Evil Dead | Sam Raimi | 1981

Evil Dead is an American horror film franchise created by Sam Raimi consisting of four feature films and a television series. The series revolves around the Necronomicon Ex-Mortis, an ancient Sumerian text that wreaks havoc upon a group of cabin inhabitants in a wooded area in Tennessee.

The protagonist, Ashley Joanna "Ash" Williams (Bruce Campbell), is the only character to appear in every installment of the original trilogy, with the notable exception of his main love interest, Linda, who appears in Evil Dead II and Army of Darkness during only the prologues. The original trilogy includes The Evil Dead (1981), Evil Dead II (1987), and Army of Darkness (1992), all written and directed by Raimi, produced by Robert G. Tapert, and starring Campbell. The franchise has since expanded into other formats, including video games, comic books, a musical, and a television series.

The franchise was resurrected in 2013 with Evil Dead, both a reboot and a loose continuation of the series directed by Fede Álvarez, who cowrote the screenplay with Rodo Sayagues. It was produced by Raimi, Campbell, and Tapert. A TV series called Ash vs Evil Dead premiered on cable network Starz in 2015, lasted for three seasons, and ended in 2018, with Campbell announcing an animated revival to be in active development in July 2022. It starred Bruce Campbell as Ash and was executive produced by Campbell, Sam Raimi, and Rob Tapert.

A new film in the franchise, titled Evil Dead Rise, is set to be released in 2022 on HBO Max, with Lee Cronin serving as writer and director, Alyssa Sutherland and Lily Sullivan starring, and Tapert, Campbell, and Raimi serving as producers.