1981’s The Evil Dead is a cult classic horror film that started the Evil Dead trilogy directed by Sam Raimi. Even today, the first and second films sport a 95% rating on Rotten Tomatoes and the third film sports 73%. The Evil Dead was initially named Book of the Dead and rightly so as this book turns out to be root of all problems throughout the film series. Thanks to the talented makeup artists working on these films, they did not fall short of gore even one bit and even had a compelling story to tell.
Synopsis (with spoilers!)
A group of friends accidentally unleash a demonic entity via a cursed tape and the Book of the Dead that then rapes and possesses protagonist Ash’s sister. A bloodbath begins as she starts attacking her friends and brother and they find a way to escape death at the hands of a ghoulish-looking Cheryl. However, each member gets possessed at least once, except Ash, and turn into something called “Deadites”. Eventually, it is only Ash who survives and the film ends with the cliff-hanger scene of him being attacked by a Deadite from behind.
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Ash is the single biggest answer to this question
The storytelling of the film is on point and keeps the audience at the edge of their seat throughout, but one question that still needs answering is how exactly do Deadites get possessed. When one turns into a Deadite, their characteristics are very similar to that of a zombie, with the exception of some ancient biblical evil being involved. It is hard to point out the exact workings of a Deadite possession as the Book of the Dead seems to be making its own rules throughout, but a single takeaway is the fact that Ash is one of the two people in the franchise who is able to rid himself of possession and this may have to do with the fact that he is especially strong-willed in comparison to other humans. Most people who get possessed are either psychologically vulnerable or are in their dying moments, implying that a person would need to be mentally weak for them to turn into a Deadite. Ash is only possessed when he almost dies, but his perseverance allows him to push out the evil even after the possession is complete. Perhaps the answer to this will not be confirmed any time soon, but this theory may just be the closest thing we have to it.
