The Evil Dead Companion [Paperback]

Bill Warren (Author)

Book Description

Publication Date: 2001

In the dank cellar of the dilapadated cabin tucked away in the great forest, there is a book bound in human skin and filled with incantations writ in blood. To read the words therein is to release a hideously unspeakable force...

Rigorously made on an almost absent budget in the backwoods of Tennessee, the film was a phenomenal success--the true definition of "cult film"--launching the careers of its director, Sam Raimi; producer, Bob Tapert; and star, Bruce Campbell. It also spawned two deliriously different and wildly inventive sequels, The Evil Dead II: Dead By Dawn, and Army of Darkness, which have won over legions of fright fans around the globe.

At last, acclaimed film critic Bill Warren takes us on a no-holds-barred behind-the-scenes tour of the making of the three films, including exclusive interviews with key cast and crew; rare and previously unpublished photographs, story-boards, and concept sketches; harrowing tales of hardship, discomfort, and practical jokes; and much more. Enough to keep any puss-oozing deadite drooling through the night.

Product Details

• Paperback: 272 pages
• Publisher: St. Martin's Griffin; First Edition edition (2001)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0312275013
• ISBN-13: 978-0312275013
• Product Dimensions: 9 x 7 x 0.7 inches
• Shipping Weight: 1.2 pounds
• Average Customer Review: 4.4 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (21 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #283,189 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

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Most Helpful Customer Reviews

34 of 37 people found the following review helpful

5.0 out of 5 stars For hardcore Evil Dead fans, this is a MUST! January 18, 2001

By aaron wittenberg

Format:Paperback

I first got hooked on Evil Dead about 6-7 years ago when my brother rented Evil Dead II. Later that year I watched the other movies in the series, and have loved it ever since. The problem is, so little information was available about the movies. This year I found a number of fan sites, which were great, but still did not give thorough detail of everything from Within The Woods (forerunner to The Evil Dead) to Army Of Darkness. I ended up buying all of the special edition DVDs for all movies and learned a TREMENDOUS amount about the movies, but I still wanted more detail.

I heard of this book a few weeks ago and finally picked up a copy last night. So far I've read a little over 100 pages of it, and let me tell you, if you worship Evil Dead, if you MUST know EVERYTHING you possibly can from BEFORE Within The Woods to Army Of Darkness, and want heavy detail, THIS IS IT!

For the casual fan, don't waste your time. It will probably be boring to you, as this book is clearly targeted for the hardcore Evil Dead fan.

The book includes a number of rare and unpublished pictures (albeit black & white), dates of filming, locations, who did what in all the movies, TONS of behind the scenes pictures and stories, interviews with many of the cast and crew, and A LOT MORE! BTW, I picked all of this up in the first 100 pages, so I'm not even half done with the book yet.

MANY pages devoted to how scenes were filmed, equipment used, how camera work was done, how the woods chasing scenes are done, and much more! More detail than on the DVD commentaries!!

This book includes a complete filmography for the crew, and even tells of some of their other work as well. From their first super 8 movies long before Evil Dead, up to some of their latest movies, but the bulk of the book is about Evil Dead. There are movie poster pictures, excerpts from Fangoria and other magazines from the early years, newspaper articles, and stories of hardships the cast and crew faced to bring us these movies.

Couple this book with the web links in the back, and the special edition DVDs for all movies, and you will have enough Evil Dead knowledge to keep you happy for a long time! The only way you will learn more is to interview Bruce Campbell or Sam Raimi.

Suffice to say, if you worship the movie (or are just a really big fan), you will love this book! LOTS of reading!

The cover design is pretty cool too. A somewhat 3D necronomicon.

Are you a HUGE Evil Dead fan? Then get this book!

11 of 11 people found the following review helpful

4.0 out of 5 stars A wonderful look at the first movie in need of an update. February 24, 2003

By Chadwick H. Saxelid

Format:Paperback

It really says something about the quality of this book when most of the reviews can only grumble about that lack of color pictures, or the lack of in depth study given to Evil Dead II: Dead by Dawn and Army of Darkness. While the lack of color pictures did not bother me at all, the rather abbreviated look at the making of the two sequels (as well as Raimi's other movies) left me wanting, especially in comparison to the wonderful amount of information in the first half on how this tightly knit team of friends became one of the most beloved cult movie producers of the 1980s and 1990s. Quite literally the books reads like a fly on the wall look at the filmmakers baptism by fire, then it shifts gears to..."and they went on to make this, this, and this and lived happily ever after." A little more depth and time about the professional differences in making Dead II and Army of Darkness from the first movie would have been rewarding. Not helping are the concluding chapters which offer nothing but detailed descriptions of the on screen action in the ED trilogy with parenthetical comments by Bruce Campbell. Author Bill Warren refers to it as a DVD commentary on paper. To this reader it just felt like padding. Nonetheless, more than a few fans will find reflections of themselves in this group of movie makers to be and I don't think any admirer of Raimi and Company will want to do without it. Highly recommended.

10 of 11 people found the following review helpful

5.0 out of 5 stars Groovy! February 8, 2001

By Joe Barlow

Format:Paperback|Amazon Verified Purchase

Bill Warren has done a hell of a job with this overview of Sam Raimi's cult-classic film series. Filled with insight into the process of low-budget filmmaking, this book is just as indispensible to Raimi fans as the movies themselves. Flawless!