Ash Williams put it best: the Evil Dead franchise is “groovy.” Last week, the sixth film in the franchise, Evil Dead Burn, came to theaters, and with a seventh one on the way in 2028, the world of killer demons unlocked by the Book of the Dead is showing no signs of slowing down.
There’s also no sign of a huge drop in quality. Most franchises, especially horror franchises, drop in quality almost immediately. Halloween, Friday the 13th, A Nightmare on Elm Street, Scream; all of those have one or two standouts (usually the original) followed by a lot of bad, albeit entertaining, sequels. Evil Dead has not been that.
Most would agree that, like Star Wars or The Lord of the Rings, the first three Evil Dead films are kind of untouchable. Even when you rank them, you’re just tinkering with greatness or personal preference. Then, 20 years passed, and a new crop of films emerged. Films made by filmmakers who grew up with those originals, and with the help of Sam Raimi and Bruce Campbell themselves, took things to another level.
Basically, we don’t think there is a bad Evil Dead film. But some are better than others, and below, we’ll explain where we put each.
Honorable Mention: Ash vs. Evil Dead
No Evil Dead-adjacent discussion is complete without a shout-out to Ash vs. Evil Dead, the TV series that ran for three glorious seasons on Starz from 2015 to 2018. The show picked up with Ash Williams 30 years after he thought his Deadite-slaying days had ended, only to discover there are still some ghouls that need chainsawing—with Bruce Campbell having a blast playing an older version of his iconic character.
Though the series leaned into Evil Dead’s more humorous aspects, it also more than delivered on the franchise’s trademark gruesome special effects and expanded its lore in surprising ways, too. Lee Majors as Ash’s dad? Can’t get more groovy than that! But this is a movie list, so while you should absolutely revisit Ash vs. Evil Dead as often as possible, it’s not part of io9’s ranker.
6. Evil Dead Burn (2026)
The most recent installment, now in theaters, comes in last, not because it’s bad. In fact, it’s pretty great. It’s simply lower than the rest because it’s the purest representation of how much Evil Dead has changed since the beginning. Burn is a down-and-dirty, brutal, and gory horror movie. There’s almost no humor in it at all. And, as you’ll soon read, we think Evil Dead is at its best when it’s scary and gross but also funny.
5. Evil Dead (2013)
Fede Álvarez’s reboot is responsible for the horror-first, humor-second pivot Evil Dead has taken. None of what is happening now, including the TV show, probably would’ve happened without it. Plus, while this is still very much brutal kills and horror-heavy, the fact that it borrows from those original films with the cabin setting helps with the nostalgia.
4. Evil Dead Rise (2023)
We put Evil Dead Rise above the other two more recent films because it truly feels like a new generation of Evil Dead. It’s got the new setting, new characters, and a great sprinkling of devilish humor. It’s the first of the films that took things in an exciting, new direction. One that, we think, will continue into the future.
3. Army of Darkness (1993)
Now, at this point, it’s important to reiterate two things. One, there is no bad Evil Dead movie. And two, Army of Darkness is my personal favorite Evil Dead movie. Ash Williams going back in time to fight Deadites is, clearly, much more of a comedy than a horror movie, which we love, and Bruce Campbell is electric in it. But it definitely gets away from the horror elements that make Evil Dead so unique. So, by a small margin, we put it in third.
2. The Evil Dead (1981)
While Army of Darkness leaned much more heavily into the comedy roots of the Evil Dead franchise, Sam Raimi’s original film is almost the opposite. It’s funny, of course, but it’s more of a gross-out horror film than what the franchise became. There are some legit scares throughout, and that makes it wonderful. But it’s still not the best.
1. Evil Dead II (1987)
Evil Dead II is why the Evil Dead franchise still lives on. In this one, Raimi found a perfect balance we didn’t know was possible. There are lots of gruesome kills and wonderful special effects. But there are also several goofy throughlines and scenes. It all comes together perfectly, acting as a sequel and a refresher of the original film. Evil Dead II is the perfect Evil Dead movie, and while the others have tried, none have nailed it in quite the same way.
Additional reporting by Cheryl Eddy.
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