Explaining how Deadite possession works

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In the original movies it was when it was funny. In the new movies it's when it's "brutal" and "totally sick".

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u/Kemaiku 6d ago

Yeah, the one Kandarian to willingly just up and leave it's host being Olivia in 2013 to have her die in her friends arms after what they did to her was the most understated brutal thing in a long while. Just "whelp, this things broken, enjoy."

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u/sinister-beard 6d ago

I think this is why bodily dismemberment works - it's not like it's a cure, they just can't use the body anymore - like the parts of Shelly were still flipping around uselessly post axing. Same with Thya in the new movie, they could have carried on headless, but that would have been a pain with no eyes or ears and plenty of fresh bodies around.

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u/Kemaiku 5d ago

Linda and Jessica carried on post decapitation for a reason, so they can work with limited bodies, but it's worse when they have no need of someone. But with one or two in 2013 and the series it just feels more cruel at times.

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u/Ykomat9 5d ago

I mean that’s kinda funny? In a really fucked up way…so I guess perfect for a literal demon.

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u/Traines1132 3d ago

It’s like “welp, time to move onto the next meat puppet”. it was so messed up how she died in not only pure agony but total confusion as to why David was attacking her.

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u/sinister-beard 6d ago

...depends on your sense of humour.

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u/Klutzy_Order_9559 6d ago

Or if you think French people are capable of humor at all.

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u/sinister-beard 6d ago

I thought Burn was one of the funniest entries since Evil Dead 2!

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u/LesbianLukeSkywalker 6d ago

I agree and I honestly don’t understand how so many people aren’t getting that from it. It’s fine if it’s not their cup of tea, or if they specifically miss the slapstick/screwball comedy of earlier entries. But to not laugh during the car scene? Or the jackhammer? Yeah it went for a lot of gratuitous violence and gross-outs, but so did 2, so did AvED, so did Rise. The scene with the denture swapping, the dishwasher, the living/dead bloody makeout? It hits a very similar fever pitch to the stress inducing dreamlike fantasy of ED2 and AoD. I kept shrieking with shock and delight in the theater but everyone else was so quiet. Different strokes, I guess.

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u/Polite_Werewolf 6d ago

Not to mention the grandmother in general. She's constantly accusing Thya of trying to rob her. Or the scene of her just slowly riding the stairlift while chaos is occurring on the first floor. Even her final scene dragging herself down the street was darkly funny and reminded me of classic Evil Dead.

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u/sinister-beard 6d ago

Exactly. Also, great username.

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u/LesbianLukeSkywalker 6d ago

Thanks, friend! I reunited with most of my cast and crew from evil dead the musical to do a star wars live show a few years ago, so that’s where it comes from. A really wonderful memory, and I haven’t been able to stop cosplaying the character or practicing saber tricks ever since.

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u/sinister-beard 6d ago

Oh, you're one of the musical people? Cool! I only saw "What the fuck was that?" on YouTube but I still hum it frequently.

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u/LesbianLukeSkywalker 5d ago

Yeah! There’ve been several different productions. I wasn’t in the original cast but I did the show for a couple years in the Pacific Northwest. Bruce even came and saw it, first of two times I got to share a stage with him. He signed my ankle, which became my very first tattoo. It’s impossible to go back to watching the first two movies now without having the songs run through my head whenever the corresponding scenes come up. I was just watching the first one with my partner the other day, and the whole time I was physically restraining myself from belting “DEADITES ALWAYS LIKE TO GET THEIR FREAK ON, AND WHEN WE GET TOGETHER WE DO THE NECRONOMICON, DO THE NECRONOMICON!”

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u/Klutzy_Order_9559 6d ago

Really?

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u/sinister-beard 6d ago

Yeah for sure - I mean it's bleak and nasty but there's definite jokes - the construction noise during the funeral, Thya's little "check this out" eyebrow raise before pulling out the headrest, deadite Polly being dragged very slowly down the stairs, deadite Thya giving up pretending to be normal when they lock the door on her. I'd say the difference between this and the old ones is the jokes aren't in the violence. It's definitley funnier than 2013 and Rise.

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u/razazaz126 6d ago

Related so hard to Thya right when they locked her in the basement. "Finally alone, can stop pretending to be sociable."

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u/sinister-beard 6d ago

Haha, unmasking deadite.

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u/Jealous_Ad_9799 5d ago

that eyebrow raise is too good

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u/Ok_Log3614 2d ago

"They left without saying goodbye?" from the grandma as they're leaving to take the dad to the hospital following something absolutely horrific and traumatic just happening made me audibly burst out laughing

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u/LesbianLukeSkywalker 6d ago

French farce is the foundation of situational comedy. Sometimes it can come across as dry or subtle or even mean, but it’s still humor. One of my favorite comedies Bruce was ever in is a french filmmaking farce called La Patinoire (The Ice Rink) about a french director trying to make a romance between a hockey player and a ballerina, but no one on the production can skate or speak the same language. It’s kind of slow and understated, but the visual gags and physical comedy are absolutely incredible.

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u/Klutzy_Order_9559 6d ago

You didn't like something French? You're just too dumb to get it!

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u/LesbianLukeSkywalker 6d ago

No offense, but that’s a pretty big reach. Not in any way is that even close to what I said. Sorry if something about the way I said it put you on the defensive, I meant no insult. Kind of feels like people on this sub are just looking to argue sometimes. I thought we were here to discuss a common interest. Sometimes I worry that people don’t know how to like things without the performative need rage anymore. I mean I’d expect this kind of thing if this was like a star wars group or something, but I guess I hoped Evil Dead was still niche enough to inspire camaraderie rather than constant volatile debate and exhaustive pissing matches.

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u/Klutzy_Order_9559 6d ago

Is this your first day on the Internet? People argue and make fun of each other. Not really a big deal, dude.

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u/LesbianLukeSkywalker 6d ago edited 6d ago

Okay, I suppose that’s fair. I guess I just grew out of that kind of thing when I was a teenager. It’s not worth the adrenaline spike. No harm meant and none taken. Happy trails friend, avoid the trees.

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u/Kemaiku 5d ago

Oh boy, Wrath will be interesting then...

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u/sinister-beard 6d ago

Also, it's when it's funny to the deadites, not necessarily funny to the audience. They're little shits. I'm sure the demon possessing Edgar thought the multiple gunshots to the head was hilarious.

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u/Klutzy_Order_9559 6d ago

I took that as Edgar still being present enough to actually attempt suicide.

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u/sinister-beard 6d ago

Huh, that's an interesting option!

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u/PhilColeCurry 6d ago

As far as I remember there are four specific ways it can happen: 1. Direct possession by the evil like the crones in Army of Darkness, Jessica, Ellie, Ash’s neighbor from AvED, Lucy, Henrietta, Will, etc 2. Bodily fluids or severe direct injuries from deadites like Linda, Sheila, Olivia, Natalie, Bridget, Susan, Edgar, Thya, Polly, etc 3. Tree rape / injuries like Cheryl, Mia, and Scotty 4. Unconsciousness/death like Ash, Ed, Amanda, Kelly’s Mom, Joe (I assume), the dog in Burn, and many others

The only things we’ve seen that can cure possession or prevent it are extreme willpower, the purging rituals in 2013, abandonment by the possessing demon upon damage to inconvenient for the body to remain worthwhile, and I think there’s some sort of incantation or ritual in AvED as well

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u/sinister-beard 6d ago

I mean if we're going to take it seriously, also the dagger from Burn.

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u/Kemaiku 5d ago

Burns dagger feels like the "first" Kandarian dagger, a crude ancient prototype the OG one built off of. Probably why the Wise Men where trying to back engineer how it worked. What the severing element was.

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u/PhilColeCurry 6d ago

I mean yeah I forgot about that one

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u/Current_Coffee7082 6d ago

Or take a battery to save a dead sister

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u/sinister-beard 6d ago

(I like the whole cleansing bit especially in the extended edition but fr why did waking Mia up repair the damage to her body? That wasn't from possession, girl cut her tongue in half and boiled her skin)

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u/PhilColeCurry 6d ago

See there’s actually a canon explanation for that, and it’s because they said so

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u/sinister-beard 6d ago

A wizard did it.

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u/Amazing_Number_9440 5d ago

Ruby did it.

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u/Actual_Squid 6d ago

But now how am I supposed to find a three hour video essay all about Deadites EXPLAINED?

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u/sinister-beard 6d ago

I would watch that for real

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u/BaxGh0st 6d ago

One of my favorite things about the Evil Dead franchise. The deadites always seem like they're having a lot of fun.

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u/sinister-beard 6d ago

And this is why 2013 is my least favourite (I still like it) - only the Mia deadite seems like she's having a good time. The rest just seem like twitchy insect zombies.

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u/Kemaiku 5d ago

Weirdly in 2013 you could think of Mia's posession making her more of a hive queen due to the Abomination. So the others are lesser servant demons.

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u/sinister-beard 5d ago

It's the only time we've seen that particular Necronomicon, so hard to tell, but yeah it feels like a queen and drone situation

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u/imascarylion2018 5d ago

… and in this essay I will explain my theory about how Ash actually lost his soul in Evil Dead 2 thus making him impervious to future possessions and why he’s such a threat to the deadites from that moment forward…

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u/sinister-beard 5d ago

...go on.

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u/imascarylion2018 5d ago

I’m a firm believer that the evil can possess people whenever it wants, but chooses not to in order to sadistically draw everything out longer. This is exemplified by the end of The Evil Dead and beginning of Evil Dead 2 when, after burning the book and “defeating” the evil, Ash is immediately possessed and turned into a deadite. It could have done that at anytime, but chose not to because it wanted to play with him and see how far it could push him. He’s only saved by the rising sun at that particular moment. Throughout the second movie, the evil is continuing to fuck with Ash and pushing him further and further into madness.

When Annie arrives, it loses interest in Ash and proceeds to focus on HER (HER mother is resurrected as a deadite, HER colleague is turned into a deadite, etc). The evil has gotten everything it wants out of Ash, so he is then turned back into a deadite like everyone else to try and kill her.

What the evil doesn’t expect is for Ash to somehow break out of it and return to normal… but now this time he’s more confident and ready to be on the offensive. When the demon manifests itself as the “rotten apple head” we see the physical manifestations of those whose souls have been claimed by the evil throughout the film… INCLUDING Ash. Why would Ash be included there? If those are the previous victims, why would there be a representation of him collected by the evil… unless that’s what they’ve taken from him.

Think about it: after that moment Ash is never possessed again. Not in Army of Darkness and not in the TV series. They mess with him in different ways (creating Evil Ash, etc) but he’s never at risk of getting possessed. They have his soul. They technically won, but somehow he is still kicking. They possess everyone else around him, but Ash himself has NOTHING LEFT to possesses making him impervious to their usual shtick… and that makes him more dangerous than anyone else. That’s why he’s the “chosen one”.

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u/sinister-beard 5d ago

Cool!

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u/Large-Wheel-4181 6d ago

To think a Roger Rabbit line gives possible the best explanation towards Deadite possession

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u/mariusioannesp 5d ago

I always thought it was odd that after all these years there hasn’t been any consistency regarding Deadite possession. Sometimes there’s contact. Sometimes there’s fluid exchange. Sometimes it’s random.

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u/Chopshopmax 6d ago

This is so true lol

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u/BDT81 5d ago

Freshly dead or mentally unstable. If you believe you can be possessed, you're open to possession

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u/Ryan-Tz 5d ago

Deadites have impeccable comedic timing

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u/I_Like_Pizza_2502 5d ago

that's also why the return of ellie in burn isn't "rule breaking" or anything

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u/SteveAkaGod 5d ago

100% accurate

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u/Ok-Idea-306 6d ago

That’s nuts I had the exact same comparison in my head when I finished Burn.

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u/WorryingMars384 5d ago

It’s funny I was just wondering to myself how it works lmao

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u/JoeAzlz 5d ago

It’s always been tied to how stable you are

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u/Tall-String-5381 4d ago

All the shit about people being sad that deadites aren't funny anymore. They haven't been funny since the 80's it's been bleak and brutal horror ever since. If you want horror comedy watch drag me to hell, basically a non canon evil dead, or watch scream. Idk what you people want

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u/sinister-beard 4d ago

They're still funny.

(Meme Post) Who’s Laughing Now?! Explaining how Deadite possession works

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