The cabin in the woods. The Necronomicon Ex-Mortis. A chainsaw-wielding hero battling demonic forces. These are the hallmarks of the Evil Dead franchise, a series that has terrified and delighted horror fans for decades. Yet, within this beloved saga lies a point of contention that has fueled countless online debates and late-night discussions since 1987: Is Evil Dead 2: Dead by Dawn a direct sequel to Sam Raimi’s original 1981 cult classic, The Evil Dead, or is it a big-budget remake/reimagining? However, despite the persistent debate and the film’s ambiguous presentation, a definitive answer comes from Bruce Campbell, aka the eternal Ash Williams.
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The primary source of the “sequel versus remake” debate stems directly from Evil Dead 2‘s introductory sequence. Instead of picking up where The Evil Dead left off, with Ash screaming as a demonic entity attacks him, the second film starts with a condensed recap. In this new opening, Ash and his girlfriend Linda (now played by Denise Bixler, replacing Betsy Baker from the first film) are the only two who travel to the cabin. The other characters from the original film, including Ash’s sister Cheryl (Ellen Sandweiss) and friends Scott (Richard DeManincor) and Shelly (Theresa Tilly), are notably absent from this retelling.
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In the first minutes of Evil Dead 2, Ash plays the fateful tape recording of Professor Knowby reciting passages from the Necronomicon, Linda becomes possessed, Ash is forced to decapitate and bury her, and then the familiar demonic force attacks him. This revised setup understandably leads many viewers, especially those unfamiliar with the behind-the-scenes drama surrounding the production, to believe that Evil Dead 2 is rebooting the core premise with a slightly different cast of initial victims and a more pronounced comedic tone from the outset. This tonal shift, coupled with the re-shot and altered summary of events, creates what Campbell has famously termed a “requel,” something between a sequel and a remake.
Why Does Evil Dead 2 Recreate Scenes From the First Movie?
In an interview with Bay at the Moon Productions, Campbell addressed the Evil Dead 2 confusion directly: “People think that Ash, the character Ash, was stupid enough to go back to the cabin with a new group of friends because of the way it was re-told.” This acknowledgement from the star validates why so many fans interpret the film as a partial do-over. The altered recap serves as a new jumping-on point, streamlining the backstory for those who might not have seen the low-budget original, while also allowing Raimi to re-establish the core conflict with a larger budget and more ambitious effects. The significant increase in production value also contributes to the “remake” feel, as Evil Dead 2 is visually more polished and features more elaborate creature effects and camera work than its gritty predecessor, almost as if Raimi was given a chance to redo his initial vision with more resources.
Despite the compelling arguments for it being a “requel,” the official and intended status of Evil Dead 2 is indeed that of a sequel. The primary reason for the confusing recap and the altered character lineup wasn’t a creative desire to reboot the story, but a much more mundane and practical issue: film rights. As Campbell explained in the same Bay at the Moon Productions interview, “We didn’t own the rights to our own movie, that was done by New Line Cinema. The second movie was done by Dino De Laurentiis.” He continued, “We couldn’t get the rights to our own movie, which is the most ridiculous thing ever. So, we just shot a recap with different actors, as though that was the recap.”
In other words, without the legal ability to use footage from The Evil Dead for a traditional “previously on” style introduction, Sam Raimi and his team had to re-stage the essential elements to bring the audience up to speed. Therefore, the seven-minute prologue of Evil Dead 2 is a creatively engineered solution to a legal problem. It’s designed to bridge the gap and ensure viewers can follow the narrative even if they hadn’t seen the first film, or if it had been a while since they had. Once this recap concludes, with Ash being attacked by the entity and thrown through the woods (mirroring the very final shot of The Evil Dead), the film transitions into new territory, directly continuing Ash’s ordeal.
Campbell has suggested how fans should ideally view the transition. “If you really wanna do it right, you take the first Evil Dead, up to where the evil entity hits me, cut off all the recap [of Evil Dead 2], go right into Ash being thrown through the trees at the beginning and lands, play the movie, it would all make perfect sense,” he said. This confirms the filmmakers’ intent for Evil Dead 2 to pick up immediately after its predecessor, with the recap serving as a necessary, albeit slightly altered, re-introduction due to external constraints.
Evil Dead 2: Dead by Dawn is currently available for streaming on Prime Video.
Did you initially think Evil Dead 2 was a remake, or were you always in the sequel camp? Join the discussion in the comments!
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