, the third Evil Dead went full medieval – literally! Though the studio attempted to curtail it into a straight action/adventure flick (see: this film’s four official cuts, all of varying lengths and strengths), Raimi’s signature sensibility can’t help but break through in Army of Darkness, and even though it borders on PG-13 instead of the franchise’s trademark hard R, it still carries plenty of that old Dead spirit that makes these movies great. I actually adore the fact that it could not be more tonally different from its predecessors; that sets it apart and makes it fascinating instead of isolating it in its own corner, away from the rest of the action. We still have Bruce Campbell executing some pretty absurd slapstick, some stellar Deadite designs, and, for the first time, a classical romantic subplot that feels (generally) out of the pages of an antique novel. And what more do you really need? The romance (with Embeth Davidtz’s Sheila) is nowhere near the film’s most effective aspect, but it does cement Ash as the character we know him to be today, and both Campbell and Davidtz play the cheese perfectly. Full camp, mostly comedy, all of it damn good.
- Evil Dead II
GROOVY! This is the best of the best. The crème de la crème. The movie that takes everything that its predecessor excelled with, dials it up to eleven, and throws out the rulebook for what a possession horror flick is “supposed” to be. It begins with a nearly complete rewrite of the first film’s continuity (not the first time that will happen, either) and gradually descends into a unique sort of chaos that is an utter delight to behold. Even though, setting-wise, it is largely bound to the original cabin, it feels epic and sprawling in its scale. Dabbling in stop-motion, slapstick (Raimi even invented the portmanteau “splatstick” while working on the franchise) and absurd, crazed humor, Evil Dead II is not just the pinnacle of the franchise, but one of the best horror/comedies of all time. While the supporting cast is not necessarily up to snuff – Ash is by far the most engaging character of the whole shabang – that’s nothing new when it comes to Evil Dead, and the antics Ash finds himself embroiled in only serve to further showcase Bruce Campbell’s stellar comedic chops and Sam Raimi’s endless creativity. Evil Dead II is a masterpiece, full stop, and it’s hard to see a world in which it’s unseated as the pinnacle of the franchise.
Honorable Mention: Ash vs. Evil Dead
It’s been quite a while since I fired up the three-season Starz series that continued Ash Williams’ Deadite-blasting journey (and almost a decade since it ended), but I remember having an enormous amount of bloody fun with it. Campbell is on top form, and Ray Santiago, Dana DeLorenzo, and Lucy Lawless (among others) are marvelous additions to this already goofy franchise that plays fast and loose with continuity…but that’s part of its charm. Ash vs. Evil Dead throws us around geographically and cosmically, bringing the Deadite action to a host of new locations never before seen in this series. It’s a three-season investment that is incredibly well worth it. I might even be talking myself into a rewatch…
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