Customer Reviews

The Evil Dead Companion

5 star:		(12)
4 star:		(3)
3 star:		(5)
2 star:		(0)
1 star:		(0)

 

 

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The book includes a number of rare and unpublished pictures (albeit black & white), dates of filming, locations, who did what in all the movies, TONS of behind the scenes pictures and stories, interviews with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!

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.

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!

I am a big fan of the Evil Dead series, and it in fact mad me take note of horror movies for the first time. This book talks about the lives of the creators leading up to the films, the times during the filming,and the difficulties they faced when putting the movies together. it is a well done account of Sam Raimi's early career, his relationship with Bruce Campbell, and his drive to do the movies. It is really just intersting if you are looking to discover what went on behind the making of these 3 great movies, and the effect it had on the major players behind it. I found it difficult to put down, and I really am picky about what I read, as it bores me. this book, though, I found myself reading during class, and had it done in a few days. A really good product for Evil Dead fans, or aspiring filmmakers that happen to be fans of the Evil Dead.

From Hulka.com

Man this book is GREAT! It's a book I wanted to write, and when I heard Bill Warren was writing it, I gave up the idea hoping he wouldn't let me down, and he didn't. He surpassed my expectations! There's so much inside info in this book that you can't find on the net, straight from the horses mouths! Those horses being Sam Raimi, Ted Raimi and Bruce Campbell. Photos from the films Evil Dead, Evil Dead II, Army of Darkness that have never been seen outside the small circle that took them. Great book, I've enjoyed what I've read so far, and I would recommend this sucker be on every aspiring film makers table!

This book has limited distribution, so order from Amazon like I did to ensure you get a copy now!

A nice-sized and well-researched tome, author Bill Warren takes readers through the production history of Sam Raimi's EVIL DEAD trilogy (and the films in-between) in The Evil Dead Companion. While some folks might tire of the obsessive detailing the book provides about these classic flicks, I can never get my fill of the hometown heroes behind the EVIL DEAD films. Chronologically ordered, a three chapter blow-by-blow summation of the films (annotated by lead actor/co-producer Bruce Campbell) rounds out the book. While The Evil Dead Companion may not be the final word in EVIL DEAD study, it's a damn good start and well worth the investment for folks who think the EVIL DEAD films are altogether "groovy." (ISBN: 0312275013)

Like other reviewers for this book, I too am a huge fan of the Evil Dead series. That is why I found 'The Evil Dead Companion' somewhat disappointing, and not worthy of 5 stars at all. Out of all the movies in the trilogy, the author decides to focus mostly on the first film. Granted this is an interesting period in the film-makers lives, I would have preferred just as much in depth coverage into the other two films, 'Evil Dead 2' and 'Army of Darkness'. Unfortunately, they play a small part in the book. The stories of Sam Raimi, Rob Tapert and Bruce Campbell before the films came out are very funny and interesting, and do make up for the lack of other info. Also, the sparse photo's in the book (I really wish there was more) are all black and white, and with a film like this full colour ones would have done far more justice to the films.

This book is very well written with a great deal of humor to keep it from dragging. It's quite heavily 'Evil Dead'-centric, although the treatment of 'Evil Dead II' and 'Army of Darkness' are still highly entertaining. If you are a fan of any of the movies, or any of the key actors or crew (ie. mainly Bruce Campbell or Sam Raimi), you'll find this quite amusing. I am finding quite a bit of overlap between this book and Bruce Campbell's "If Chins Could Kill," but not enough to damage my enjoyment of either one. As a huge Ted Raimi fan, I thought this book was worth buying simply for the three paragraph or so description of how his older brothers used to torment him as a child...Chinese water torture, anyone?? The pictures are also spectacular; black-and-white never hurt anyone before. They give a lot of good behind-the-scenes expressions that would be totally missing if you only watch the movies. Plus, who wouldn't love photos of all the major players as cute little pre-teens... Overall, this book was well worth what I payed for it, and will provide endless reading and re-reading hours of enjoyment.

A low-budget wonder that was initially ignored becomes the most famous cult movie in contemporary times and now comes a book to
match its huge mass appeal. That's really something! The book
aptly titled: The Evil Dead Companion is more ways than one a
'companion' itself but a great memorabilia for everyone who remembers the first time they watch this really scary movie. It's
feels like you're suddenly been a part of its humble and rewarding beginnings. Having been read those struggles makes you
appreciate more the three films especially the first one. The effort though in today's standard is not much appreciated becomes the focal point to which Evil Dead fans or any horror fans for that matter look at the horror movies no longer as time
wasting efforts but as something as a basis for every one who wants to excel in his field.

The cover is very impressive since it uses the almost actual look of the Book of the Dead in the movies. Not to mention the back cover where it gloriously shows two famous pics in the movie: Bruce as Ash in a promo ad and I think the scariest face I've seen in horror movie history (this is the one that made me lose sleep literally!), a Deadite Cheryl. The content really surprises me since I expected that the font are bigger to somehow trick the reader that the book is very extensive. It is and that thickness of the book is reasonable. The pictures become one of the most important aspect in the book. Where else can you find those rare photos? Not even the internet can supply that. A slight drawback for me is that the pics are in black & white. Though it really costs more if it is in color, it wouldn't hurt
for those who buy the book and eventually see the photos in glorious color. The contents are very informative, sometimes funny, that it really helps that author Bill Warren uses chapters
to segments the phases of how these gifted people (Raimi, Campbell, Tapert, etc) came up with this trilogy. It's really funny how they came up with various titles for The Evil Dead. I won't spoil it for you but I assure you the titles are out of this world! A great chapter is the synopses (or lengthy summary)
of three Evil Dead movies. Each chapter comes up with the one
Evil Dead movies with side comments to boot. What I'm saying here
is just a tip of the iceberg since there is much to dig for!
Frankly speaking, I think the book has to have a sequel, as the movie have, since I feel they have more to tell. But if the second one comes up short in keeping the readers read the book more, forget the idea. How about an all-out rarest of the rare Evil Dead photos book? Ok, I've done much dreaming here but it doesn't hurt to dream, does it?

You will never look at the The Evil Dead Trilogy the same way again once you've read this book!

Lots of behind-the-scenes dope on that shady little gorefest, The Evil Dead, and its sequels. More than just a movie production book, it's a tribute (or maybe the basis for a cult!) to a hardworking American filmmaker. Sam Raimi is a really cool, really normal guy who does some pretty extraordinary things with a camera. You want to root for him and his positive, can-do attitude. Read this, then catch Bruce Campbell's book If Chins Could Kill, for the other side of the camera!

Cool Stuff!