Sam Raimi Shares How EVIL DEAD Got Its Title and Why He Thinks the Title Is "So Stupid"

Sam Raimi is not a big fan of the title Evil Dead, and it’s not what he originally wanted the title of the movie to be. During a recent interview with Empire, Raimi revealed how Evil Dead got its title and explains why he thought the title was “so stupid.” He said:

“The original title of the [original] 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’.’ 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.”

That comment made me laugh, but Evil Dead is the one that stood out and the title stuck! The title has since grown on Raimi and he’s ok with it now. He went on to say:

“‘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.”

I love the title Evil Dead! It sure makes sense to me, and I think the title perfectly captures what the franchise entails. I just think it’s funny that Raimi initially hated the title.