Every ‘Evil Dead’ Movie Ranked

Few horror franchises have shape-shifted quite like Evil Dead. It began life as one of the nastiest independent horror films ever made, accidentally reinvented itself as a slapstick comedy, wandered into medieval fantasy, hit the reset button with one of the best horror remakes of the modern era, then somehow found room to terrify audiences all over again in a Los Angeles apartment block.

That all sounds a bit, well… mad. But ask any horror lover for their top 10 and at least one of the Evil Dead films will be in there.

Now, with Evil Dead Burn arriving in UK and US cinemas this weekend, it feels like the perfect time to rank the franchise. One thing before we start, though: while Burn has received generally positive reviews, it’s only just been unleashed on audiences. That’s nowhere near enough time to know where it truly sits alongside films horror fans have been arguing about for decades… Which will explain its starting position.

Oh, and I know how much these films mean to people, so I’m sure people will come at me for my ranking like a demented Deadite in the woods.

Every ‘Evil Dead’ Movie Ranked

6. Evil Dead Burn (2026)

This feels like about the right place… for now.

Directed by Infested filmmaker Sébastien Vanicek, Burn shifts the action to an isolated family gathering that quickly becomes, as the marketing perfectly puts it, “a family reunion from hell.” Following the death of her husband, Alice reunites with her late husband’s relatives, only for Deadites to begin tearing through the family one by one.

The film wisely avoids trying to imitate Sam Raimi beat for beat, instead leaning into a darker, more oppressive atmosphere while still delivering the outrageous practical gore fans expect. Souheila Yacoub makes for a compelling lead, and Vanicek continues to prove he understands how to make confined spaces feel increasingly suffocating.

Is it one of the very best entries? I’m not convinced yet.

With reviews landing somewhere between enthusiastic and politely positive, Burn feels like another solid addition rather than a genuine reinvention. Ask me again in five years and it might climb. Horror films have a habit of improving with age… or maybe audiences just get weirder.

5. Army of Darkness (1992)

This will likely be a controversial one.

Yes, Army of Darkness is enormous fun. Bruce Campbell is at his most effortlessly charismatic, Ash is now a full-blown action hero, and the film gives us skeleton armies, one-liners and medieval carnage that could only have come from Sam Raimi.

But…

As entertaining as it is, it’s also the least Evil Dead film in the series. The horror takes a back seat to fantasy adventure, and while that’s exactly why many fans adore it, it means the Deadites themselves never quite feel as threatening as they do elsewhere.

Still, if you’re looking for endlessly quotable dialogue and Bruce Campbell chainsawing skeletons in the Middle Ages, nobody does it better. Groovy, indeed.

4. Evil Dead (2013)

Remakes had a pretty terrible reputation by the early 2010s.

Then Fede Álvarez showed up and reminded everyone that they could still be brilliant.

Rather than trying to out-camp Raimi, Álvarez doubles down on the horror. The familiar cabin setup returns, but this time the film strips away much of the comedy in favour of relentless brutality. Mia’s struggle with addiction also gives the story an emotional hook that separates it from simply being a greatest-hits remake.

The violence is extraordinary. Blood rains from the sky. Limbs are lost. Faces are stapled. Everything hurts.

Some fans missed Bruce Campbell’s humour, but as pure horror, this remains one of the strongest studio horror films of the last twenty years.

3. The Evil Dead (1981)

Without this film, none of the others exist.

Made for very little money by a group of determined friends from Michigan, Sam Raimi’s original remains a remarkable achievement. Five friends head to a remote cabin, discover the Necronomicon, and accidentally unleash demonic forces that proceed to possess them one by one.

Simple. Brutal. Effective.

Watching it today, you can almost see Raimi inventing his signature style in real time. The manic camera movements, outrageous practical effects and relentless energy are all here, even if the budget occasionally struggles to keep up with the ambition.

It’s rough around the edges, but honestly, that’s part of the charm. Horror has always had a soft spot for films held together with duct tape and enthusiasm.

2. Evil Dead Rise (2023)

Moving the franchise from a woodland cabin to a decaying apartment block sounded risky. It turned out to be inspired.

Lee Cronin understood that Evil Dead doesn’t actually need a cabin in the woods. It just needs ordinary people trapped somewhere with absolutely nowhere to go. By focusing on a family rather than a group of disposable twenty-somethings, Rise also adds an emotional weight that makes every possession feel even nastier.

And then there’s Alyssa Sutherland. Her performance as Ellie instantly became one of the great Deadites, balancing monstrous physicality with flashes of twisted maternal affection that somehow make everything even more disturbing.

It’s disgusting too. Cheese graters have never recovered.

1. Evil Dead II (1987)

Was it ever going to be anything else?

Evil Dead II somehow achieves the impossible by functioning as horror, comedy, slapstick, splatstick and technical masterclass all at once. Ash returns to the cabin, the Deadites return with him, and Sam Raimi somehow finds a hundred new ways to torture both his hero and the audience.

This is the film where the franchise truly found its identity.

Bruce Campbell delivers one of horror’s greatest physical performances, battling possessed hands, laughing furniture, dancing lamps and an entire cabin that seems determined to drive him insane before the Deadites even finish the job.

It’s outrageous. Inventive. Genuinely creepy. Hilarious. Most franchises spend decades trying to discover what makes them special. Evil Dead figured it out on its second attempt and has been dining out on that glorious, blood-soaked formula ever since.

The remarkable thing about Evil Dead is that there really isn’t a bad film in the series. Some lean harder into comedy, others embrace outright horror, and a couple sit somewhere gloriously in between, but every director has understood the assignment: if you’re making an Evil Dead film, you’d better bring buckets of blood, practical effects, inventive camera work and at least one moment that makes audiences simultaneously laugh and recoil.

As for Evil Dead Burn? It’s far too early to crown it a classic or dismiss it as a lesser sequel. Horror history has a habit of rewriting itself. Films that were once divisive become fan favourites, while others slowly slip down the rankings.

For now, though, one thing hasn’t changed in over forty years. If somebody in a horror movie suggests reading aloud from a book bound in human flesh… just get back in the car.

Evil Dead Burn trailer