Evil Dead II
Directed by	Sam Raimi
Produced by	Robert Tapert Alex De Benedetti Irvin Shapiro Bruce Campbell
Written by	Sam Raimi Scott Spiegel
Starring	Bruce Campbell
Music by	Joseph Lo Duca
Distributed by	Rosebud Pictures
Release date(s)	March 13, 1987
Running time	85 min.
Language	English
Budget	$3,500,000
Gross revenue	$5,900,000 est. (as of July 26, 2006)
Preceded by	The Evil Dead
Followed by	Army of Darkness
All Movie Guide profile
IMDb profile

Evil Dead II (also known as Evil Dead 2: Dead by Dawn or The Sequel to the Ultimate Experience in Grueling Terror) is an American horror film, released in 1987 . A sequel to 1981's The Evil Dead, the film was directed by Sam Raimi, written by Raimi and Scott Spiegel, produced by Rob Tapert and starred Bruce Campbell as Ash Williams. The film was followed by a sequel of its own, Army of Darkness, in 1993. Image File history File links Evil_Dead2_poster. ... Samuel Marshall Raimi (born October 23, 1959) is an American film director, producer, and writer. ... The movie producer Robert Tapert was born in 1955 to Robert G. Tapert and Pat Tapert. ... This article is about the actor. ... Samuel Marshall Raimi (born October 23, 1959) is an American film director, producer, and writer. ... This article does not cite its references or sources. ... This article is about the actor. ... Image File history File links No higher resolution available. ... March 13 is the 72nd day of the year in the Gregorian calendar (73rd in leap years). ... 1987 (MCMLXXXVII) was a common year starting on Thursday of the Gregorian calendar. ... The English language is a West Germanic language that originates in England. ... July 26 is the 207th day of the year (208th in leap years) in the Gregorian calendar. ... For the Manfred Mann album, see 2006 (album). ... The Evil Dead (also known as Evil Dead, The Book of The Dead, Sam Raimis The Evil Dead and The Evil Dead: The Ultimate Experience in Grueling Terror) is a 1981 horror film written and directed by Sam Raimi and starring Bruce Campbell, Ellen Sandweiss and Betsy Baker. ... Army of Darkness (also known as The Medieval Dead, Bruce Campbell vs. ... DVD cover showing horror characters as depicted by Universal Studios. ... A sequel is a work of fiction in literature, film, and other creative works that is produced after a completed work, and is set in the same universe but at a later time. ... The Evil Dead (also known as Evil Dead, The Book of The Dead, Sam Raimis The Evil Dead and The Evil Dead: The Ultimate Experience in Grueling Terror) is a 1981 horror film written and directed by Sam Raimi and starring Bruce Campbell, Ellen Sandweiss and Betsy Baker. ... Samuel Marshall Raimi (born October 23, 1959) is an American film director, producer, and writer. ... Ropert Tapert (b. ... This article is about the actor. ... Ashley J. Ash Williams (Ashly in the original Evil Dead script) is the fictional protagonist in the Evil Dead horror film franchise, played by Bruce Campbell, and created by director Sam Raimi. ... Army of Darkness (also known as The Medieval Dead, Bruce Campbell vs. ...

The film is very similar to the first, even to the extent that some consider it a remake. However, Evil Dead II is noticeably more lighthearted. Much of the film's horror element is actually used to achieve comic effects. In film, a remake is a newer version of a previously released film or a newer version of the source (play, novel, story, etc. ...

Plot

Ash Williams and his girlfriend Linda take a romantic vacation to a seemingly abandoned cabin in the woods (which is all just basically a recap of the first film to catch viewers up with the plot). While in the cabin, Ash plays a tape of an archaeology professor, (the cabin's previous inhabitant), reciting passages from the Necronomicon, (or "Book of the Dead"), which he has discovered during an archaeological dig. The recorded incantation unleashes an evil force which kills and later possesses the body of Linda. While Ash is dealing with this force, the professor's daughter, Annie, and her research partner, Ed, return from the dig with more pages of the Necronomicon in tow, only to find the bridge leading to the part of the woods where the cabin is located destroyed. They enlist the help of a local man and woman to guide them along an alternate trail to the cabin. The four of them find an embattled Ash who is slowly being driven insane due to his encounter with the evil force. Over the course of his battle, he has dismembered his girlfriend's corpse, severed his possessed hand (which he later is forced to battle with using a shotgun to comic effect), and witnessed various household items laughing at him. He eventually attaches a chainsaw to the stump of his arm to help fight the "Evil Dead," a fight joined by one of the other four (the daughter of the couple who owned the cabin). Eventually, as his allies die off one by one, Ash is forced to find the scattered pages of the Necronomicon in the basement (thrown down there by the local man in a failed attempt to take control of the group) where he battles the possessed dead body of the professor's wife. With these pages, the professor's daughter is able to chant an incantation that will send the evil force back to where it came from, and dies in the process. The incantation opens up a whirling temporal portal which not only draws in the evil force, but nearby trees, a car, and Ash himself. He (and the car) are flung through space and time, and come to a hard landing in the 13th century. He is then confronted by a group of knights who initially mistake him for a deadite, but they are quickly distracted when a real one actually shows up. Ash blasts the harpy-like deadite with his shotgun and is hailed as a hero who has come to save the realm, at which point he breaks down and screams into the credits. Ashley J. Ash Williams (Ashly in the original Evil Dead script) is the fictional protagonist in the Evil Dead horror film franchise, played by Bruce Campbell, and created by director Sam Raimi. ... Archaeology, archeology, or archæology (from Greek: αρχαίος, archae, ancient; and λόγος, logos, knowledge) is the study of human cultures through the recovery, documentation and analysis of material remains and environmental data, including architecture, artifacts, biofacts, human remains, and landscapes. ... A prop designed to look like the Necronomicon. ...

History

Evil Dead 2 Book of the Dead DVD.

The concept of a sequel to The Evil Dead was discussed during the location shooting on the first film. Sam Raimi wanted to toss his hero, Ash, through a time portal, back into the Middle Ages. That notion eventually led to the third installment, Army of Darkness. Image File history File links Evil-dead-2-book-of-the-dead-limited-edition-20050923115402419. ... Image File history File links Evil-dead-2-book-of-the-dead-limited-edition-20050923115402419. ... Army of Darkness (also known as The Medieval Dead, Bruce Campbell vs. ...

After the release of Evil Dead, Raimi moved on to Crimewave, a cross between a crime film and a comedy produced by Raimi and Joel and Ethan Coen. Irvin Shapiro, a publicist who was primarily responsible for the mainstream release of The Evil Dead, suggested that they next work on an Evil Dead sequel. Raimi scoffed at the idea, expecting Crimewave to be a hit, but Shapiro put out ads announcing the sequel regardless. Director Sam Raimis first studio film following the success of The Evil Dead. ... A crime film, in its most general sense, is a film that deals with crime, criminal justice and the darker side of human nature. ... Airplane! is considered by some critics to be one of the funniest movies of all time. ... Joel and Ethan Coen, commonly called The Coen Brothers in the film business, are United States directors best known for their quirky comedies like Fargo and Raising Arizona; the brothers write their own scripts and alternate top billing for the screenplay. ... Joel and Ethan Coen, commonly called The Coen Brothers in the film business, are United States directors best known for their quirky comedies like Fargo and Raising Arizona; the brothers write their own scripts and alternate top billing for the screenplay. ...

After Crimewave was released to little audience or critical acclaim, Raimi and Tapert, knowing that another flop would further stall their already lagging careers, took Shapiro up on his offer. Around the same time, they met Italian movie producer Dino de Laurentiis, the owner of production and distribution company DEG. He had asked Raimi if he would direct a theatrical adaptation of the Stephen King (written under his Richard Bachman pseudonym) novel Thinner. Raimi turned down the offer, but de Laurentiis continued to be interested in the young filmmaker. Agostino De Laurentiis, usually credited as Dino De Laurentiis, (born August 8, 1919) is an Italian movie producer born at Torre Annunziata in the province of Naples. ... DEG may stand for: diethylene glycol a shortcut for degree (angular degree, temperature degree, degree symbol, or degree of curvature) This is a disambiguation page — a navigational aid which lists pages that might otherwise share the same title. ... Stephen Edwin King (born September 21, 1947) is an American author of over 200 stories including over 50 bestselling horror novels. ... // Richard Bachman Richard Bachmans author photo. ... Thinner is a 1984 novel by Stephen King about an obese lawyer who experiences a dramatic and ultimately dangerous weight loss as a result of a Gypsys curse. ...

The Thinner adaptation was part of a deal between de Laurentiis and King to produce several adaptations of King's successful horror fiction. At the time, King was directing the first such adaptation, Maximum Overdrive, based on his short story "Trucks". He had dinner with a crewmember who had been interviewed about the Evil Dead sequel, and told King that the film was having trouble attracting funding. Upon hearing this, King, who had written a glowing review of the first film that helped it become an audience favorite at Cannes, called de Laurentiis and asked him to fund the film. Horror fiction is, broadly, fiction in any medium intended to scare, unsettle, or horrify the reader. ... Maximum Overdrive is a 1986 tongue-in-cheek horror film, written and directed by horror novelist Stephen King. ... Trucks is a story by Stephen King in which trucks are possessed by demons and threaten to kill everyone in sight. ... Cannes - receding storm Cannes, as seen from a ferry speeding towards lÎle Saint-Honorat Cannes (pronounced ) (Provençal Occitan: Canas in classical norm or Cano in Mistralian norm) is a city and commune in southern France, located on the Riviera, in the Alpes-Maritimes département and the r...

Though initially skeptical, he agreed after being presented with the extremely high Italian grosses for the first film. Raimi and Tapert had desired $4 million for the production, they were allotted only $3.6 million. As such, the planned medieval storyline had to be scrapped.

Production

Script

Though they had only recently received the funding necessary to produce the film, the script had been written for some time, having been composed largely during the production of Crimewave. Raimi contacted his old friend Scott Spiegel, who had collaborated with Campbell and others on the Super-8 films they had produced during their childhood in Michigan. Most of these films had been comedies, and Spiegel felt that Evil Dead II should be less straight horror than the first. Initially, the opening sequence included all five characters from the original film, but, in an effort to save time and money, all but Ash and Linda were cut from the final draft. This argues against the "remake" theory (see below), because it makes clear that the events of the first film are meant to take place within the timeframe of the beginning of the sequel, and that everything that happens after Ash is hit by the invisible force is new. Super 8 can refer to: Super 8 Motels, a national motel chain Super 8mm film, a form of film often used for home movies, most popular in the 60s and 70s This is a disambiguation page — a navigational aid which lists other pages that might otherwise share... Official language(s) None (English, de-facto) Capital Lansing Largest city Detroit Area  Ranked 11th  - Total 97,990 sq mi (253,793 km²)  - Width 239 miles (385 km)  - Length 491 miles (790 km)  - % water 41. ...

Spiegel and Raimi wrote most of the film in their house in Silver Lake, Los Angeles, California, where they were living with the aforementioend Coen brothers, as well as actors Frances McDormand, Kathy Bates and Holly Hunter (Hunter was the primary inspiration for the Bobby Jo character). Due both to the distractions of their houseguests and the films they were involved with, Crimewave and Josh Becker's Thou Shalt Not Kill... Except, the script took an inordinately long time to finish. Silver Lake, Los Angeles, California. ... Frances McDormand (born June 23, 1957) is an Academy Award-winning American film, stage, and television actress, best known for her role as Marge Gunderson in Fargo. ... Kathleen Doyle Bates (born June 28, 1948) is an Academy Award-winning American theatrical, film, and television actress, and a stage and television director. ... Holly Hunter (born March 20, 1958 in Conyers, Georgia) is an Academy Award-winning American actress. ... Josh Becker is a writer and director whose credits include episodes of Xena: Warrior Princess as well as involvement with the Evil Dead series. ... Thou Shalt Not Kill. ...

Among the many inspirations for the film include The Three Stooges and other slapstick comedy films; Ash's fights with his disembodied hand come from a film made by Spiegel as a teenager, entitled Attack of the Helping Hand, which was itself inspired by television commercials advertising Hamburger Helper. The "laughing room" scene, where all the objects in the room seemingly come to life and begin to cackle maniacally along with Ash, came about after Spiegel jokingly used a gooseneck lamp to visually demonstrate a Popeye-esque laugh. Scott Spiegel's humorous influence can be seen throughout the film, perhaps most prominently in certain visual jokes; for instance, when Ash traps his rogue hand under a pile of books, on top is "A Farewell to Arms" by Stubby Kaye. As Kaye did not write a book of this title, it is presumably a reference to the classic novel of the same name by Ernest Hemingway. The Three Stooges was an American comedy act in the 20th century. ... This article is about comedic slapstick. ... The Helping Hand in a Hamburger Helper commercial Hamburger Helper is a brand of boxed meal product intended to be cooked with added ground beef or hamburger (not included). ... A Popeye comic book cover shows Popeye, with his characteristic corncob pipe and single good eye, and his girlfriend Olive Oyl. ... A Farewell to Arms is a semi-autobiographical novel written by Ernest Hemingway in 1929. ... Stubby Kaye (November 11, 1918 – December 14, 1997), born Bernard Kotzin in New York, New York, was an American comic actor. ... Ernest Miller Hemingway (July 21, 1899 – July 2, 1961) was an American novelist, short-story writer, and journalist. ...

Filming

With the script completed, and a production company secured, filming could begin. The production commenced in Wadesboro, North Carolina, not far from de Laurentiis' offices in Wilmington. De Laurentiis had wanted them to film in his elaborate Wilmington studio, but the production team felt uneasy being so close to the producer, so they moved to Wadesboro, approximately three hours away. Steven Spielberg had previously filmed The Color Purple in Wadesboro, and the large white farmhouse used as an exterior location in that film became the production office for Evil Dead II. Most of the film was shot in the woods near that farmhouse, or J.R. Faison Junior High School, which is where the interior cabin set was located. Wadesboro is a town located in Anson County, North Carolina. ... Wilmington is a city in New Hanover County, North Carolina, United States. ... Steven Allan Spielberg KBE (born December 18, 1946)[1] is an American film director and producer. ... The Color Purple is a 1982 novel by Alice Walker which received the 1983 Pulitzer Prize for Fiction. ...

The film's production was not nearly as chaotic or strange as the production of the original, largely because of Raimi, Tapert and Campbell's additional filmmaking experience. However, there are nevertheless numerous stories about the strange happenings on the set. For instance, the rat seen in the cellar and "blood flood" scenes was nicknamed "Señor Cojones" by the crew. "Cojones" is Spanish for "testicles". Cojones IPA: is a vulgar Spanish word for testicles, corresponding to balls or bollocks. // The word has entered popular use in the United States as a slang term meaning to have a brave attitude. ... Human male anatomy The testicles, known medically as testes (singular testis), are the male generative glands in animals. ...

Even so, there were hardships, mostly involving Ted Raimi's costume. Ted, director Sam's younger brother, had been involved in the first film briefly, acting as a fake Shemp, but in Evil Dead II he gets the larger role of the historian's demon-possessed wife, Henrietta. Raimi was forced to wear a full-body, latex costume, crouch in a small hole in the floor acting as a "cellar", or, on one day, both. Raimi became extremely overheated, to the point that his costume was literally filled with liters of sweat; Special effects artist Greg Nicotero describes pouring the fluid into several Dixie cups so as to get it out of the costume. The sweat is also visible on-screen, dripping out of the costume's ear, in the scene where Henrietta spins around over Ash's head. Theodore Ted Raimi (b. ... The term someone is credited with who appears in a film under heavy make-up, filmed from the back, or perhaps only showing an arm or a foot. ... The LaTeX logo, typeset with LaTeX LATEX, written as LaTeX in plain text, is a document markup language and document preparation system for the TeX typesetting program. ... SWEAT is an OLN/TSN show hosted by Julie Zwillich that aired in 2003-2004. ... Dixie Cup is the brand name for a line of disposable paper cups that were first developed in the United States the early 20th century to improve public hygiene. ...

The crew also snuck various in-jokes into the film itself, such as the clawed glove of Freddy Krueger, the primary antagonist of the A Nightmare on Elm Street series of slasher films, which hangs in the cabin's basement and toolshed. This was, at least partially, a reference to a scene in the original A Nightmare on Elm Street where the character Nancy (portrayed by Heather Langenkamp), watches the original Evil Dead on a television set in her room. In turn, that scene was a reference to the torn The Hills Have Eyes poster seen in the original Evil Dead film, which was itself a reference to a torn Jaws poster in The Hills Have Eyes. An in joke is a joke whose humour is clear only to those people who are in a group that has some prior knowledge (not known by the whole population) that makes the joke humorous. ... This article is about the fictional character. ... Cover art for the first film A Nightmare on Elm Street is a series of horror films that were exceptionally popular in the 1980s. ... This article or section does not adequately cite its references or sources. ... A Nightmare on Elm Street is an American horror film directed by Wes Craven about several teenagers being terrorized in their nightmares by a mysterious man named Freddy Krueger in the fictional Midwest town of Springwood, Ohio. ... Heather Langenkamp (born July 17, 1964) is an American film and television actress. ... The Hills Have Eyes may refer to: The Hills Have Eyes (1977 film), a 1977 film by Wes Craven. ... Jaws is a 1975 horror-thriller film directed by Steven Spielberg, based on Peter Benchleys best-selling novel of the same name, which was inspired in turn by the Jersey Shore Shark Attacks of 1916. ...

At the film's wrap party, the crew held a talent contest, where Sam Raimi and Bruce Campbell sang The Byrds' "Eight Miles High", with Nicotero on guitar.^{[citation needed]} A wrap party is a party organised for the cast and crew of a film to celebrate the end of principal photography. ... The Byrds (formed in Los Angeles, California, in 1964) were an American rock band. ... Eight Miles High is a song by Gene Clark, Jim McGuinn, and David Crosby, first appearing as a single from 1966 by the rock band The Byrds. ... This article or section does not adequately cite its references or sources. ...

References

• Warren, Bill. The Evil Dead Companion. ISBN 0-312-27501-3.
• Raimi, Sam. Spiegel, Scott. Nicotero, Greg. Campbell, Bruce. Evil Dead II DVD, audio commentary.
• Campbell, Bruce. If Chins Could Kill: Confessions of A B-Movie Actor. ISBN 0-312-29145-0

External links

• EVIL DEAD France First french fan site for EVIL DEAD
• Evil Dead II at the Internet Movie Database