Of all the unlikely franchises to survive over the decades, Evil Dead is one of the most iconic. Originally created by Sam Raimi in 1981, the unmistakable chainsaw-armed protagonist Ash has appeared in four feature films, a television series, comic books, and a handful of video games. His next video game, Evil Dead: The Game, is set to release next month, so now is a perfect time to get caught up on the mythos behind the series. For those unfamiliar with Evil Dead, the best place to start is by understanding the main catalyst for its events: the Necronomicon.
The unusually named book's history goes back much farther than Raimi's filmography, though. Its name and reputation come largely from the works of H. P. Lovecraft, in whom Raimi had great interest when he was writing Evil Dead. Lovecraft's work is known to be dark, surreal, and - at times - downright weird. He's credited with creating the obscure mythos of the notorious octopus god, Cthulhu, and in light of this, Lovecraft's influence on Raimi starts to make a lot of sense.
The Necronomicon's Origins In Evil Dead
The first Evil Dead movie follows five Michigan State University students as they vacation in Tennessee (although this was later retconned): Ash, Linda, Cheryl, Scott, and Shelley. Their horror movie cabin is predictably terrifying, but the first appearance of the Necronomicon is in a sketch drawn by Cheryl when she becomes temporarily possessed. Exploring the cabin's cellar, Ash and Scott find the book alongside a tape containing an audio recording of incantations from the Necronomicon. As it turns out, playing these incantations summons an onslaught of demons that terrorize the teens.
Interestingly, the Necronomicon is - in a way - a real book. The film's Necronomicon was a Sumerian version of the Egyptian Book of the Dead. In Ancient Egypt, the Book of the Dead contained a series of religious documents read at funerals as an attempt to preserve a deceased person in the afterlife. Lovecraft's Necronomicon was purely fictional, although that didn't stop fans from claiming they had possession of its translations. One of these so-called translations, the Naturom Demontos, was based on Sumerian mythology, and this is most likely where Sam Raimi looked for inspiration when adapting Lovecraft's Necronomicon.
The Necronomicon Throughout The Series
Evil Dead 2 is largely a remake of the first film, and the Necronomicon consequently plays much the same role as it did before. In the series' third installment, Ash is sent back in time to a Medieval fantasy setting where he has to not only find the Necronomicon, but also use one of its passages to return to his own time. Comically, Ash forgets the exact wording of the incantation more than once.
In the Ash vs Evil Dead TV show, it's revealed that 30 years later Ash had tried to destroy the book many times, but wound up acting as its caretaker over time. Many episodes of the now-canceled show incorporate the Necronomicon and even reveal details about its creator.
In the world of shlocky horror movies, Evil Dead stands out for its unusual combination of slapstick humor and terror. Bruce Campbell's depiction of protagonist Ash Williams adds much to the charm of the franchise, too. But at its core, the Necronomicon is what propels events forward, and its importance cannot be understated. It will be interesting to see what role it plays in Evil Dead: The Game's mechanics, but until it releases next month, fans can only hope it’s a groovy one.
Evil Dead: The Game is set to release on May 13, 2022, for PC, PS4, PS5, Switch, Xbox One, and Xbox Series X/S.
