13 Things You Never Knew About 'The Evil Dead' on its 35th Anniversary

It's been 35 years since "The Evil Dead" infected theaters and launched the careers of director Sam Raimi and star Bruce Campbell.

In that time, it's gained a very impressive (and very deserved) cult following, while also influencing countless horror filmmakers. To celebrate this quirky horror/comedy, here are 13 things you might not know about "The Evil Dead."
1. "The Evil Dead" is actually based on a 30-minute short film called "Within the Woods." Raimi created the Super 8 film as a sort of prototype for prospective investors.

2. "Within the Woods" wound up inspiring Joel Coen, who worked as an assistant editor on the film. Coen would later take a similar approach when he and his brother, Ethan, were trying to finance their first film, "Blood Simple."

3. Several alternate titles were considered, including "Book of the Dead," "Blood Flood" and "These Bitches Are Witches."

4. Given its remote location, Raimi and his cast and crew actually had to live in the cabin for the duration of filming. Those cramped conditions only heightened tensions on set, especially because the cabin lacked any internal plumbing.5. According to local legend, the Tennessee cabin where filming took place was actually the site of a grisly double murder. Raimi and his crew didn't find out about that story until after they had started filming.

6. A lot went into creating that infamous melting corpse. Makeup/effects supervisor Tom Sullivan relied on everything from marshmallows to oatmeal to actual, mashed-up cockroaches to achieve the desired effect.7. The film was plagued by production problems and long days and nights of shooting. However, the biggest challenge was simply finding enough money to keep the project going. Raimi had to suspend filming multiple times so he, Campbell, and others could embark on another round of fundraising.

8. The long stretches of down time are visible in the film, as Campbell's hairstyle changes multiple times despite the plot unfolding over the course of a single day.9. The 1973 Oldsmobile Delta '88 that Ash and his friends drive to the cabin has made an appearance in every single Raimi project since, including the current TV series "Ash vs. The Evil Dead" (above).

10. "The Evil Dead" didn't make much of a splash when it first debuted in theaters. It was only after horror novelist Stephen King gave the film a rave review that it began attracting more attention and gained a wide release in the UK.11. Decades later, "The Evil Dead" is still banned in some countries because of its graphic content. Even Raimi has admitted he regrets including the scene where Ellen Sandweiss' character, Cheryl, is assaulted by a demonic tree.

12. Between Anchor Bay Entertainment and Elite Entertainment, there were six different versions of "The Evil Dead" released on DVD. One of them even featured a foam latex package designed by Sullivan to look like the Necronomicon.13. There have been a number of unofficial "The Evil Dead" sequels produced by Italian filmmaker Joe D'Amato, including 1988's "Ghosthouse" and "Witchery."

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