Meaghan and Arthur welcome Eleazar for a Childhood Trauma episode that doubles as one of the deepest Evil Dead franchise dives we've done. They cover the full arc — from Sam Raimi and Bruce Campbell's proof-of-concept short film Within the Woods, through the legal chaos that forced Evil Dead II to basically remake the first twenty minutes of its own predecessor, through Army of Darkness and its cursed rights issues, through Ash vs Evil Dead and the weird, wonderful lore that keeps expanding with every entry. 🎙 About Our Guest: Eleazar of Nightmare Echoes Eleazar is the host of Nightmare Echoes Podcast, a horror podcast exploring classic and modern genre films with a rotating roster of co-hosts. The show has covered every film in the Evil Dead franchise — and has been running for 120+ episodes across multiple seasons. Meaghan and Arthur appeared on Nightmare Echoes earlier this year to discuss The Substance. Follow Nightmare Echoes: Instagram & Threads @nightmareechoespod 🎬 The Evil Dead & Evil Dead II: Origins & Chaos Within the Woods (1978) — Sam Raimi and Bruce Campbell's proof-of-concept short film, used to secure the $90,000 needed to make the original. The same bootstrapped-short-to-feature pipeline Curry Barker used decades later with YouTube. The original Evil Dead (1981) was shot in extreme cold in a Tennessee cabin that was slowly falling apart — the fireplace was their only heat source, power tools were stolen off the set, and the crew's housing was converted into a brothel mid-production. Evil Dead II (1987) couldn't use footage from the first film due to a multi-studio rights dispute — so it re-created the first twenty minutes, quietly altering character counts and relationships to sidestep the issue. Linda is played by a different actress in every film in the series. Same with the character count: Evil Dead has five friends; Evil Dead II drops it to just Ash and Linda. Rights issues explain both. Ted Raimi (Sam's younger brother) wore a full latex suit in Evil Dead II during the extreme Tennessee summer heat. Buckets of sweat were reportedly dumped out of the suit between takes — and the perspiration is visible in the film. 📖 The Necronomicon: Franchise Lore Explained The Necronomicon (Book of the Dead) evolves in detail and design across every Evil Dead film — each entry adds new layers of mythology and expands what the book can do. Evil Dead II introduces a crucial detail: pages from the Necronomicon can function independently of the book, which becomes a plot point involving Jake throwing them into the fireplace — a decision the hosts describe as one of the franchise's most frustrating character choices. Army of Darkness introduces three Necronomicons on a pedestal — two fakes and one real — and Ash picks the wrong one (partly) because he can't say the words correctly either. Evil Dead Rise confirms that all three books across the franchise's history are separate Necronomicons, placing every film in a shared universe. Evil Dead Burn appears to introduce a fourth. 🪓 Ash Williams: Character Arc Across the Franchise In The Evil Dead (1981), Ash is almost passive — nearly self-effacing, not the commanding presence he becomes later. The hosts note how strikingly different he is between films one and two. Bruce Campbell's physical comedy and willingness to be repeatedly destroyed is the engine of Evil Dead II. The hand-severing sequence remains one of the franchise's most iconic (and genuinely terrifying) moments. Sam Raimi originally intended to go straight from Evil Dead into what became Army of Darkness (working title: Medieval Dead). Stephen King's rave review of the first film helped secure funding for a sequel — but the studio wanted more of the same, not a medieval adventure. Evil Dead II was ultimately designed as setup for Army of Darkness — a bridge film Raimi made funnier because he knew where the story was going. 🔥 Evil Dead Burn & The Franchise Future Evil Dead Burn hits theaters July 10, 2026. Directed by Sébastien Vaniček (Infested), produced by Sam Raimi and Robert G. Tapert, executive produced by Bruce Campbell and Lee Cronin. The crew discuss the fan theory that a voice heard in Evil Dead Rise's vinyl record sequence is Bruce Campbell's — suggesting Ash is still time-traveling through the franchise timeline, trying (and failing) to prevent Deadite uprisings. A Deadite glimpsed in the Evil Dead Burn trailer appears to match the lake woman from Evil Dead Rise — potentially linking the two films and suggesting the franchise's shared universe is tighter than any official confirmation has stated. Evil Dead Wrath (directed by Francis Galluppi) is also in development, marking the first time two Evil Dead films have been in production simultaneously. Follow us & Subscribe:SpotifyApple PodcastTikTokInstagramThreadsGrave Tone Horror Podcast Website Hosted by Simplecast, an AdsWizz company. See pcm.adswizz.com for information about our collection and use of personal data for advertising.