Watch Ash's story first: The Evil Dead (1981), Evil Dead II (1987), Army of Darkness (1992) and the series Ash vs Evil Dead (2015 to 2018). Evil Dead (2013), Evil Dead Rise (2023) and Evil Dead Burn (2026) are newer stories in the same world and can be watched on their own.
- Titles
- 7
- Films
- 6
- Series
- 1
- Watch time
- 24 hours
- Box office
- $375 million
- Avg IMDb
- 7.1
Evil Dead movies in release order
Here is every Evil Dead title in the order it came out, 1981 to 2026: 6 films and 1 series.
| # | Title | Year | Type | Runtime | IMDb |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | The Evil Dead | 1981 | Film | 1h 25m | 7.3 |
| 2 | Evil Dead II | 1987 | Film | 1h 24m | 7.6 |
| 3 | Army of Darkness | 1992 | Film | 1h 29m | 7.4 |
| 4 | Evil Dead | 2013 | Film | 1h 31m | 6.5 |
| 5 | Ash vs Evil Dead | 2015 | Series | 14h 33m | 8.4 |
| 6 | Evil Dead Rise | 2023 | Film | 1h 36m | 6.5 |
| 7 | Evil Dead Burn | 2026 | Film | 1h 50m | 6.3 |
Evil Dead timeline: movies in chronological order
The same titles in story order, by when they take place, with the year or era each one is set in.
| # | Title | Set in | Released |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | The Evil Dead | A cabin in the woods | 1981 |
| 2 | Evil Dead II | The same cabin | 1987 |
| 3 | Army of Darkness | The Middle Ages | 1992 |
| 4 | Ash vs Evil Dead | 30 years later | 2015 |
| 5 | Evil Dead | A detox weekend | 2013 |
| 6 | Evil Dead Rise | A Los Angeles apartment block | 2023 |
| 7 | Evil Dead Burn | A family home | 2026 |
Release or chronological: which order is best?
Release order and story order disagree on 2 titles here. In release order you start with The Evil Dead (1981); in story order you start with The Evil Dead, set in A cabin in the woods.
First time through, watch in release order. That is how the twists, returning characters and callbacks were built to land, and later entries assume you have seen the earlier ones. On a rewatch, try story order. It turns Evil Dead into one continuous story and makes the prequels play as setup instead of backstory.
Evil Dead also runs a separate continuity: The new films. It has its own line on the timeline, so you can watch it on its own without breaking the main story.
Where to start
Start with The Evil Dead and go in release order.
The whole thing is 24 hours. At two hours a night that is about 12 evenings.
The three highest rated: Ash vs Evil Dead (8.4), Evil Dead II (7.6), and Army of Darkness (7.4).
Every Evil Dead movie, explained
One entry per title in release order: what it is about, why it matters to the bigger story, who is in it and how it did.
No. 01 · 1981 · Film · 1h 25m
The Evil Dead
In 1979, a group of college students find a Sumerian Book of the Dead in an old wilderness cabin they've rented for a weekend getaway.
Why it matters: Five students, a cabin, a tape of incantations and the first night of the Deadites.
- Starring
- Bruce Campbell, Ellen Sandweiss, and Richard DeManincor
- Director
- Sam Raimi
- Box office
- $29 million
- Scores
- IMDb 7.3 · Rotten Tomatoes 85%
No. 02 · 1987 · Film · 1h 24m
Evil Dead II
Ash Williams and his girlfriend Linda find a log cabin in the woods with a voice recording from an archeologist who had recorded himself reciting ancient chants from "The Book of the Dead." As they play the recording an evil power is unleashed taking over Linda's body.
Why it matters: Ash relives the cabin night, loses a hand and gets pulled back to the Middle Ages.
- Starring
- Bruce Campbell, Sarah Berry, and Dan Hicks
- Director
- Sam Raimi
- Box office
- $6 million on a $4 million budget
- Scores
- IMDb 7.6 · Rotten Tomatoes 88%
No. 03 · 1992 · Film · 1h 29m
Army of Darkness
Ash, a handsome, shotgun-toting, chainsaw-armed department store clerk, is time warped backwards into England's Dark Ages, where he romances a beauty and faces legions of the undead.
Why it matters: Ash fights the army of the dead in medieval England to get home to S-Mart.
- Starring
- Bruce Campbell, Embeth Davidtz, and Marcus Gilbert
- Director
- Sam Raimi
- Box office
- $22 million on a $11 million budget
- Scores
- IMDb 7.4 · Rotten Tomatoes 68%
No. 04 · 2013 · Film · 1h 31m · 5th in story order
Evil Dead
Mia, a drug addict, is determined to kick the habit. To that end, she asks her brother, David, his girlfriend, Natalie and their friends Olivia and Eric to accompany her to their family's remote forest cabin to help her through withdrawal. Eric finds a mysterious Book of the Dead at the cabin and reads aloud from it, awakening an ancient demon. All hell breaks loose when the malevolent entity possesses Mia.
Why it matters: A soft reboot: Mia tries to get clean at the cabin and a demon takes her.
- Starring
- Jane Levy, Shiloh Fernandez, and Lou Taylor Pucci
- Director
- Fede Álvarez
- Box office
- $99 million on a $17 million budget
- Scores
- IMDb 6.5 · Rotten Tomatoes 63%
No. 05 · 2015 · Series · 14h 33m · 4th in story order
Ash vs Evil Dead
Bruce Campbell reprises his role as Ash Williams, an aging lothario and chainsaw-handed monster hunter who’s spent the last three decades avoiding maturity, and the terrors of the Evil Dead. But when a Deadite plague threatens to destroy all of mankind, he’s forced to face his demons — both metaphorical and literal.
Why it matters: Ash, 30 years older, unleashes the Deadites again; three Starz seasons.
- Starring
- Bruce Campbell, Ray Santiago, and Dana DeLorenzo
- Creator
- Sam Raimi, Ivan Raimi, and Tom Spezialy
- Scores
- IMDb 8.4
- Episodes
- 30 across 3 seasons
No. 06 · 2023 · Film · 1h 36m
Evil Dead Rise
A reunion between two estranged sisters gets cut short by the rise of flesh-possessing demons, thrusting them into a primal battle for survival as they face the most nightmarish version of family imaginable.
Why it matters: An earthquake exposes the Book of the Dead under a Los Angeles apartment block.
- Starring
- Lily Sullivan, Alyssa Sutherland, and Morgan Davies
- Director
- Lee Cronin
- Box office
- $147 million on a $15 million budget
- Scores
- IMDb 6.5 · Rotten Tomatoes 85%
No. 07 · 2026 · Film · 1h 50m
Evil Dead Burn
After her husband's abrupt death, Alice seeks solace with his remaining family — descendants of a leading researcher on demonic possession. As her in-laws transform one by one into creatures that feed on fear, she comes to discover that the vows she took in life survive even in death.
Why it matters: A widow's in-laws turn into Deadites one by one; follows Evil Dead Rise.
- Starring
- Souheila Yacoub, Tandi Wright, and Hunter Doohan
- Director
- Sébastien Vaniček
- Box office
- $71 million on a $20 million budget
- Scores
- IMDb 6.3 · Rotten Tomatoes 70%
Evil Dead box office and budgets
The 6 Evil Dead films with reported numbers have grossed $375 million worldwide on about $67 million in combined budgets, roughly 5.2 times what they cost. The biggest is Evil Dead Rise at $147 million, 39% of the franchise's total on its own, followed by Evil Dead ($99 million) and Evil Dead Burn ($71 million).
Measured against what it cost, the best return belongs to Evil Dead Rise, which made 9.8 times its $15 million budget. The weakest was Evil Dead II at 1.7 times its $4 million budget. As a rule of thumb, a film needs about two and a half times its budget at the box office to cover marketing and the theaters' cut.
The best and worst rated Evil Dead movies
Across 7 rated titles, Evil Dead averages 7.1 on IMDb. The top of the list is Ash vs Evil Dead at 8.4, then Evil Dead II (7.6) and Army of Darkness (7.4). At the bottom: Evil Dead Burn (6.3) and Evil Dead Rise (6.5). Money and quality don't line up perfectly: the highest grosser, Evil Dead Rise, is only the 6th best rated.
- Ash vs Evil Dead8.4
- Evil Dead II7.6 · RT 88%
- Army of Darkness7.4 · RT 68%
- The Evil Dead7.3 · RT 85%
- Evil Dead6.5 · RT 63%
- Evil Dead Rise6.5 · RT 85%
- Evil Dead Burn6.3 · RT 70%
Who appears in the most Evil Dead movies
Bruce Campbell leads with 4 appearances as Ash and Ashley 'Ash' J. Williams, ahead of Ted Raimi (3). Counted from each title's top-billed cast.
| Actor | Role | Titles | First and latest |
|---|---|---|---|
| Bruce Campbell | Ash / Ashley 'Ash' J. Williams | 4 | The Evil Dead (1981) to Ash vs Evil Dead (2015) |
| Ted Raimi | Possessed Henrietta / Cowardly Warrior | 3 | Evil Dead II (1987) to Ash vs Evil Dead (2015) |
Evil Dead directors and creators
6 filmmakers have directed or created Evil Dead; Sam Raimi has the most, with 4.
- Sam RaimiThe Evil Dead (1981), Evil Dead II (1987), Army of Darkness (1992), and Ash vs Evil Dead (2015)
- Fede ÁlvarezEvil Dead (2013)
- Ivan RaimiAsh vs Evil Dead (2015)
- Tom SpezialyAsh vs Evil Dead (2015)
- Lee CroninEvil Dead Rise (2023)
- Sébastien VaničekEvil Dead Burn (2026)
How long it takes to watch every Evil Dead movie
All 7 titles add up to 24 hours: 9 hours of film and 15 hours of series, counting every episode. That is about 12 two-hour evenings, or 3 days of ten-hour binges. The longest film is Evil Dead Burn at 1h 50m.
The 4 best rated films: Evil Dead II, Army of Darkness, The Evil Dead, and Evil Dead.
Everything takes about 4 weeks.
Track what you've watched on the timeline and it counts the hours left.
Common questions
What order should I watch the Evil Dead movies in?
Watch Ash's story first: The Evil Dead (1981), Evil Dead II (1987), Army of Darkness (1992) and the series Ash vs Evil Dead (2015 to 2018). Evil Dead (2013), Evil Dead Rise (2023) and Evil Dead Burn (2026) are newer stories in the same world and can be watched on their own.
How many Evil Dead movies and shows are there?
There are 7 titles in the Evil Dead franchise: 6 films and 1 series, released from 1981 to 2026.
How long does it take to watch all the Evil Dead movies?
About 24 hours for all 7 titles, counting every episode.
What is the first Evil Dead title in chronological order?
The Evil Dead, set in A cabin in the woods. In release order the first is The Evil Dead (1981).
What is the best Evil Dead movie?
By IMDb score, Ash vs Evil Dead (2015) at 8.4, followed by Evil Dead II at 7.6.
What is the highest-grossing Evil Dead movie?
Evil Dead Rise (2023), with $147 million worldwide. Evil Dead films have made $375 million in total.
Who has appeared in the most Evil Dead movies?
Bruce Campbell, in 4 of them as Ash.
What is the longest Evil Dead movie?
Evil Dead Burn, at 1h 50m.
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