What actually happens
A prologue that ends badly for a young woman
The movie starts with a young woman held in the cellar of a remote cabin while an old woman reads spells from a book in Welsh. The young woman begs for her mother, then it becomes clear that she is possessed. Her father, Harold, sets her on fire and shoots her. Some time later, David drives up to the cabin, his family's holiday home, with his girlfriend Natalie and their dog, Grandpa. They are there to help his estranged younger half-sister, Mia, quit heroin. They also meet up with their friends Eric, a high school teacher, and Olivia, a nurse. Olivia tells David this is not Mia's first attempt, and Eric adds that the last time she relapsed and was legally dead for a while before doctors revived her. None of them has been to the cellar yet.
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The scene with the vines
David notices the cabin has been broken into. The cellar is full of dead animals, and he also finds an old shotgun, plus a book titled the Naturom Demonto. Eric reads a spell from it out loud, which wakes something malevolent. Mia starts seeing a demonic copy of herself in the woods. She tries to leave in Eric's car, but she crashes it in a swamp, and the demon chases her through the trees. This is the scene people dread most, and it comes early. Vines trap Mia in the woods and sexually assault her, and when it ends she is possessed. After that the story moves into the cabin, where the others have to deal with her.
A dead dog and a very long night
David finds Grandpa beaten to death and Mia scalding herself with boiling water in the shower. He tries to drive her to a hospital, but the roads are flooded, so they all return to the cabin. Olivia sedates Mia. Later that night Mia shoots David with the shotgun, vomits into Olivia's mouth and is locked in the basement by Eric. Olivia is soon possessed too, mutilates her own face and stabs Eric. He beats her to death. Natalie is the next one Mia draws into the cellar, where she bites her hand, and then slices her own tongue.
Five souls and a chainsaw
David rescues Natalie from the cellar. Eric reads that the Taker of Souls needs five souls to raise the Abomination, and that Mia can only be freed by burial alive, dismemberment or burning. Natalie's hand becomes infected and possessed. She tries to cut it off with an electric knife, which knocks out the cabin's power, and then she attacks the others with a nail gun. David shoots off her other arm, and she bleeds to death. David plans to burn the cabin, then decides to bury Mia instead. Eric is fatally stabbed saving David from drowning. David sedates and buries Mia, stops hearing her heartbeat, digs her up and revives her with a homemade defibrillator. The furious Taker of Souls takes over Eric's body.
The ending, explained
The possessed Eric attacks David when he goes back for his car keys, and David fires at a gasoline can and dies destroying Eric. David's death is the fifth soul. Blood starts raining, and the Taker of Souls rises up as the Abomination. Mia cuts off its legs with a chainsaw, but it flips David's Jeep onto her left arm. She tears her hand free, then cuts the Abomination in half from head to torso, and it sinks back into the ground as the blood rain stops. Mia walks away exhausted, unaware that the Naturom Demonto is still whole. Olivia, Natalie, Eric, David and Grandpa the dog are all dead. Mia is the only one left.
The post-credits ruling
There is a post-credits scene. Ash Williams, the hero of the original Evil Dead films, appears in shadow as an older man and says his catchphrase.
✓ Spoiled safelyDog status: The dog does not make it.
Questions people ask at 1am
Is Evil Dead scary?
Yes, Evil Dead (2013) is an 8 out of 10 with High dread. It has jump scares and extreme gore, and the fear comes from one cabin, one possessed friend and a demon that needs five souls.
How does Evil Dead end?
Mia survives and kills the Abomination with a chainsaw, while David, Eric, Olivia and Natalie are dead. She walks away alone, and the Naturom Demonto is still intact.
Does the dog die in Evil Dead?
Yes, the dog dies in Evil Dead. Grandpa is found beaten to death, and a flashback later shows who did it. Dead cats also appear.
Is there a post-credits scene in Evil Dead?
Yes. Evil Dead has a post-credits scene in which Ash Williams, the hero of the earlier Evil Dead films, appears in shadow as an older man and says his catchphrase.
What is the Abomination in Evil Dead?
The Abomination is the final form of the Taker of Souls, the demon woken by the Naturom Demonto. In Evil Dead it rises once five souls have been claimed, and Mia destroys it with a chainsaw.
