FAQ for
The Evil Dead (1981) More at IMDbPro »

A Fake Shemp or, simply, Shemp, is the term for someone who appears in a film under heavy make-up, filmed from the back, or perhaps only showing an arm or a foot. Although use of the term is limited, it is frequently used in connection with Sam Raimi's movies.

The term refers to the comedy trio the Three Stooges. In 1955, Stooge Shemp Howard died of a sudden heart attack. At the time, the Stooges still had four shorts left to deliver, by the terms of the trio's annual contract with Columbia Pictures. By this point in the trio's career, budget cuts at Columbia had forced the trio to make heavy use of stock footage from previously completed shorts, so the trio was able to complete the films without Shemp. New footage was filmed of the other two Stooges (Moe Howard and Larry Fine) and edited together with stock footage. When continuity required that Shemp appear in these new scenes, they used Shemp's stand-in, Joe Palma, to be a body double for him, appearing only from behind or with an object obscuring his face. Palma became the original Fake Shemp, although the term was not officially in use at the time.

It was aspiring filmmaker Sam Raimi, a professed Stooges fan, who coined the term in the movie The Evil Dead. Most of his crew and cast abandoned the project after production went well beyond the scheduled six weeks, so he was forced to use himself, his die-hard friends Bruce Campbell, Rob Tapert, Josh Becker, assistant David Goodman, and brother Ted Raimi as Fake Shemps, and the term stuck.

To this day, Sam Raimi's productions, both in feature film and TV work, use the term to refer to stand-ins or nameless characters. However, the description is sometimes modified in the final credits. For example, in Darkman, Bruce Campbell's quick cameo in the final scene is credited as Final Shemp, and Campbell also was credited as Shemp Wooley (a pun on singer Sheb Wooley) when doing the voice of Jean-Claude the Carrier Parrot in the short-lived TV series Jack of All Trades.

The cabin burned down not long after the film was made. It is not known for sure who or what burned it down. All that remains of the cabin is the tin roof, the hole dug for the cellar, and the stone chimney.

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The first UK edition of "The Evil Dead" was released as pre-cert tape (pre-cert = pre certification) by Palace Video in 1983. Approx. 1 minute was cut. Shortly after its release, the tape became one of the infamous "Video Nasties" but it was delisted two years later. In movie theaters, the exact same version was shown.There is another version that's even heavier cut. A detailed comparison between both versions with pictures can be found here.

The old British videocassettes by 4Front Video are heavily cut. Nearly all splatter scenes were trimmed and even though only two minutes are missing, this version can't be recommended at all. Thankfully all cuts were waived for the DVD releases of this cult classic. A detailed comparison between both versions with pictures can be found here.

There's some sort of controversy concerning a scene showing a lightning strike. For example the US-DVD by Elite is missing this scene, because Sam Raimi didn't like the effect due to its poor quality. Nonetheless there are several releases throughout the world that feature this "lightning sequence" after all. A comparison between both versions with pictures of the scene can be found here.

Yes. Evil Dead was Sam Raimi's first feature film, after previously having done 4 shorts.

No, though it can depend on your own perspective. It is mainly a horror movie, but most of the violence is done in an over-the-top way. Some may find it darkly humorous, while others may be plain freaked out. Keep in mind this film was done on a very low budget and in the early 80's. Which makes the effects possibly considered cheesy by today's standards. The sequel "Evil Dead 2" seems to even acknowledge this and is more clearly a horror/comedy because the humor in it is more silly/cartoonish. The other sequel "Evil Dead 3: Army of Darkness" is mostly a slapstick sci-fi/comedy.