Evil Dead Burn gives you a new reason to revisit the saga from the beginning.
With Evil Dead Burn now in theaters, many of you will inevitably want to revisit the entire saga. Directed by French filmmaker Sébastien Vaniček, who previously made Vermines, this new chapter hit French cinemas on July 8, 2026.
The film follows Alice who, after burying her husband, joins her in-laws at an isolated house to share one last meal in his memory. But the reunion quickly turns into horror when a demonic force begins to possess those present. Like Evil Dead Rise before it, the feature tells a standalone story with new characters while keeping the franchise's core elements.
Official Evil Dead Burn trailer
But to discover absolutely every connection surrounding Evil Dead, watching only the official films is not enough. Several outside works feature the Necronomicon, the Kandarian dagger, or direct references to Ash Williams's adventures.
Keep in mind, however: films that do not carry the Evil Dead name are not canonical within the saga. They are included in this extended order because they can be tied to the same universe in a broad sense, because a director imagined a possible continuity, or because they contain an explicit nod. A simple appearance of the book does not automatically confirm an official timeline.
Here is the most complete viewing order, first following Ash's story, then the franchise's newer branches, without forgetting the films almost nobody thinks to watch.
How to watch the films of the Evil Dead universe in chronological order?
1. Within the Woods
The Evil Dead saga was born with Within the Woods. However, this roughly thirty-minute short is not canonical and does not constitute a true prequel.
Sam Raimi shot it with Bruce Campbell and several of his close collaborators to show investors what their future feature might look like. The director himself described it as a tool meant to secure financing rather than an official first chapter.
You are therefore not obliged to watch it and can perfectly well start with The Evil Dead.
2. The Evil Dead
The true starting point remains The Evil Dead, released in 1981. Ash Williams heads to an isolated cabin with his sister Cheryl, his girlfriend Linda, and their friends Scotty and Shelly.
On site, the group discovers a strange book and a recording made by an archaeologist. By playing the incantations on the cassette, the young people release an entity capable of possessing the living.
This first installment introduces the cabin, the Book of the Dead, and Ash, even if he is not yet the exaggerated, self-assured hero he will become later.
3. A Nightmare on Elm Street
Linked film, but non-canonical
Before moving on to Evil Dead 2, you can watch the first A Nightmare on Elm Street. This detour helps you understand one of the saga's most famous references.
In Wes Craven's film, Nancy tries to stay awake by watching The Evil Dead on television. It was a friendly response to Sam Raimi, who had placed a torn poster of The Hills Have Eyes in his first film.
A Nightmare on Elm Street does not become a canonical chapter of Evil Dead. This scene is mainly part of a game of nods between Wes Craven and Sam Raimi, which continues in the next film.
4. Evil Dead 2
Then continue with Evil Dead 2, but keep in mind that the first seven minutes or so summarize the events of the previous film.
Sam Raimi did not have the rights to reuse footage from The Evil Dead directly. He therefore reshot a much shorter introduction focused only on Ash and Linda. Once that recap ends, the story continues after the attack Ash suffered at the end of the first film.
You will also spot Freddy Krueger's glove hanging in the cellar and in the shed. Sam Raimi was responding to Wes Craven after The Evil Dead appeared in A Nightmare on Elm Street. Again, it is a tribute and not confirmation that Freddy exists in Ash's continuity.
5. Army of Darkness / Evil Dead 3
Next move on to Army of Darkness, which picks up directly after the end of Evil Dead 2. Sucked through a portal, Ash finds himself projected into the Middle Ages with his car and his shotgun.
To return to his own time, he must recover the Necronomicon and help the locals fight an army of the dead. The film adopts a tone much closer to comedy, adventure, and fantasy, but it remains the conclusion of the original trilogy directed by Sam Raimi.
It is also in Army of Darkness that Ash discovers three different books, a detail that will much later help connect the franchise's newer stories.
6. Jason Goes to Hell
Linked film, but non-canonical
After Army of Darkness, you can watch Jason Goes to Hell. In the Voorhees house, the film shows the Necronomicon designed for Evil Dead 2. The famous Kandarian dagger also appears in the story.
Director Adam Marcus explained that he imagined Pamela Voorhees using the book to bring Jason back to life. In his interpretation, Jason could therefore be a creature comparable to those Ash faces.
This idea, however, was never recognized as canonical by the rights holders of both franchises. It represents Adam Marcus's personal intention and only allows you to imagine that Friday the 13th and Evil Dead can coexist in an extended universe.
7. Pumpkinhead II: Blood Wings
Linked film, but non-canonical
Then continue with Pumpkinhead II: Blood Wings.
A copy using the design of the Evil Dead 2 Necronomicon appears briefly in the film. Unlike Jason Goes to Hell, the object is not actually used to establish a shared origin between Pumpkinhead and the creatures of the saga.
It is therefore above all a visual nod. Pumpkinhead II is not canonical in Evil Dead, even if this appearance allows it to be placed in a marathon devoted to works linked to the Book of the Dead.
8. Freddy vs. Jason
Linked film, but non-canonical
You can then move on to Freddy vs. Jason. The connection comes mainly from the end of Jason Goes to Hell, where Freddy's glove rises from the ground to pull Jason's mask down.
The 2003 crossover finally brings the two killers together. Ash was even supposed to appear in another project uniting all three characters, but that version was never made.
Freddy vs. Jason is therefore not part of Evil Dead's official canon. It simply extends the chain of references begun with A Nightmare on Elm Street, continued with the glove visible in Evil Dead 2, and then with the ending of Jason Goes to Hell.
9. Drag Me to Hell
Linked film, but non-canonical
Next watch Drag Me to Hell. Directed by Sam Raimi, the film follows Christine, a bank employee cursed after refusing to grant an extension to an elderly woman.
The feature shares many elements associated with Evil Dead: an invisible force filmed in subjective camera, possessions, a book devoted to demons, a ritual dagger, dark humor, and deliberately excessive violence. Several longtime Sam Raimi collaborators also worked on both productions.
Despite these similarities, no official confirmation allows us to say that Christine lives in the same continuity as Ash. Drag Me to Hell should therefore be considered a spiritual companion or a film unofficially tied to this universe, but never a canonical episode.
10. The Cabin in the Woods
Linked film, but non-canonical
Next comes The Cabin in the Woods. The film deliberately reuses many codes popularized by The Evil Dead: a group of young people, an isolated cabin, a cellar full of strange objects, and a reading capable of awakening a supernatural threat.
The clearest reference appears on the board used by the organization's employees. Among the creatures listed are the mentions "Deadites" and "Angry Molesting Tree," the latter directly referring to the tree scene from the first film.
The Cabin in the Woods is not officially part of the saga. These names are tributes aimed at fans and not proof of canonical continuity.
11. Ash vs Evil Dead
For those who want to — and it is strongly recommended — you can then watch the incredible series Ash vs Evil Dead.
The story takes place several decades after the original adventures. Ash now works in a store and leads a rather mediocre existence until the day he makes another mistake with the Necronomicon and brings evil back.
Over three seasons, the series considerably develops the mythology, the character's past, and the powers of the book. Above all, it keeps the mix of gore, action, and humor that made Evil Dead 2 and Army of Darkness successful.
Even though the series was released after the 2013 film, watching it here lets you finish Ash's entire story before moving on to tales carried by new protagonists.
12. Evil Dead
Then move on to the 2013 Evil Dead film. You might think it is simply a remake of the first installment, but that is not really the case.
The film deliberately reuses a similar situation: Mia is taken to a cabin by her brother and several friends to overcome her addiction. Another Book of the Dead is then discovered and a new demonic manifestation begins.
Director Fede Álvarez explained that his film could take place in the same universe as the originals. That interpretation was later reinforced by Evil Dead Rise, which presents the different books as three separate volumes.
13. Creepshow – "Public Television of the Dead"
Linked episode, but non-canonical
The real reference is in "Public Television of the Dead," the second story of the first episode of Creepshow season 2.
In this episode directed by Greg Nicotero, Ted Raimi brings a strange book onto the set of an antiques show. After a passage is read, the studio is overrun by creatures directly inspired by those in Evil Dead.
The segment uses the Necronomicon, several recognizable sound effects, and many visual elements associated with Sam Raimi's films. It is one of the most direct homages ever produced, but the episode is not part of official continuity.
14. Evil Dead Rise
Then watch Evil Dead Rise, which tells a brand-new story in the same universe as the previous official films.
This time, the action leaves the cabin for an apartment building in Los Angeles. After discovering an old vault beneath the building, Danny brings home a book accompanied by several recorded discs.
Lee Cronin explained that the volume in his film was one of the three books seen in the Middle Ages in Army of Darkness. The first would be linked to Ash's adventures, the second to Mia, and the third to Evil Dead Rise. This explanation reunites the different branches without claiming that all the characters found exactly the same object.
15. Lee Cronin's The Mummy
Linked film, but non-canonical
Before finishing, you can watch Lee Cronin's The Mummy, released in theaters in April 2026.
The film does not tell a new invasion linked to the Necronomicon, but Lee Cronin slipped in a connection with Evil Dead Rise. Mark Mitchinson plays an archaeologist named Professor Bixler, the same family name as Beth Bixler, the heroine played by Lily Sullivan.
The director presented this detail as a link allowing viewers to imagine that the professor could be a distant relative of Beth. That suggests a possible "Cronin-verse" connecting his two films, without turning The Mummy into an official Evil Dead episode.
It is therefore a non-canonical film, included only for this deliberate connection between characters.
16. Evil Dead Burn
Finally, end with Evil Dead Burn, the latest film released in the franchise.
The feature does not directly continue Ash's story, Mia's, or Beth's. It presents a new confrontation with evil through Alice, grieving her husband's death and trapped in an isolated home with her loved ones.
In summary
Canonical saga only
- The Evil Dead
- Evil Dead 2
- Army of Darkness
- Ash vs Evil Dead
- Evil Dead (2013)
- Evil Dead Rise
- Evil Dead Burn
Complete extended order
However, to discover every appearance of the Necronomicon, the exchanges of references between Sam Raimi and Wes Craven, and the possible shared universes imagined by directors, the extended order presented above remains the most complete.
