Here’s The Right Order to Watch Every ‘Evil Dead’ Movie and Show, From Ash Williams to the Bloody New Chapter

If you have ever tried to explain the ‘Evil Dead‘ franchise to a friend, you already know it gets complicated fast. What began as a scrappy horror debut has since split into sequels, a reboot, a cult television series, and now a whole new wave of standalone films that keep the chainsaws running.

For anyone gearing up for a marathon or simply trying to figure out where the newest release fits, sorting out the ‘Evil Dead’ movies in order does not have to be a headache. The franchise now includes five main movies and a TV show that ran for three seasons, with more titles cooking behind the scenes.

The Complete Evil Dead Timeline Explained

The good news for newcomers is that this franchise, despite its size, is not nearly as tangled as other long running horror series. You can pretty much watch the films as they were released or follow the basic timeline and still land in the right place, since there are not any wild time jumps aside from one glaring exception.

That exception, of course, involves a certain chainsaw wielding hero and the Middle Ages.

For those who want the full lineup before diving into the details, here is every entry in the ‘Evil Dead’ timeline in release order.

1. ‘The Evil Dead’ (1981)
2. ‘Evil Dead II’ (1987)
3. ‘Army of Darkness’ (1992)
4. ‘Evil Dead’ (2013)
5. ‘Ash vs. Evil Dead’ (2015 to 2018)
6. ‘Evil Dead Rise’ (2023)
7. ‘Evil Dead Burn’ (2026)

‘The Evil Dead’ (1981)

This is where the nightmare begins. ‘The Evil Dead’ was written and directed by Sam Raimi, produced by Rob Tapert, and starred Bruce Campbell as Ash Williams. Raimi and Campbell put the film together on a budget of roughly 350,000 dollars, shooting in a cabin in the Tennessee woods and delivering shaky camera work, buckets of fake blood, and a wicked sense of humor.

A group of friends head to a secluded cabin, read from the Book of the Dead, and accidentally awaken a demonic entity that turns people into zombie like Deadites. It remains the entry that put both Raimi and Campbell on the map.

‘Evil Dead II’ (1987)

Six years after the original terrified audiences, Raimi returned to finish what he started. In ‘Evil Dead II,’ Ash is once again fighting demons in the woods after an old recording of a professor causes his girlfriend to become possessed.

This installment leaned harder into dark comedy while keeping the gore intact, and it is often cited as the movie that fully established the franchise’s blend of horror and slapstick.

‘Army of Darkness’ (1992)

The trilogy capper sends Ash somewhere nobody expected. The film picks up after the events of ‘Evil Dead II,’ with Ash transported back to the Middle Ages and forced to search for the Necronomicon so he can find his way home. Raimi largely abandoned straightforward horror here in favor of full blown action comedy, arming Ash with his chainsaw hand and his beloved boomstick shotgun.

Interestingly, this stretch in 1300 technically makes ‘Army of Darkness’ the oldest point in the franchise’s chronology, even though it released third.

‘Evil Dead’ (2013)

After two decades of dormancy, the franchise returned with a harder edged reboot. This version was directed by Fede Alvarez, who co-wrote the screenplay with Rodo Sayagues, and introduced a new protagonist named Mia Allen, played by Jane Levy. A group returns to a remote cabin, and while the setup echoes the original film, a post credits scene confirms Ash exists within the same timeline, making this a sequel rather than a true remake.

The 2013 film ditched most of the slapstick in favor of relentless, modern horror, and it introduced a new generation of fans to the Book of the Dead.

‘Ash vs Evil Dead’ (2015–2018)

Television finally got its own taste of the chaos. Bruce Campbell returned as Ash, who had spent thirty years avoiding responsibility until a Deadite plague forced him back into action. Throughout its run, Ash was joined by surprising costars including Samara Weaving and Lucy Lawless.

The three season series brought back the wild gore, bonkers monsters, and Ash being Ash that longtime fans wanted, and it is widely considered one of the strongest horror shows of its era.

‘Evil Dead Rise’ (2023)

A decade after the reboot, the franchise moved out of the woods entirely. ‘Evil Dead Rise’ takes the story to a dingy Los Angeles apartment building, where two sisters and their kids find themselves battling a fresh wave of Deadites. Lee Cronin directed the film from his own script, and production used more than 6,500 liters of fake blood.

Critics and fans responded warmly to the film, praising how it made the franchise feel fresh again while still packing in savage callbacks to the earlier entries.

‘Evil Dead Burn’ (2026)

The newest chapter swaps the cabin and the apartment for a secluded family home. After the loss of her husband, a woman seeks solace with her in-laws, only to watch the gathering turn into a family reunion from hell as relatives are transformed into Deadites one by one. Sébastien Vaniček directs and co-wrote the film with Florent Bernard, with Sam Raimi and Rob Tapert producing through Ghost House Pictures.

This marks the third standalone entry in the franchise, following the 2013 film and ‘Evil Dead Rise,’ and stars Souheila Yacoub, Hunter Doohan, Luciane Buchanan, and Tandi Wright. ‘Evil Dead Burn’ is set to hit theaters domestically on July 10, 2026, distributed by Warner Bros. Pictures.

Early reactions suggest this entry leans into a nastier, more grounded tone than its predecessors, with everyday household objects reportedly becoming some of the film’s most gruesome weapons. With a seventh installment already dated for 2028, it looks like the Necronomicon is not closing its pages anytime soon.

Now that the full lineup is laid out, which era of Deadite carnage do you think has aged the best, and are you already counting down the days until ‘Evil Dead Burn’ hits your local theater?