List of The Evil Dead characters
There are many characters in The Evil Dead, a franchise created by director Sam Raimi.
Characters
Main characters
Ash Williams
| Ashley J. Williams | |
|---|---|
| Ash | |
| Appears in | Evil Dead series |
| Gender: | Male |
| Race/Nationality: | Caucasian American |
| Height: | 6'1" |
| Hair: | Black |
| Eyes: | Brown |
| Age: | 20 (The Evil Dead) 25 (Evil Dead II, Army of Darkness, and Evil Dead: Regeneration) 33 (Evil Dead: Hail to the King) 35 (Freddy vs. Jason vs. Ash) 36 (Freddy vs. Jason vs. Ash: The Nightmare Warriors) 45 (Evil Dead: A Fistful of Boomstick) 54 (Evil Dead) |
| Family: | Cheryl Williams (sister) |
| Location: | Dearborn, Michigan |
| Weapons of Choice: | "Boomstick" (12 Gauge Remington Sawed-Off Shotgun) Chainsaw |
| Allies: | Henry the Red King Arthur Alice Johnson Tommy Jarvis Tina Shepard |
| Enemies: | "Deadites" (demon-possessed living or undead) Evil Ash Freddy Krueger Jason Voorhees |
| Status: | Alive |
| Portrayed by: | Bruce Campbell (All movies & video games) Ryan Ward (musical adaptation) |
Ashley J. Williams is the protagonist and iconic character of the entire series. Ash evolves over the course of the series from a cowardly college student to a wise cracking zombie slayer with his detachable hand chainsaw and 12 gauge "boomstick". Ash was portrayed in nearly every Evil Dead incarnation by cult actor Bruce Campbell, with the only exception being in the musical adaptation, in which he was played by Ryan Ward.
Linda
| Linda | |
|---|---|
| Linda | |
| Appears in | Evil Dead series |
| Gender: | Female |
| Race/Nationality: | Caucasian American |
| Height: | 5'6" |
| Hair: | Blonde |
| Eyes: | Green |
| Age: | 22 (The Evil Dead) 24 (Evil Dead II) 27 (Army of Darkness) |
| Family: | Ashley J. Williams (boyfriend) |
| Location: | Dearborn, Michigan |
| Status: | Deceased |
| Portrayed by: | Betsy Baker (The Evil Dead) Denise Bixler (Evil Dead II) Bridget Fonda (Army of Darkness) |
Linda is Ash's girlfriend throughout the series. She is very much in love with Ash and keeps a necklace he gave her close to her at all times. In the first film, Evil Cheryl stabs her in the ankle with a pencil and is unable to be moved out of the cabin. After Scotty leaves, Linda becomes possessed and taunts Ash until she is dragged outside of the cabin and returns to attack Ash. After a struggle, Ash buries her outside and places a crude cross at her grave only to have her burst from the ground and tear at his leg. Once entirely free from the grave she runs at Ash who swings his shovel and takes off her head.
In the second film, Linda is shown in the re-cap of the first film at the beginning of this film. In this version she dies the same way (decapitation), however, she rises yet again. Once Ash returns to the cabin she escapes from her grave and dances headless outside the cabin. Ash watches as her head rolls along the ground and up her body to rest on her neck, unmoving. Linda then reaches out to Ash and drops her head in his lap. She bites hard into Ash's hand and he can only remove her by crushing her head in a vise and roughly tearing his hand away. Ash is then attacked by the body of Linda, who is now wielding a chainsaw, he manages to get the upper hand and Linda is killed once again; first her body, then her head. In the third film, Linda is shown in Ash's flashback as he is being dragged through the sand by Arthur's men. Linda is attacked by the evil through a window in this version, much like Shelly was in the first film.
Linda is the only character to appear (or even be mentioned) in all three films, And also the only character who did not originally appeared in Within the Woods. She is played by three different actresses, In the first film, she is played by Betsy Baker, in the second by Denise Bixler and in the third by Bridget Fonda.
Evil Ash
Evil Ash is the evil incarnation of Ash Williams and the primary antagonist of the series.
In Evil Dead II, Evil Ash briefly possessed Ash during the beginning of the film before the day breaks which returns Ash to normal. Later, Evil Ash once again resurface and attacks both Annie and Jake (With the latter being killed by Henrietta afterwards). However after seeing Linda's necklace, Ash fights control over the spiritual deadite and is defeated once more.
In Army of Darkness, He was first seen in the form of Tiny Ashes jumping out from a mirror after Ash was chased into a windmill by the Evil Force, and one jumping down his throat. It was then that his dark side manifested in physical form and split from him. Ash killed him by a shotgun blow to the head and buried him, but he was resurrected when Ash misspoke the words of the Necronomicon. He led the army of darkness against Arthur and also possesses Sheila, hinting that he (or at least the zombie version of him) is a combination of Ash's dark side and the Evil Force (supported by a statement made by Wiseman), only to be killed again by Ash at the end of the battle.
Mia Allen
| Mia Allen | |
|---|---|
| Mia | |
| Appears in | Evil Dead (2013) |
| Gender: | Female |
| Race/Nationality: | Caucasian American |
| Height: | 5'2" |
| Hair: | Brown |
| Eyes: | Blue |
| Age: | 20 |
| Family: | David Allen (brother) |
| Location: | Michigan |
| Status: | Alive |
| Portrayed by: | Jane Levy |
Mia Allen is the fictional protagonist of the 2013 remake of Evil Dead, played by Jane Levy, and created by Fede Alvarez. She is the sister of David, and a friend of Olivia and Erics'. Mia is probably the most developed character in the remake, beside David. She is a recovering heroin addict, and her quitting cold turkey is the main reason the characters traveled to the cabin in the first place. She is the only survivor of her group of friends, and one of the few people who have defeated the demons of the book.
Supporting characters in The Evil Dead
Cheryl Williams
| Cheryl Williams | |
|---|---|
| Cheryl | |
| Appears in | The Evil Dead |
| Gender: | Female |
| Race/Nationality: | Caucasian American |
| Height: | 5'6" |
| Hair: | Ginger |
| Eyes: | Green |
| Age: | 20 |
| Location: | Dearborn, Michigan |
| Family: | Ashley J. Williams (brother) |
| Status: | Deceased |
| Portrayed by: | Ellen Sandweiss (The Evil Dead) |
Cheryl Williams is Ash's sister and the odd woman out in the group. She is the first to sense the danger surrounding the cabin and is entirely ignored by her friends. Even after returning to the cabin battered, bruised, and half naked after being brutally raped by the possessed trees her friends dismiss her and decide she must have been attacked by an animal. She is the first of the group to become possessed by the Evil and attacks Linda with a pencil. To prevent further injury to the others, she is locked in the cellar where she eventually escapes and together with Evil Scotty attacks Ash, beating the latter with a fireplace poker. She meets the same fate as Scotty when the Book of the Dead is destroyed in the fireplace. Cheryl was never mentioned again in the sequels, but was in the short Within the Woods as Ash's girlfriend (which Linda did not originally appeared) and the main protagonist (instead of Ash). She was portrayed by Ellen Sandweiss. Although according to producer Rob Tapert in the commentary for Evil Dead II, a version of the recap had Cheryl in it.
Scotty
| Scott | |
|---|---|
| Scotty | |
| Appears in | The Evil Dead |
| Gender: | Male |
| Race/Nationality: | Caucasian American |
| Height: | 5'11" |
| Hair: | Blond |
| Eyes: | Blue |
| Age: | 24 |
| Family: | Shelly (girlfriend) |
| Location: | Dearborn, Michigan |
| Status: | Deceased |
| Portrayed by: | Hal Delrich (The Evil Dead) |
Scotty was good looking, cocky and a bit of a clown, if not for one unfortunate characteristic he would have been the ideal hero. Scotty holds his own fairly well until he is forced to kill his girlfriend, Shelly, who became possessed by the Evil. Soon after her demise he chose to take his chances with the woods and escape the cabin, leaving Ash on his own to tend to an injured Linda. He returns seriously injured only to die, become possessed by the Evil, pin Ash to the floor while Evil Cheryl beats the former with a fireplace poker, and meet his ultimate demise when Ash manages to get a hold of the Necromonicon and throw it into the fireplace. Scotty was never mentioned again in the sequels, although according to producer Rob Tapert in the commentary for Evil Dead II, a version of the recap had Scotty in it. Scotty was portrayed by Scott Spiegel in Within the Woods and by Richard Demanincor (Credited as Hal Delrich) in The Evil Dead.
Shelly
| Shelly | ||
|---|---|---|
| Shelly | ||
| Appears in | The Evil Dead | |
| Gender: | Female | |
| Race/Nationality: | Caucasian American | |
| Height: | 5'5" | |
| Hair: | Brown | |
| Eyes: | Brown | |
| Age: | 23 | |
| Family: | Scotty (boyfriend) | |
| Location: | Dearborn, Michigan | |
| Status: | Deceased | |
| Portrayed by: | Sarah York (The Evil Dead) | |
Shelly is Scotty's girlfriend and probably the least developed character in the film. After Cheryl is possessed Shelly retreats back to her room where she is possessed by the Evil which hurls itself through a window. Soon after she viciously attacks Scotty who has no choice but to stab and dismember her. With help from Ash, Shelly is buried outside the cabin. Shelly was never mentioned again in the sequels, But the scene where she gets possessed was later use for Linda. She is played by Theresa Tilly (Credited as Sarah York). Although according to producer Rob Tapert in the commentary for Evil Dead II, a version of the recap had Shelly in it.
Supporting characters in Evil Dead II
Annie Knowby
| Annie Knowsby | ||
|---|---|---|
| Annie | ||
| Appears in | Evil Dead 2 | |
| Gender: | Female | |
| Race/Nationality: | Caucasian American | |
| Height: | 5'?" | |
| Hair: | Blonde | |
| Eyes: | Brown | |
| Age: | 25 | |
| Family: | Professor Knowsby (father) Henrietta Knowsby (mother) | |
| Location: | Dearborn, Michigan | |
| Status: | Deceased | |
| Portrayed by: | Sarah Berry (Evil Dead II) | |
Annie is Professor Knowby's and Henrietta's daughter. She travels to the cabin to proceed with her research on the book of the dead, which her father was also pursuing. Throughout most of the film she is just an observer, she doesn't actually get in on the action until most of her comrades are dead. When Ash is possessed by the Evil she runs inside and accidentally stabs an already injured Jake in the chest with the Kandarian Dagger. Annie drags him down the hall and into the cabin's main room. She then desperately tries to pull Jake back from the clutches of Evil Henrietta when she learns she left Jake too close to the cellar opening but it's to no avail.
Later when she learns that Ash is back to his old self again both she and Ash decide to gather up the pages of the book and finish off the Evil. In the middle of reading, she is stabbed by Ash's evil hand. She finishes translating the text before she dies. She was portrayed by Sarah Berry.
A Deadite-possessed Annie returns as a boss in Evil Dead: Hail to the King, where Ash fights her in a fruit cellar for the Kandarian Dagger.
Jake
| Jake | ||
|---|---|---|
| Jake | ||
| Appears in | Evil Dead 2 | |
| Gender: | Male | |
| Race/Nationality: | Caucasian American | |
| Height: | 5'?" | |
| Hair: | Brown | |
| Eyes: | Green | |
| Age: | 35 | |
| Family: | Bobby Joe (girlfriend) | |
| Location: | Dearborn, Michigan | |
| Status: | Deceased | |
| Portrayed by: | Dan Hicks (Evil Dead II) | |
Jake is Bobby Joe's boyfriend and an incredibly stereotypical Southerner. He is first seen when Annie and Ed ask for help to the cabin, setting up a roadblock sign in front of the destroyed bridge. Once at the cabin, Jake and the others throw a confused Ash into the cellar after he mistakenly attacks them. Later, after Bobby Joe runs from the cabin and disappears, Jake loses it and makes Ash and Annie leave the cabin with him, throwing the pages of the Necromonicon into the cellar. As they leave the cabin, Jake's concern for Bobby Joe leads him to frantically call for her at the top of his lungs when they see there is no trail, ignoring Ash's warnings and even physically attacking him while the latter reprimands him, and then attacking Annie while she attempts to defend Ash. His ignorance soon proves to be his undoing, as Ash is possessed by the Evil and throws Jake headfirst into a tree. Jake manages to escape Ash long enough to seek help from Annie within the cabin. Unfortunately, the confused and frightened Annie stabs him in the chest with the Kandarian Dagger, and in her rush to get away from the possessed Ash, slams the door on Jake's body several times before pulling him inside. Jake is then dragged screaming down the hall by Annie and left a bit too close to the cellar door, he lies defenseless and is eaten by Henrietta. His bloody skeleton, covered in tattered clothing, is later seen when Ash travels to the basement to find the pages; thinking that the sound of the boiler is a monster, Ash investigates and finds the pages, and Jake's fleshless remains fall on top of him from behind, freaking him out. He was played by Sam Raimi film regular Dan Hicks.
Bobby Joe
| Bobby Joe | ||
|---|---|---|
| Bobby Joe | ||
| Appears in | Evil Dead 2 | |
| Gender: | Female | |
| Race/Nationality: | Caucasian American | |
| Height: | 5'10" | |
| Hair: | Blonde | |
| Eyes: | Grey | |
| Age: | 24 | |
| Family: | Jake (boyfriend) | |
| Location: | Dearborn, Michigan | |
| Status: | Deceased | |
| Portrayed by: | Kassie Wesley DePaiva (Evil Dead II) | |
Bobby Joe is Jake's girlfriend. She meets up with Annie and company while they're attempting to find a way to the cabin. Along with Jake, she helps Annie and co. get to the cabin via a back trail. Once at the cabin she is mistakenly shot at through the cabin's door by a frightened Ash. After recovering, she spends most of the time complaining and screaming until being frightened by Ash's possessed severed hand and running outside the cabin. Once outside, she is grabbed by vines and dragged at incredible speed though the woods to be eaten by a large demonic tree. On a side note she was supposed to be ripped in half by the tree but the filmmakers took it out because it would be too graphic, although the first film showed Shelly being bloodily dismembered by Scotty with an axe and her hacked-off parts convulsing on the floor. She was played by Kassie Wesley.
Ed Getley
| Professor Ed Getley | ||
|---|---|---|
| Ed Getley | ||
| Appears in | Evil Dead 2 | |
| Gender: | Male | |
| Race/Nationality: | Caucasian American | |
| Height: | 5'?" | |
| Hair: | Blond | |
| Eyes: | Grey | |
| Age: | ? | |
| Family: | Annie Knowsby (girlfriend) Professor Knowsby (associate) | |
| Location: | Dearborn, Michigan | |
| Status: | Deceased | |
| Portrayed by: | Rick Domeier (Evil Dead II) | |
Ed is Annie's coworker and apparent boyfriend, he travels with her to the cabin to proceed with their research of the book of the dead. Soon after they arrive at the cabin, Ed becomes possessed by the Evil and attacks Bobby Joe, ripping her hair out with his teeth. Ed then throws an attacking Jake into a lightbulb as Annie looks on in shock. Ash kills Ed with a fatal hit from a newly acquired axe to the head. There were a bunch of scenes where he got up with the axe in the head, where he was still trying to kill everyone even with his head half off (in part due to Annie's refusal to help Ash dismember his corpse), but it was cut. He was portrayed by Richard Domeier.
Professor Raymond Knowby
Professor Knowby is Annie's father and Henrietta's husband. He traveled to the cabin to finish his research on the necronomicon. However, things turn out very badly when he recites a passage from the book releasing the Evil surrounding the woods. He is attacked by his wife and is forced to lock her in the cellar. Before succumbing to the Evil himself, he manages to leave a tape explaining the terror he has unleashed and later shows up as a spirit explaining to Annie how to get rid of it. In The Evil Dead, his voice was performed by Bob Dorian and was personified by John Peaks in Evil Dead II.
Henrietta Knowby
Henrietta is Professor Knowby's wife and Annie's mother. She travels to the cabin with Professor Knowby to research the book of the dead. Henrietta is possessed soon after the Professor reads from the book and attempts to kill her husband. She is soon killed by her own husband, who didn't have the heart to dismember her corpse (the only way to definitely kill a deadite) and is buried in the cellar. Non-possessed Henrietta appears once in the film feebly beckoning to Annie to open the cellar door and let her out. Annie almost falls for it, but is convinced otherwise by Ash. Locked in the cellar for most of the film she taunts the captives and tries unsuccessfully to get them to open the cellar door. She attacks Ash when he is thrown in the cellar after mistakenly attacking Annie and company. Later Henrietta is able to eviscerate an injured Jake who is dragged a bit too close to the cellar door by Annie. Finally Ash and Annie open the cellar and prepare to kill her once and for all. After a fierce battle in which Henrietta gruesomely transforms into an even more disgusting looking creature, she is decapitated, shot through the head, and killed by Ash with help from Annie singing a lullaby to distract her. She is played by Lou Hancock in her normal form and Ted Raimi in her possessed form.
Supporting roles from Army of Darkness
Arthur
Arthur is the ruler of a small kingdom who is at war with Henry the Red and his men. After Ash arrives to the past, Arthur mistakes him for one of Henry's men and later throws him into a pit with deadites inside it. After Ash defeats the deadites and escapes, he defeats Arthur and forces him to help him return to his time. Arthur and his men fight alongside Ash against Evil Ash's army of Deadites, in which Henry the Red joins forces with Arthur to fight them. After Evil Ash and his army are defeated, Arhtur and Henry become friends, ending the war between them. In the original draft of the script, he does not survive the final battle, and is given a funeral before Ash attempts to return to his own time. Arthur was portrayed by Marcus Gilbert
He may be a reference to King Arthur.
Henry the Red
Henry the Red is Arthur's foe and at war with him. Captured at the beginning of the film, Ash sets him and his surviving men free after escaping the deadite pit. Later on (during a deleted scene of the film), Ash meets with him to talk him into helping fight against the deadites and save Arthur's kingdom, something he isn't wild about. The results of this discussion are revealed later as Henry's men flank the deadites, causing their ranks to break and flee (in certain cuts of the film, this is never shown but for a brief mention; instead it's implied the destruction of Evil Ash is what causes the deadites to run away).
After the battle Arthur and Henry's men face off against each other, but instead of fighting embrace as friends, putting an end to the long war between the two men.
Sheila
Sheila was a peasant in Arthur's kingdom whom Ash romances. Her brother was killed in a battle with Henry the Red, she attacks Ash (who was at the time assumed to be one of Henry's men) and results in him falling into the pit to face the trapped deadite. However, Ash survives, and she warms up to him (much to Ash's annoyance at first, though they tend to reconcile rather quickly and spend the night together). She's the film's main love interest.
She was kidnapped by a flying deadite after Ash recovered the Necronomicon improperly, and corrupted by Evil Ash. During the main battle with the deadites, she stands in the path of the Deathcoaster, causing Ash to quickly veer to avoid her and crash (moments later she tries to kill him in her deadite form, and is pitched over a wall to the grown below). After Evil Ash was defeated, she returned to normal. Sheila was portrayed by Embeth Davidtz
In the original draft of the script, Ash saves her life early on, and they become close much faster than the final cut of the film. However she does not survive the final battle.
Blacksmith
The Blacksmith has no given name in the film, but appears in several key scenes, notably assisting Ash in the creation of both his prosthetic metal hand and the Deathcoaster. He takes a liking to him during the deadite pit fight, is saved from the deadite witch by Ash after a failed attempt to take said witch down, and is the first to voice support in fighting against the deadite horde instead of fleeing. He was portrayed by Timothy Patrick Quill, a long time friend of Sam Raimi. In the video game Army Of Darkness : Defense, he is called Smithy.
Goldtooth
Goldtooth is one of Arthur's men, and notably the one whipping Ash and Henry the Red's men at the start of the film as they're dragged to the castle. Ash makes note to single him out once he recovers his shotgun to threaten. He later reappears for the battle against the deadites.
Notably his name is never mentioned in the actual film, only the script and credits (his name being derived from the gold tooth in his mouth). In the original draft of the script he rode the Deathcoaster with Ash, only to be pulled into the deadite horde and himself resurface as one of the undead.
Wiseman
The Wiseman is a priest who is initially the only one who truly believes Ash is the prophesized "Hero from the Sky", the man who would (supposedly) permanently destroy the Evil Dead. He keeps a hold of Ash's weapons when the latter is thrown into the pit (in part due to Sheila hitting him in the head with a thrown rock), and throws Ash his chainsaw while fighting one of the trapped deadites, allowing him to decapitate and kill the creature. He then later tells Ash about the importance of keeping the Necronomicon away from the deadites, and tells him the incantation to properly retrieve the book ( klatu verata nicto), although Ash eventually forgets them and attempts to trick the book by mumbling, releasing the Army of the Dead. He is last seen when he makes the magic potion to allow Ash to travel back home. He is portrayed by Ian Abercrombie.
David Allen
David Allen is the brother of Mia in the film. His girlfriend, Natalie, along with two other friends, Eric and Olivia, died in Evil Dead. However, he's the only one of his friends who didn't get possessed by the demon.
Other
The Evil Force
The Evil Force is an entity of unknown origin that was released when Professor Knowby recited passages from the Necronomicon. All victims of the Evil's possession display some degree of superhuman strength, being able to easily throw full grown human adults across a room with one hand and punch through solid wood, and deadites that are already deceased upon possession display other abilities, as seen in the case of Henrietta, who was able to fly and transform into a snake-headed creature, referred to by the cast and crew of Evil Dead II as "Mr. Pee-Wee Head"; however, living possession victims have shown an ability to levitate. Sunlight is able to drive the evil force away and return those who are possessed back to their original state, as seen in Evil Dead II. In The Evil Dead, the Evil is released by Ash and his friends and subsequently possesses them. In Evil Dead II, the Evil Force is given a physical form, a large demonic tree-like creature with the heads of its victims on the side; also called "Rotten Apple Head". Ash's head is one of the faces embedded in the creature's side, despite the fact that it hasn't killed him; it could be possible that Ash's head was there because he was to be the Evil's next victim until Annie drove the Evil back through time to the year 1300. In Army of Darkness, the Evil is seen briefly, where it chases Ash into a windmill. Its power is later said to be responsible for raising the army of the dead. Most of the Evil's scenes are shown through its point of view. It is somewhat implied that the Evil may be composed of more than one entity, as individual Deadites often refer to themselves as a group rather than a singular. The back of The Evil Dead case even suggests that there is more than one demon. In The Evil Dead, Sam Raimi, using a device that modifies his voice, provided the voice of the Evil Force, in Evil Dead II, the force is voiced by William Preston Robertson, who also voices the laughing inanimate objects.
It is possible that the Evil Force entered the mirror in both Evil Dead II and Army of Darkness to briefly become Ash's reflection and manifest as Evil Ash in both accounts. In Army of Darkness, Wiseman refers to Evil Ash as "The Evil" with Ash stated in a Necronomicon page to be destined to destroy it having apparently done so at the end of Army of Darkness.
External links
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References
- ↑ Moore, Roger (4 April 2013). "'Evil Dead' remake a humorless gorefest". rep-am.com. Retrieved 8 April 2013.
- ↑ Moore, Roger (4 April 2013). "'Evil Dead' remake a humorless gorefest". rep-am.com. Retrieved 8 April 2013.