TheEvil Deadfranchise has a history of iconic creatures – deadly monsters halfway betweenzombies and demons. They’re called Deadites, and they are unleashed through the powers of one of three ancient Books of the Dead. Twisted, mischievous, and relentlessly brutal, they are not to be taken lightly.
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Throughout the fiveEvil Deadmovies, and theAsh Vs The Evil Deadseries, there have been numerous Deadites. Some are possessed cadavers, utilizing their dead hosts to terrorize the protagonists, but sometimes, they can shapeshift into hideous monsters or even possess inanimate objects. Here are the strongest Deadites in the franchise.
Spoilers ahead for Evil Dead franchise movies, including Evil Dead Rise.
10Cougie
Cougie was the cuddly mascot of Elk Grove High School, seen in season 3 ofAsh Vs the Evil Dead. Of course, once the Deadites got a hold of the unassuming student in the outfit, all hell broke loose, transforming Cougie into something resembling aFive Nights At Freddy’scharacter.
Genuinely scary and extremely tough, Cougie went after the daughter of Ash Williams – Brandy. This was perhaps his biggest mistake, resulting in Cougie taking a grenade to the mouth. He was certainly a worthy opponent though, and a fun new monster in theEvil Deadmenagerie.
9Little Lori
Little Lori is the shop ValueStop’s knock-off version of Barbie. A small, blonde-haired doll vaguely inspired byChucky and Tiffanyfrom theChild’s Playseries, her cuteness is disarming when she becomes possessed. She gives Ash a surprisingly painful fight in the opening episode ofAsh Vs The Evil Dead.
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Once taken over by a Deadite, Lori gains the powers of speech and very sharp, needle-like teeth. Although she’s eventually squashed by Ash’s friend Pablo, it isn’t without a struggle. She certainly had an effect on Ash, too – he later has a dream about her.
8Demonic Tree
The Demonic Tree is an imposing entity seen in the first twoEvil Deadmovies. Possessed by a demon, it is capable of huge amounts of damage and, being a tree is very difficult to destroy. Its appearance inThe Evil Deadis controversial due toa particularly unpleasant (and unnecessary scene), but it returned in the sequel to convert more unsuspecting innocents to the Deadite cause.
A possessed tree also appears in the spin-off series, this one with a weak spot: an eye. Ruby manages to stab it, releasing her friend and causing it to become dormant.
7Ellie
Ellie is the chief Deadite ofEvil Dead Rise, taken over after her son accidentally invokes the ancient summoning curse that brings them to her family’s condemned (in more ways than one) high-rise apartment. At first, she playfully teases her relatives by pretending to be dead, but once Ellie goes full Deadite, she’s ruthless and brutal.
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Nobody is safe from her malevolent chaos, and towards the end of the movie, she literally joins up with two of her victims to becomea multi-limbed abomination. She also gets one of the series' most haunting lines: “Mommy’s with the maggots now…”
6Possessed Ash
Ash Williams is one of the few people to become possessed by a Deadite andlive to tell the tale. His takeover inEvil Dead 2leads to some of the most iconic moments in the history of the franchise, combining genuine horror with slapstick humor.
While Ash’s possessed form is truly scary to look at, it’s the hand that steals the show. Doing everything it can to kill the body it’s attached to, Ash has no choice but to cut it off, replacing said handwith a chainsaw. The rest is history.
5Evil Ash
Evil Ash isn’t quite the same as the possessed incarnation fromEvil Dead 2. This version, as seen inArmy of Darkness, is a doppelgänger of the hero – with all of his quips and smarmy attitude, but translated through themedium of pure evil.
This version of Ash led an army of Deadites against a group of humans in 1300 AD, in a bid to get his hands on one of theBooks of the Dead. Far more than just another Deadite, this one was a fearsome ruler with delusions of grandeur. Fortunately, the good version of Ash was able to save the day.
4Mia
Mia is another protagonistwho somehow manages to survive being possessed. Her ordeal is far more harrowing than Ash’s though, and it’s a testament to her strong will that she was able to overcome the hideous incident, standing triumphant as blood rains down upon her.
No matter what her companions do to try and stop her, Deadite Mia continues to return (even after being buried). From violent convulsions to teasing her friends by pretending she’s ‘cured’, human Mia is only able to take back control by ‘doing an Ash’ and severing her arm with a chainsaw.A brutal moment in a fantastic reboot.
3Cheryl
The first to be possessed,Cheryl (sister of Ash)set the standard for all the Deadites that would follow in her wake. Becoming possessed inThe Evil Dead, she went to great lengths to torment her former friends with pure malice.
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Her initial possession is an iconic moment in the franchise (replicated in the recentEvil Dead Rise). Linda and Shelly are playing a guessing game with playing cards. Cheryl, looking out of the window, starts naming off the cards in Shelly’s hand without even looking around. At first, the women are impressed, but things take a freaky turn when her head spins around – revealing white, pupil-less eyes and decaying flesh.
2Linda
Combining humor and horror, Linda was Ash’s beloved girlfriend who fell prey to the Deadites. While fans see what happens inThe Evil Dead,the semi-remake flashbackinEvil Dead 2is far more memorable, and more harrowing for Ash.
Clearly distraught at killing his beloved, she plays on this when rising from the grave he’s buried her in. He tries everything to finish her off, including decapitation, and she taunts him by reverting to her ‘human self’, begging him to let her go. Linda was not only very hard to kill physically, but she also had a devastating impact on Ash emotionally.
1Henrietta
Henrietta is one of the scariest Deadites in the franchise. The deceased wife of Raymond Knowby (the man responsible for the translation of the Necronomicon), she’s buried in the cellar of the cabin in the woods, and Ash finds out this information far too late.
A hideous, demented hag of a Deadite, Henrietta plays all of their hits, from twisted catchphrases to reverting to human form in a bid to try and trick them into releasing her. When she finally escapes though, she transforms into a giant, hideous monster with a long, snaking neck. Even as Ash was killing her, she couldn’t resist screaming, “We’ll swallow your soul!”
