Editor's note: The following contains spoilers for Evil Dead Rise.It has always seemed like there has only been one Book of the Dead, aka the Necronomicon Ex-Mortis, that has caused all the trouble in the Evil Dead franchise — at least that was believed until the newly released Evil Dead Rise. Now, it has been made clear that the torment caused in this franchise has not been from one singular book, but three! In the latest Evil Dead installment, a vinyl recording is played with a priest (who happens to be voiced by Bruce Campbell, the one and only Ash Williams) reading from "one of three volumes" of the Necronomicon. This explanation confirms that the original trilogy, the 2013 reboot, Evil Dead, and Evil DeadRise all take place in the same universe, with a different Book of the Dead being the source of trouble with each newly established storyline. If that's the case, where are all of these Books of the Dead now? Where is the Book of the Dead from the original trilogy when Evil DeadRise is taking place, or the 2013 book? And what does all of this mean for the future of the franchise?
The Book of the Dead, the Necronomicon Ex-Mortis, is the root of the "evil" in the Evil Dead movies. While it was originally created by H.P. Lovecraft in his short story "The Hound," Sam Raimi took Lovecraft's invention and re-imagined it for his own movies. Bound in human flesh and inked in blood, the Necronomicon is an ancient text that serves as a passageway to the evil worlds beyond our own. Once someone reads from it, brutal and monstrous forces become unleashed upon the unfortunate souls at hand. Between the movies, TV show, video games, and comic books, the Necronomicon has remained a constant for the franchise. It has always seemed as though it's been the same book falling into the hands of the protagonists in these movies, but now it seems as though that's not the case. In Evil Dead II, it is said that the book disappeared in the year 1300 AD, roughly around when Army of Darkness takes place — the film that first established the idea of three books.
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The First Sign of the Three Books of the Dead
In Army of Darkness, we find Ash displaced from his own time period. In order to go back to the present, Ash (Bruce Campbell) is told to find the Necronomicon so that the Wise Man (Ian Abercrombie) can read out of it and send him home. Upon arriving in a graveyard, Ash finds not one, but three books. All three are shown to be magical in their own way, but until recently, it was just believed that two of these were meant to be decoys that people would mistake for the real Necronomicon. The vinyl record that is played in Evil Dead Rise clears the air on this though, explaining that there are three volumes of the text! That means that the two additional books seen in Army of Darkness are not decoys, but two additional volumes to the one that Ash takes away. These three books would go on to be the different ones that we find in each film. One is the book that continues to cross Ash's path in the original trilogy and Ash vs. Evil Dead, while another is the book from Fede Álvarez's 2013 Evil Dead film, and the last is the book from Evil Dead Rise.
Where Are the Three Books of the Dead as of ‘Evil Dead Rise’?
The original Evil Dead trilogy has a bit of a weird timeline. These three movies were each made circ*mstantially, the first so that Raimi could break into the movie industry, its sequel because Raimi's sophom*ore film bombed, and Army of Darkness because they had an opportunity at closing out Ash's story. For this reason, the Book of the Dead from Ash's corner of the universe has three separate conclusive "endings."
At the end of the original film, the book is burned in a fireplace, ultimately destroying the Deadites surrounding Ash in the cabin. The Evil Dead II Necronomicon gets sucked up into a time warp and thrown back into the medieval times, where Army of Darkness takes place. At the end of that movie, the book doesn't really have the most definitive sendoff. Instead, its final moments in the story are to help send Ash back to the present. The Necronomicon would then reappear regularly in the TV series Ash vs. Evil Dead, where it managed to randomly appear in the titular character's path and act as the source of all Deadite-related incidents. Ash vs. Evil Dead was canceled before the series intended to end, so this original Book remains at large. Unlike the volumes in the 2013 film and Evil DeadRise, this version stands out by having a face on its cover, an ear on the back, and a rough design overall.
The 2013 reboot's volume of the Necronomicon is much different than the one seen in the original films. This copy is still bound in flesh, but is very clearly stitched together, and has a bigger build than its predecessor. Early on in the film, the book is found wrapped in garbage bags and barbed wire. This massive red flag is still overlooked, the book is read from, and Evil Dead-isms ensue. By the end of the film, the film's cabin burns to the ground, leaving the audience to assume that the book goes with it. As Mia (Jane Levy) walks off into the woods in search of help, the camera pans down, and we find the book laying in the grass, where it is last seen slamming shut.
Evil Dead Rise's volume of the Necronomicon is found locked away in an abandoned bank vault underneath the film's apartment complex setting, along with vinyl records with recordings of the book's passages on them. An earthquake cracks open the foundation under the building, the vault is exposed, and the book and records are taken up to the family's apartment. This volume looks more like the copy seen in the 2013 film, but with vein-like features rippling through its binding as opposed to stitches, and sharp teeth clamping it shut. Once the vinyl records are played and the evil is unleashed, the book is hardly seen at all for the rest of the film. By the end of the movie, the book is still left in the family's apartment where we last saw it.
What Do the Three Volumes Mean for the Future of 'Evil Dead'?
Being that the three volumes of the Book of the Dead remain intact, what does this mean for the future of the Evil Dead series? Well, according to Evil DeadRise's director Lee Cronin, there could be a fourth volume of the book, one that acts as a bit of an inverse to the other three volumes. Does this mean we could see a fourth book appearing in a future film, either as that movie's main book, or one that is used to drive away the evil brought on by one of the original three Necronomicon volumes? Another future possibility could see the three volumes appearing on-screen together in a future film, either for someone new to find, or to unite the stories of Evil RiseRise's Beth (Lily Sullivan) and Kassie (Nell Fisher), 2013's lead character Mia, and of course, Ash. Let's hope the latter happens! Raimi and Campbell have stated that they think the draw of the Evil Dead films is now more about the books than it is about Ash, but Raimi also understands that the fans want Bruce to return to his most iconic role. Bring it on!
The history of the Book of the Dead just got way more complicated, but also way more interesting with the revelation of three volumes in Evil Dead Rise. By confirming the idea that each movie takes place in the same timeline, as opposed to restarting with each reboot, the possibilities of the franchise's future have opened up big time. It would be exciting to see the three corners of this universe come together, but more than anything, let's hope this series remains as consistently great as it has been! Until then, the three volumes of the Book of the Dead remain floating around in the world. Whoever finds one of them next better keep it shut, or maybe open it up so that we can have another movie! More Evil Dead, please!
Evil Dead Rise is currently playing in theaters.
