What’s the attraction of the Evil Dead trilogy? There must be some attraction cause Horror"wood doesn’t make a sequel unless they’re pretty sure they’re gonna get some money back. And they greenlighted two Evil Dead sequels.

So why are these films so popular?

Well, I’m pretty sure what it isn’t; it isn’t plot. I love these movies but there’s basically no plot. A bunch of teens spend a weekend in a cabin in the woods and end up calling up dormant demons. Not exactly Casablanca.

The lack of plotting is also evident in the second installment; Evil Dead 2; Dead By Dawn. It’s basically a rehash of the first Evil Dead. Ash doesn’t even recognize the tape recorder that caused all the problems in the first film. Why would he return to the one place on earth where he knows he has a good chance of getting killed? Well, like I said, plotting isn’t what drives this trilogy.

Okay, then, Mr. Smartypants, why are the films so popular? Three reasons, methinks:

1. Mr. Raimi is a visual master. Everyone in the audience knows someone’s going to get possessed in the first film. But when Shirl reels off the cards in her friends hand, then spins around and levitates, it’s truly frightening. The lighting was frightening, the sound was scary, the contortions the possessed girl went through were other-wordly. It was a very scary scene.

The possession of the boyfriend in ED2 is equally frightening. Shock scenes are easy to do. That’s why new filmmakers like making horror films. Get some cheap fangs, pop a head up in a window and you have a shock scene. But truly frightening scenes, like Mr. Raimi creates in ED1 and 2, are pretty difficult. It’s got to be scary and believable. Not an easy task.

2. Quotable lines. This is where Army of Darkness shines. There are quite a few classic lines in this film. Just check out a Horror discussion group and look at the signatures on the posts. I’ll bet you find a few from Army of Darkness. Some of the classics from the series:
"I’ll swallow your soul."
"Well, hello, Mr. Fancypants."
"Who wants some?"
"Good … bad … I’m the guy with the gun."
"Run home and cry to Mama."
"I may be bad but I feel good."
"Yeah. And maybe I’m a Chinese Fighter Pilot."
… and the infamous "Groovy!"

3. Theme. This is the big one, I think. The reason people like these films. The theme is what the film is about. It’s different from the plot. The plot of ED1 is a bunch of kids let loose a bunch of deadly demons in the woods and most of them die. The theme is that one of the kids survives (Ash) and he survives on his own terms.

Ash is a definite anti-hero ("a protagonist who lacks the ennobling qualities of a hero." Webster’s Universal College Dictionary.) This means he’s like us. He "fumbles, farts and falls" through the film, to steal a line from Ken Kesey. He’s an everyday Joe in an extraordinary circumstance. He has no super powers. He’s us. And he beats his foes on his own terms. He doesn’t always make the best decision but he always wins in the end.

This is a very powerful idea to most people. Most people don’t have any extraordinary talent or ability. We’re just trying to get through each day the best we can while trying to maintain a certain level of happiness. I think we secretly worry about how we will fare if we have to deal with very difficult situations. Most of our abilities and character traits go untested most of our lives. And we want to keep it that way. How would I react if I was on a boat with my family and it sank? I was exhausted but I had to keep my family alive. Could I do it? I don’t know. And, truthfully, I don’t want to find out.

Ash quells these fears a little bit. He gives us hope. He faces insurmountable odds. Then he forgets the magic words when he grabs the book. Yup, that’s what I would probably do. Then he goes back to the castle, chickens out, realizes that was wrong, then summons the courage to fight the Deadites. He "fumbles, farts and falls" but still comes out on top. If Ash can do it, I can do it. Maybe I can go in and ask for that raise. Maybe I can take that vacation to France even though I’m afraid to fly. Goddammit, if Ash can do it, so can I.