Evil Dead 2: Dead by Dawn (1987): 10 Things You Didn’t Know

Photo via Warner Bros

1. The film wouldn’t have been made if it weren’t for Stephen King

Every horror fan loves Sam Raimi’s Evil Dead trilogy. So it’s horrifying to think about what life would be like if the series stopped after the first film. If there was never any Evil Dead 2, and no Army of Darkness, and certainly no Ash vs. Evil Dead.

For what we have now, we can all thank Stephen King. When Raimi went to raise the funds for Evil Dead 2, he had difficulties in coming up with the money. Looking for financiers on his own, Raimi just had trouble convincing people to give him the budget he needed to make the Evil Dead follow-up. It was looking like all hopes were lost.

However, once Stephen King caught wind of Raimi’s problems, everything changed. King apparently loved the original film so much that he personally saw to it that the sequel was made. It was King who convinced Dino De Laurentiiis to have his production company finance the sequel, as King was already working with De Laurentiis on other projects.

King said the right things, and the next thing Raimi knew, Evil Dead 2 had a budget. Raimi has since gone on record to say that if it weren’t for King, there wouldn’t have been a second Evil Dead.

Next: Freddy vs Jason: 10 Things You Didn't Know

While I love the entire movie trilogy, Evil Dead 2 is definitely my favorite. I hope I was able to teach you a thing or two about the film. Keep checking back for more “Things You Didn’t Know” lists, and I’ll be getting to the other movies soon enough!