Sam Raimi reveals the original title of ‘The Evil Dead’
When Sam Raimi’s The Evil Dead was released in 1981, it contributed to a successful wave of horror movies that soon became cult classics, representing a golden age for the genre.
The movie has become a staple of the horror canon and has inspired various remakes and spin-offs, such as a television series, Ash vs the Evil Dead, and, most recently, an upcoming film directed by Lee Cronin, Evil Dead Rise.
However, in a new interview with Empire, Raimi revealed that he initially hated the name of his iconic movie. He explained: “The original title of the movie was The Book Of The Dead. But film-sales agent Irvin Shapiro sat Rob, Bruce and I down and said, ‘We’re changing the title, boys. Advertising space in the newspaper is paid for by the inch, kid. We’re not going to have a five-word title. ‘Dead’ can stay. You can have one other word. You can call it ‘101% Dead’, or ‘Evil Dead’.'”
He continued, recalling his disgust at the proposed titles: “I thought, ‘But those are the worst two titles I’ve ever heard in my life! ‘Evil Dead’ sucks! How can something be evil and dead?’ I just thought it was so stupid.”
Raimi revealed that he is content with the name now. “‘101% Dead’? I thought, ‘I’ll die first’. So I chose the lesser of the two horrible titles. But now I’ve started to like it. It’s pretty good.”
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