Evil Dead 2: Dead by Dawn (1987): 10 Things You Didn’t Know
By Jeremy Dick
Photo via De Laurentiis Entertainment Group
7. The story was almost about Ash being locked up by escaped inmates
Because the medieval fantasy setting was a no go for Part 2, Raimi had to go back to the drawing board. Several brainstorming sessions later, he settled on what would be the next early concept for the movie. And it sounds rather… interesting.
This particular idea would have seen a group of escaped prisoners finding Ash and taking him as a prisoner in the cabin. With Ash being held captive inside, the convicts would be searching for a “buried treasure” in the area. Are they talking about the Necronomicon, or something else? Who knows. Those plans would have obviously been interrupted by the paranormal forces of the dead killing them all, anyway.
In the final product, the death used for Bobby Joe was originally intended to be used for one of the prisoners. It would have been even more violent, with the man being split in half by a tree.