Recently I stumbled upon a YouTube channel called Acierto Creations claiming to sell a pretty nice replica of the Neconomicon from Evil Dead 2. They claim that it’s officially licensed, and they are charging $350, which certainly isn't cheap. The ads on their YouTube channel look surprisingly well made; they don’t seem to be AI, however. I admit sometimes I have a hard time telling.

Se me antojo una pizza y ver mi película favorita una vez más.

I enjoyed it much more the second time. Haven't seen it since I saw it in theatre, so it's been a while. The story worked a lot better for me this time around, though I still find the ending weak. I think the biggest problem is that so many of the characters are hateful/spiteful (Will, Susan, Edgar) that it really doesn't make an impact when they die/get possessed. Thya was probably the only character I really liked (moreso than even Alice) and while she got filled off early she was also the most memorable of the new deadites.

All the ties to Evil Dead Rise (Jessica, Ellie) were a neat touch, though it makes me wonder if anyone checked the upper floors of the apartment building in Rise for surviviors and if that turned in to a nightmare. At the very least there probably should have been urns for Danny and Bridget too, but I guess they weren't as popular as characters as deadite Ellie.

There are 2 big discrepancies in Evil Dead 2 that once you see the rest of the series makes no sense at all. Why is 2 the only one where the evil retreats in daylight? And how does Linda come back after being decapitated? I thought that was supposed to kill the evil.

Hail to the king baby

Fucking spoilers, obviously:

It was awesome, but it had some major flaws. I planned to skip this one, since Rise was dogshit, but I heard Matt Johnson say in an interview it was, quote: 'better than you would expect'.

Incredible film making and incredible performances, it really could have been its own IP. Trying to carry this franchise was a lot to weight it down.

The whole 'BURN' aspect felt forced. I thought they were going to play off of the crematorium iconography, or the burning was like about 'guilt' in a relationship or... something, but no. it's just fire = red and scary, I guess. OK.

The intro sequence was so stylish and spooky and really hooked me (heh), I wish we got more of that. But again, it had no bearing on anything.

All the tension and family dynamics were exciting leading up to the obvious, the funeral scene was so bleak and painful, it was well done. However, it did feel weird having 45+ straight minutes of Night Club/Restaurant/Funeral/Dinner table scenes in an Evil Dead movie, the tone was way off for the franchise. Even though we invested all that time with the characters we still don't really get to know them very well, so I don't know if that was time well spent.

You could easily have had half as many characters and made it count for more.

Or you could have invested that time going into the creepy lore, the idea that the family was cursed and twisted by the grandpa, which was a really rich premise. Instead we got a lot of family court and nagging at each other.

You could have edited a bunch of stuff out to keep it punchier. The whole thing with the wolf attacks added nothing, all that stuff with the candelabra, the broken family history and all their childhoods...A solid edit would have made this a masterpiece.

The car scene and all the sequences with the girlfriend, were 11/10.

The writing and plot was atrocious, it's clear Vanicek struggles with the language, listening to those awesome actors trying to churn out that dialogue was abuse. That is, whenever you could make out the words through the over processed vocal effects.

There were so many opportunities for a badass line, but instead we got nonsense like 'Fuck Your Family!' *buzz goes the chainsaw*, it was so disappointing.

'What was the last thing you said to me?... Go to Hell? Well.... that's where I went... to hell!'... it's pure Tommy Wiseau.

Making a pretty Swiss/French actress, who struggles with English your obvious final girl is just too much. I accept that Bruce Campbells don't grow on trees, but you just have to do better than that.

Not adding any nuance to that character didn't help either. So she's a battered wife, and she finally gets to overcome her abuser or whatever...whoopdeedoo. It's been done to death.

The humour with the grandma worked well, was sorely needed to break up the mood, we needed more. I don't think the new Evil Dead film makers ever understand that slapstick is a huge part of the franchise.

The grandma/bedsheet scene was still frightening as hell.

It kind of lost me in the last 30 minutes, I got a bit desensitised to everything and there was no more tension, it was just another well made torture movie at that point. The 3 people intimately scuffling with the crazy girlfriend and bumping into walls and tripping over earlier on had so much more impact than all those big set pieces at the end. I really enjoyed that stuff more.

In Summary: The choreography and camera work was cool as hell throughout. I think if Vanicek can get a decent script sorted so he can focus on the technicals he could be one of the greats.

Really pisses me off that Sinners got rave reviews, and this one didn't.

Currently watching the Evil Dead movies while I did this drawing of Ash, for my spooky drawing season series. This is the first page of my new sketch book!

Did a short zombie fun run and am very happy with the final picture I got, groovy…

https://youtu.be/FIJTvEo4N4Q?si=nUFjl1_oJhNCatUw&t=28

gonna be decked out in my Evil Dead finery, including my name tag from the theatre I worked at 30 years ago

Just finished these pieces :)

Left - Face me (the raven)

And

Right - Flesh

If you’ve seen The Evil Dead, then you most likely have been watching a modified HD version of the film, with this scene having a cross dissolve over it. You can see that here:

https://youtu.be/_Yb2tyZ8DgA?si=o6phrkJf2eoX2CVE

This change is exclusive to the Anchor Bay Blu-Ray, and was then reverted back for the 4K Lionsgate release. Because I don’t have digital access to the 4K disc, I recreated the jump cut through the older, more infamous Blu-Ray.

I've just watched Rise and.... the IP isn't Evil Dead without Ash.

All three modern movies follow the same template as the first classic one: People stuck in a cabin/building/house as the people inside slowly turn into Deadites. But change the name of all three and you wouldn't even be able to tell they are supposed to be in the same franchise as the three classic movies.

And mind you, I still like them. Rise is probably among my top 3 Evil Dead flicks up there with 1 and 2, but if I'm honest... It doesn't really feel like Evil Dead, not really.

And I know whomever portrays Ash has a big chin to fill, but much like Sidney Prescott in Scream, Evil Dead NEEDS Ash to feel like Evil Dead. Even Ash VS The Evil Dead, as wacky as it was, even including Ash's sidekicks and Xena as the sometimes-ally-sometimes-villain felt like Evil Dead.

I think it had so much potential with the great setting choice but the plot was dull and the characters weren’t as good as the original and burn. I’m just a casual fan of the series but it’s my opinion. Kinda prepared for the hate lol.

(I chose the original because I think everyone in this sub can at least agree it's good)

This new evil dead movie must be a comedy.

This is something that keeps playing over and over in my mind... I don’t think Ash would change all that much, though there would certainly be some shifts—he would undoubtedly try to protect Cheryl at all costs. Perhaps the entire persona he developed—along with his "groovy" attitude—was his way of transforming into a sort of superhero, ensuring his little sister, Cheryl, wouldn’t be afraid.

In fact, I believe Cheryl would represent a sense of realism—a "reality check" seen through her eyes—without losing the comedy or the chaos that characterizes the franchise.

I even imagine that, whenever Ash undergoes this transformation, she might feel as though parts of the brother "Ashley" she once knew have vanished, replaced by the emergence of Ash, The Chosen One.

I also find myself wondering what Army of Darkness and the three seasons of Ash vs Evil Dead would have been like if Cheryl had been there alongside Ash.

Drawn by me. Sorry for the Kelly drawing

To commemorate Evil Deads anniversary, here is my theory about how Cheryl was supposed to have been the Promised One instead of Ash. Going by sequence of movie order.

EVIL DEAD

Cheryl is the odd duck out. Everyone else in the group is paired off except for her. Everyone is having fun and joking around in the car but she sits looking out the window silently. She was probably forced by Ashes parents to bring along his stick in the mud sister because I imagine she has a hard time making friends. We see later that she is an artist. She sees the world just a little bit different from everyone else. She wants to absorb the world and be a part of it but she could never absorb it enough to really belong here. She was made for something other than what everyone around her gets to have.

The car is the first instance of the Evil messing around with the group. Its like they entered the perimeter and the Evil is testing out this new play thing. So they take control of the car and mess with it just a bit. Until Cheryl is officially taken over, this is the only time the Dradites target anyone but her. Beyond this point, they target Cheryl and only Cheryl.

When Ash and the girls are unpacking the car, Scotty is exploring the house but Cheryl is unaccounted for. My personal headcanon here is that she went to explore the woods around the cabin. Being the artsy weirdo type I believe she is the type who could greet and make friends with a tree based purely on vibes. The tree she meets and becomes "friends" with will later be possessed itself and used to violate her. Also worth noting that if Cheryl is out there exploring, then she and Scotty (the two current explorers) are both the only two people who get killed by the woods themselves.

Next encounter we see her drawing. Again shes separated from the group and not socializing. Its here that she first personally encounters the Evil to the point that it possess her hand (mUch the same way Ash's hand will be possessed in ED2) but the possession is weak and temporary. Usually the Evil is able to just possess people but not Cheryl. So with direct possession out of the question, the Evil begins to play a different game. They begin to mess with her mind. Cheryl tries to tell the group what happened to her but she gets ignored and Wcotty begins to make fun of her for it. This is all part of a plan to diminish her credibility and further separate thw rest of the group from believing that something is going on.

Next comes the crucial moment. The playing of the audio tapes. These tapes contain the evil words that will resurrect the dead. The tapes make Cheryl deeply uneasy to the point that its a physical discomfort. She is a being created from the light, so the evil words affect her at a spiritual level. It is also here that Cheryl does in fact complete the destiny of the Promised One. She shuts the tape off. Path of least resistance. Simple. The Evil Dead are defeated before they are even conjured.

However the game the Evil has been playing pays off here. Scotty plays the tape again just to spite Cheryl. If she hadn't come to the group in a panic about her hand possession they may have respected her wishes to stop the tape. But its a joke to Scotty now and his wicked ways serve the Evil and the evil words are said. This is where Cheryl's physical discomfort elevates into straight up physical pain.

Next encounter, Cheryl hears something lurking in the woods. Again the Evil game works. Cheryl is so stressed about people not believing her that she takes it upon herself to investigate outside and find out for sure what is happening. Just because shes the Promised One doesnt exclude her from short sightedness. Cheryl goes into the woods alone. Her stress from the group and the hearing of the words has positioned her body into just the right shade of vulnerable suitable to the Evils needs. But they cant just possess her. They have to physically insert something up inside her like a seed and even then it takes time.

The Bridge. Cheryl demands to be taken home and this is where she and Ash see the bridge is destroyed. Ash is not the focus here, its Cheryl. The broken bridge curls like a wicked evil hand visually grasping Cheryl with no escape. It is here she finally breaks down and weakened to the point that the Evil fully takes over. This is the last time we ever see Cheryl as her pure human self.

The next time we see Cheryl is becomes a full on Deadite. Yet while she could easily incapacitate the group, she plays the same game with them that they played with Cheryl. Mind games. Evil Cheryl allows herself to be captured in the fruit cellar. From here she just works at breaking down the mental fortitude of the rest of the group. Strange gurgling sounds, watching them with those dead eyes. Cheryl isnt possessed by just any Deadite. The Promised One is to be possessed by a leader Deadite who uses tactics other than simply maiming and destruction. She plays mind games and whittles people down into vulnerable targets.

So now with the Promised One compromised and turned evil, the destiny of the Promised One passes on to the next available candidate, her idiot brother Ash.

EVIL DEAD 2

We learn in this movie that there are missing pages from the Necronomicon that show Ash as the Promised One. However this is only shown after the legacy has changed hands. I believe the pages remained in a state of limbo until the absolute path was set. When Ash encounters the destroyed bridge at the beginning of ED2, we soon see the sun rapidly speed up and settle into nightfall.

This time lapse occurs as a response to the missing pages being discovered. Events were in a state of flux until human eyes gazed upon the missing pages and events became set in stone. This triggered the speeding up of the sun because the Evil must try to eliminate the new Promised One before he can fulfill his destiny.

Annie Knowby is seen arriving in a regional aircraft. Which means there was a connecting flight. We see the missing pages framed in a glass case. Its my guess that during this layover is when Annie actually looked closely at the pages and its the first time human eyes have ever seen the image of the Promised One. Since the identity of the Promised One changed, the image on the page may have been in a cosmic state of flux, waiting to be retroactively written until the events actually take place. Wibbly Wobbly Timey Whimey stuff. Annie seeing the pages set future events into concrete motion. Ash is now the Promised One and he is going to fight the Medieval Dead. Its also this exact of time that Ash transforms from a meek shrimp guy in the corner to a guy who replaces his own hand with a chainsaw and fights an army of zombies with it.

ARMY OF DARKNESS

Klaatu Verata Niktu are the words that must be spoken in order to properly remove the Necronomicon from the cradle in the cemetery. This is a test designed for the Promised One and one that Cheryl was designed to ace. Memorizing three words would have been no issue at all for Cheryl because she was the Plan A Promised One. Just like how Cheryl so easily easily defeated the Evil Dead by simply turning off the tape recorder, so too would she have known the words and the Army of Darkness would have never risen. Not so with Ash. Everything is the hard way when it comes to Ash being the Plan B Promised One.

Just wanted to share my 45th anniversary steelbook I got a few months ago. It is one of my most prized possessions now in my physical media collection.