Stephen King's admiration for The Evil Dead became an unexpected opening for Sam Raimi to get Evil Dead II made.
The 1987 horror comedy, starring Bruce Campbell as Ash Williams, blended supernatural horror with physical comedy and practical effects.
King had praised the original film in striking terms. "It was like a thunderstorm in a bottle," he wrote, as reported by Empire.
That endorsement led producer Dino De Laurentiis to approach Raimi about directing an adaptation of King's novel Thinner.
Raimi's producing partner Rob Tapert recounted the exchange to The Hollywood Reporter.
Raimi turned the offer toward his own plans. "I can't right now, I'm working on Evil Dead II," he told the producer.
Tapert said De Laurentiis questioned the reply at first.
About six months later the team delivered the screenplay, which the producer had translated into Italian and approved within 24 hours.
A Rights Dispute Forced a Reworked Opening
Even with backing in place, Raimi faced a separate problem: New Line owned the rights to the first movie.
That blocked the filmmakers from using original footage for the sequel's opening recap.
Campbell described the situation to ComicBook. com.
"We couldn't get the rights to our own movie, which is the most ridiculous thing ever," he said.
The team shot replacement scenes with different actors instead.
Campbell noted that the choice confused some viewers, who read the opening as Ash returning to the cabin with a new group of characters.
AOL reported that Evil Dead II cost roughly $3.6 million and grossed $5.9 million domestically.
Its mix of gruesome imagery, slapstick, stop-motion animation and inventive camera work set it apart from conventional horror.
The film holds an 89% rating on Rotten Tomatoes from 87 reviews.
Time Out placed it at No. 18 on its 100 Best Horror Movies list, updated in September 2026, while the original landed at No. 29.
Rotten Tomatoes' critics' consensus called the sequel a fresh reinterpretation of Raimi's approach.
"Less a continuation than an outright reimagining, Sam Raimi transforms his horror tale into a comedy of terrors — and arguably even improves on the original formula."
The franchise's comedic streak later moved to television with Ash vs the Evil Dead, which premiered on Starz in 2015.
According to Collider's October 13, 2026, retrospective, Campbell returned as Ash roughly 30 years after earlier encounters with the Deadites.
That series earned a 99% Rotten Tomatoes score and ran for three seasons, extending the character's story beyond Evil Dead: Army of Darkness.
AIPT Comics also revisited the sequel in episode 132 of its Death Don't Do Fiction podcast, focusing on Campbell's performance, the practical effects and the film's fast-paced editing.
