The Evil Dead - Plot

Plot

The Evil Dead focuses on five Michigan State University students: Cheryl (Ellen Sandweiss); her brother Ash (Bruce Campbell); his girlfriend Linda (Betsy Baker); Scotty (Hal Delrich); and Scotty's girlfriend Shelly (Sarah York). For their spring break, they venture into Tennessee's hills to vacation in an isolated cabin. There, they find "Naturon Demonto", a Sumerian variation of the Book of the Dead. Additionally, they play a tape of incantations from the book, which unleashes the demons. Hearing the demons' voices, Cheryl goes outside to investigate. Alone and far from the safety of the cabin, she is attacked and raped by trees possessed by the demons, but manages to escape.

Assuming that a wild animal attacked her, the others do not believe her. Ash decides to drive her to town where she can find a place to stay for the night. However, they find that the only bridge connecting the cabin to the rest of the world has been destroyed. Later, Cheryl becomes demonically possessed, and tells everyone that the demons will take them one by one; she then stabs Linda with a pencil. Scotty locks Cheryl into the cellar, but Shelly is also possessed by a demon, which spies on her from outside her bedroom as she is changing before hurling itself at her. Now possessed, Shelly attacks Scotty, who eventually dismembers her with an axe. Emotionally shaken by her death, Scotty leaves to find an alternate trail through the woods.

Checking on Linda, Ash discovers that she, too, has become possessed, although she makes no attempt to attack him. Scotty returns, suffering from grave injuries caused by the possessed trees. He tells Ash that an alternate trail does exist, before losing consciousness. Linda and Cheryl then unsuccessfully attempt to deceive Ash into believing that they are no longer possessed. He locks Linda outside the cabin and tends to Scotty's injuries. She, however, sneaks in through the backdoor and attacks Ash with a ceremonial dagger. He impales her with it.

In the woodshed, Ash tries to dismember Linda with a chainsaw, but finds himself unable to do it and buries her instead. She rises from the grave and wrestles with him; he eventually decapitates her with a shovel. Returning to the cabin, Ash finds that Cheryl has escaped. Armed with a shotgun, Ash finds her hiding outside and shoots her in the shoulder. He then descends into the cellar to find extra shotgun shells after barricading the doors. While there, he hears voices and sees blood seeping from numerous crevices and openings in the walls. Scotty, now demonically possessed, reanimates and tries to kill Ash. During their fight, Ash notices that the Book of the Dead has fallen near the fireplace and is starting to burn, as are Cheryl and Scotty.

Cheryl breaks into the cabin and knocks Ash down with little effort. While Scotty pins him down, she repeatedly beats Ash with a fireplace poker. Ash eventually grabs the book and tosses it into the fireplace, as Cheryl raises the poker to impale him. The demons leave the bodies of Cheryl and Scotty, which then become inanimate and rapidly decay. Ash heads outside, and screams upon finding a demon that has emerged from the woods.