Editing Evil Dead II (section)

==Production==
===Development===
The concept of a [[sequel]] to ''The Evil Dead'' was discussed during location shooting on the first film. [[Irvin Shapiro]], the film's publicist, pushed writer/director [[Sam Raimi]] to devise a premise for such a film. Working with screenwriter [[Sheldon Lettich]], Raimi settled on a story in which Ash was sucked through a [[time portal]] to the [[Middle Ages]], where he would encounter more [[deadites]]. Shapiro was enticed by the concept, and took out advertisements in trade magazines to promote the project, then titled ''Evil Dead II: Evil Dead and the Army of Darkness'', in May 1984. After [[Universal Pictures]] and [[20th Century Fox]] passed on it, the sequel was shelved in favor of Raimi's next film, ''[[Crimewave]]'' (1985), a [[comedy film|comedy]]/[[crime film]] co-written with [[Coen brothers|Joel and Ethan Coen]].<ref name="BookDead">{{cite web|url=http://www.bookofthedead.ws/website/evil_dead_2_production.html|title=Evil Dead II - Production|publisher=Book of the Dead|access-date=March 26, 2020|archive-date=March 26, 2020|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20200326143945/http://www.bookofthedead.ws/website/evil_dead_2_production.html|url-status=live}}</ref>

After ''Crimewave'' was released to critical and audience disinterest, Raimi and his partners at Renaissance Pictures, producer [[Robert Tapert]] and actor/co-producer [[Bruce Campbell]], took Shapiro up on his sequel offer, knowing that another flop would further stall their already-lagging careers. Development of ''Evil Dead II'' initially began in collaboration with [[ELP Communications|Embassy Pictures]], which had co-financed and distributed ''Crimewave'', but the filmmakers eventually felt that they were being stalled after five months' pre-production work, and began conducting interviews with prospective cast and crew members.<ref name="BookDead" /> Around this time, producer [[Dino De Laurentiis]], the owner of production and distribution company [[De Laurentiis Entertainment Group]] (DEG), asked Raimi if he would be interested in directing an adaptation of the [[Stephen King]] novel ''[[Thinner (novel)|Thinner]]''. Raimi turned down the offer, but De Laurentiis remained in touch with the young filmmaker.<ref name=companion>{{cite book|title=The Evil Dead Companion|last=Warren|first=Bill|publisher=[[Macmillan Publishers]]|year=2001|isbn=9780312275013|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=wBrJ3M71rUIC}}</ref>{{rp|135}}

The ''Thinner'' adaptation was part of a deal between De Laurentiis and King to produce several adaptations of King's successful [[horror fiction|horror]] novels and short stories. At the time, King was directing the first such adaptation, ''[[Maximum Overdrive]]'' (1986), based on his short story "[[Trucks (short story)|Trucks]]". He had dinner with a crew member who had been among those interviewed by Raimi and his colleagues about ''Evil Dead II'', and told King that the film was having trouble attracting funding. Upon hearing this, King, who had written a glowing review of the first film that helped it become an audience favorite at [[Cannes Film Festival|Cannes]], called De Laurentiis and asked him to fund the film.<ref name=companion/>{{rp|104}} While he was initially skeptical, De Laurentiis met with Renaissance, who highlighted the first film's extremely high revenue in the Italian market. Within twenty minutes, De Laurentiis agreed to finance ''Evil Dead II'' for $3.6 million. Raimi and Tapert had desired $4 million for the production, but De Laurentiis requested a film that was similar to its predecessor instead of their original medieval-themed proposal, which was instead used for the second sequel, ''[[Army of Darkness]]'' (1992).<ref name=companion/>{{rp|106}}

===Writing===
Despite Raimi's crew having only recently received the funding necessary to produce the film, the script had been written for some time, having been composed largely during the production of ''Crimewave''. Raimi contacted his old friend [[Scott Spiegel]], who had collaborated with Campbell and others on the [[Super 8 mm film]]s they had produced during their childhood in [[Michigan]]. Most of these films had been comedies, and Spiegel felt that ''Evil Dead II'' should be less straight horror than the first. Initially, the opening sequence included all five of the original film's characters; however, in an effort to save time and money, all but Ash and Linda were cut from the final draft. The film went through several other drafts, including a group of escaped convicts holding Ash captive in the cabin while searching for buried treasure.<ref name=companion/>{{rp|109–110}}

Spiegel and Raimi wrote most of the film in their house in [[Silver Lake, Los Angeles|Silver Lake, Los Angeles, California]], where they were living with the aforementioned Coen brothers, as well as actors [[Frances McDormand]], [[Kathy Bates]], and [[Holly Hunter]] (the primary inspiration for the Bobby Joe character). Due both to the distractions of their house guests and the films they were involved with, ''Crimewave'' and [[Josh Becker (filmmaker)|Josh Becker]]'s ''[[Thou Shalt Not Kill... Except]]'', the script took a long time to finish.<ref name=companion/>{{rp|109}}

Among the film's many inspirations include the [[The Three Stooges|Three Stooges]] and [[slapstick comedy]] films. Ash's fights with his disembodied hand come from a film made by Spiegel as a teenager titled ''[[Attack of the Helping Hand]]'', which was itself inspired by television commercials advertising [[Hamburger Helper]]. The "laughing room" scene, where all the objects in the room seemingly come to life and begin to cackle maniacally along with Ash, came about after Spiegel jokingly used a gooseneck lamp to visually demonstrate a [[Popeye]]-esque laugh. Spiegel's humorous influence can be seen throughout the film, perhaps most prominently in certain visual jokes. For instance, when Ash traps his rogue hand under a pile of books, on top is ''[[A Farewell to Arms]]''.<ref name=companion/>{{rp|111}}

While Raimi and Campbell have stated that ''Evil Dead II'' was intended as a direct sequel, there are differences between the first installment and the recap at the beginning of the second: for example, the Necronomicon is destroyed in a fire by Ash during the conclusion of ''The Evil Dead'', but remains intact in ''Evil Dead II''. The corpses of Ash's friends from the first are absent, and are never mentioned. The cabin itself remains perfectly intact until the events of this film, despite much of it having been destroyed in the original film.

===Filming===
With the script completed and a production company secured, [[principal photography]] began on ''Evil Dead II''. The production commenced in [[Wadesboro, North Carolina]], not far from De Laurentiis' offices in [[Wilmington, North Carolina|Wilmington]]. De Laurentiis had wanted them to film in his elaborate Wilmington studio, but the production team felt uneasy being so close to the producer, so they moved to Wadesboro, approximately three hours away. [[Steven Spielberg]] had previously filmed ''[[The Color Purple (1985 film)|The Color Purple]]'' in Wadesboro, and the large white farmhouse used as an exterior location in that film became the production office for ''Evil Dead II''. Most of the film was shot in the woods near that farmhouse, or J.R. Faison Junior High School, where the interior cabin set was located.<ref name=companion/>{{rp|113}}

[[Mark Shostrom]] served as the film's makeup effects supervisor, and delegated work to [[Robert Kurtzman]], [[Greg Nicotero]], and [[Howard Berger]] of [[KNB EFX Group]].{{sfn|Uram|1992|p=39}} The shot of undead Henrietta's flying eyeball was accomplished using a [[ping pong ball]] provided and painted by KNB EFX.{{sfn|Uram|1992|p=40}} Effects artist Verne Hyde, who joined the North Carolina unit in 1986 after filming had already begun, experimented with various rigs in order to achieve the effect Raimi desired.{{sfn|Uram|1992|p=40}} It was ultimately achieved by mounting the eyeball on a small, spinning motor, attached to a wand bolted directly onto the camera.{{sfn|Uram|1992|p=40}}

[[Ted Raimi]], director Sam's younger brother, had been briefly involved in the first film, acting as a [[fake Shemp]]. However, in ''Evil Dead II'', he plays a larger role as the undead Henrietta. Raimi wore a full-body, [[latex]] costume, and was also made to crouch in a small hole in the floor acting as a "cellar"; on one day, he did both. Raimi became extremely overheated to the point that his costume was filled with liters of sweat; Nicotero describes pouring the fluid into several [[Dixie Cup|Dixie cups]] so as to get it out of the costume. The sweat is also visible on-screen, dripping out of the costume's ear, in the scene where Henrietta spins around over Annie's head.<ref name=companion/>{{rp|125}}

For Ash's chainsaw hand, effects artist Verne Hyde modified a real chainsaw, replacing its gasoline engine with a small, 12-volt [[electric motor]], leaving space for Campbell to insert his hand into the body of the saw.{{sfn|Uram|1992|p=40}} The teeth of the saw were filed down for safety purposes, and tobacco smoke was pumped through a plastic tube that ran up Campbell's leg to simulate chainsaw smoke.{{sfn|Uram|1992|p=40}}

The crew sneaked various [[in-joke]]s into the film itself, such as the clawed glove of [[Freddy Krueger]] (the primary antagonist of [[Wes Craven]]'s [[A Nightmare on Elm Street (franchise)|''A Nightmare on Elm Street'' series]] of [[slasher film]]s) which hangs in the cabin's basement and tool shed. This was, at least partially, a reference to a scene in the original ''[[A Nightmare on Elm Street]]'', where the character Nancy Thompson (portrayed by [[Heather Langenkamp]]) dozes off watching the original ''Evil Dead'' on a television set in her room. In turn, that scene was a reference to the torn ''[[The Hills Have Eyes (1977 film)|The Hills Have Eyes]]'' poster seen in the original ''Evil Dead'' film, which was itself a reference to a torn ''[[Jaws (film)|Jaws]]'' poster in ''The Hills Have Eyes''.{{citation needed|date=January 2020}} The real life clawed glove appearing in ''Evil Dead II'' has been attributed to Shostrom, who was also working on ''[[A Nightmare on Elm Street 3: Dream Warriors]]'' at around the same time as ''Evil Dead II'', suggesting he borrowed it from the ''Dream Warriors'' set for a day.<ref>{{cite web | title=A Nightmare On Elm Street 3: Dream Warriors – Stalking Dreams 30 Years Later | url=https://crypticrock.com/nightmare-elm-street-3-dream-warriors-stalking-dreams-30-years-later/ | date=February 20, 2017 | access-date=January 1, 2020 | author=Jon Wamsley | website=Cryptic Rock | archive-date=March 9, 2017 | archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20170309214838/https://crypticrock.com/nightmare-elm-street-3-dream-warriors-stalking-dreams-30-years-later/ | url-status=live }}</ref> The rat seen in the cellar was nicknamed "Señor Cojones" by the crew ("[[Spanish profanity#Cojones|cojones]]" is [[Spanish language|Spanish slang]] for "[[testicles]]").{{citation needed|date=May 2022}}

At the film's [[wrap party]], the crew held a talent contest where Raimi and Campbell sang [[the Byrds]]' "[[Eight Miles High]]", with Nicotero on [[guitar]].<ref>Mentioned in Evil Dead II audio commentary</ref>