It was a suicide mission. Honestly, think about it. You’re trying to remake one of the most beloved cult classics in horror history without the main character who defined the entire franchise. No Bruce Campbell. No Ash Williams. Just a bunch of relatively unknown actors and a director who’d mostly done short films. People were ready to hate the Evil Dead cast 2013 before the first trailer even dropped.
But then something weird happened. The movie came out, and it was actually... brutal. In a good way.
Fede Álvarez didn't try to find a "new Ash," which was the smartest move he could've made. Instead, he assembled a group of people who felt like actual human beings instead of just fodder for a chainsaw. Looking back now, the way this ensemble handled the sheer physical torture of that shoot is probably why the movie has aged better than almost any other horror remake from that era.
The core players of the 2013 cabin
Jane Levy was the soul of the movie. Period. As Mia, she had to play a recovering heroin addict, a terrified victim, a possessed demon, and eventually, a final girl who loses an arm and keeps swinging. It’s a massive range. Most horror movies give you one of those archetypes. She had to do all of them in 90 minutes.
The rest of the Evil Dead cast 2013 filled out the tropes but gave them just enough weight to make the gore hurt more.
- Shiloh Fernandez played David, the brother with the "golden boy" complex who waited way too long to believe things were going south.
- Lou Taylor Pucci was Eric. He’s basically the guy responsible for everything going wrong because he couldn't stop himself from reading the book bound in human skin. Classic.
- Jessica Lucas (Olivia) and Elizabeth Blackmore (Natalie) rounded out the group, and they arguably got the worst of the physical effects.
The chemistry wasn't about "friends hanging out." It was about shared trauma. When you watch the behind-the-scenes footage, you realize these actors weren't just acting cold or wet—they were miserable. They used an ungodly amount of fake blood. Thousands of gallons. By the time they got to the final scene in the blood rain, Jane Levy was basically living in a swamp of corn syrup and red dye.
Why Jane Levy wasn't just another scream queen
Levy almost didn't take the part. She was coming off the sub-urban comedy Suburgatory, and horror wasn't really her "thing." But her performance is what anchors the film. Most people forget that the 2013 version is fundamentally a story about withdrawal. The "Evil" is a metaphor for the addiction Mia is trying to kick.
When Mia starts seeing things in the woods, the rest of the Evil Dead cast 2013 just assumes she’s detoxing. That’s a brilliant narrative trick. It traps the characters in the cabin not just because the bridge is out, but because they are committed to helping their friend.
Levy’s transformation into "Abominable Mia" involved hours of makeup and those yellow contacts that reportedly scratched the actors' eyes. She wasn't just making scary faces; she was portraying a predatory, mocking version of herself. It’s visceral. It’s mean. It’s exactly what Sam Raimi’s original Deadites felt like, but without the Three Stooges slapstick to lighten the mood.
Lou Taylor Pucci and the Eric problem
Eric is the character everyone loves to hate, but Lou Taylor Pucci played him with this frantic, intellectual desperation that felt real. He’s the one who finds the Naturom Demonto (the 2013 version's Necronomicon).
In many ways, Pucci has the hardest job. He has to explain the lore while being stabbed with needles and smashed with pieces of a porcelain toilet. He becomes the "tank" of the group, absorbing an incredible amount of damage.
The casting choice here was deliberate. Pucci had an indie-darling reputation from movies like Thumbsucker. Bringing him into a gore-fest lent the project a bit of "prestige" horror credibility before that was even a common term. He wasn't a generic jock. He was a guy who thought he was smart enough to handle a curse. He wasn't.
The physical toll on the supporting cast
We need to talk about what happened to Jessica Lucas and Elizabeth Blackmore.
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In the original 1981 film, the gore was DIY and felt like a garage project. In 2013, it was industrial-grade. Jessica Lucas, as Olivia, has one of the most iconic (and disgusting) scenes in modern horror involving a piece of glass and her own face. The sheer endurance required for the Evil Dead cast 2013 to sit through those prosthetic applications is wild.
Blackmore’s character, Natalie, gets the "arm" scene. You know the one. If you’ve seen it, you can’t unsee it. That wasn't just CGI. It was a mix of practical rigs and physical acting that required her to be pinned in place for hours.
This cast didn't have the luxury of acting against green screens. Fede Álvarez famously hated CGI. He wanted everything in-camera. If there was blood, it was being sprayed at them from a hose. If there was smoke, they were breathing it. That grit translates to the screen. You can see the exhaustion in their eyes by the third act because it wasn't just acting anymore—it was survival.
Comparing the 2013 crew to the OG 1981 cast
People always want to compare Shiloh Fernandez to Bruce Campbell. That's a mistake. David isn't Ash. David is a failure.
In the 1981 film, Ash is a bit of a coward who eventually finds his steel. David, in 2013, is a guy who has been absent from his family and is trying to make up for it. The tragedy of the Evil Dead cast 2013 is that David actually succeeds in saving Mia, but he has to lose his entire soul and life to do it.
The 1981 cast was a group of friends who were mostly just happy to be making a movie. The 2013 cast was a professional unit tasked with making the most "intense" horror movie of the decade. The stakes were different. The 1981 film is a masterpiece of tone and invention; the 2013 film is a masterpiece of execution and endurance.
What happened to the cast after the cabin?
It’s interesting to see where everyone went.
- Jane Levy became a bit of a horror icon, later re-teaming with Álvarez for the massive hit Don't Breathe. She eventually moved into more diverse roles, like the musical series Zoey's Extraordinary Playlist, proving she didn't need to be covered in blood to lead a show.
- Shiloh Fernandez has kept a steady career in indies and TV, appearing in things like Euphoria.
- Lou Taylor Pucci showed up in You and Physical, continuing that "unsettling but talented" vibe he does so well.
- Jessica Lucas went on to have a long run on Gotham.
They didn't all become A-list superstars overnight, but they didn't disappear either. They are respected working actors, which fits the Evil Dead legacy perfectly. The franchise has always been about "the blue-collar actor."
Misconceptions about the 2013 production
One of the biggest myths is that Bruce Campbell wasn't involved. While he wasn't in the Evil Dead cast 2013 as a character (aside from that post-credits "Groovy" cameo), he was a producer. He and Sam Raimi hand-picked this cast.
Another misconception? That the movie was a flop. It actually made nearly $100 million on a modest budget. The reason we didn't get a direct sequel with this specific cast until much later is mostly due to creative timing and the eventual shift toward the Ash vs Evil Dead series and Evil Dead Rise.
Fans often ask why Mia didn't return immediately. There were talks of a "crossover" film where Mia and Ash would team up. It’s the great "what if" of the horror world. Can you imagine Jane Levy and Bruce Campbell sharing a screen, both covered in motor oil and blood? It would’ve been legendary.
The lasting legacy of this ensemble
The Evil Dead cast 2013 proved that you could reboot a franchise with a "sacred" lead actor and still satisfy the hardcore fans. They did it by taking the material seriously. There are no winks at the camera. There’s no "meta" humor.
They played it straight.
When Mia crawls out from under the cabin, she isn't cracking jokes. She’s screaming in rage. That shift in tone—from the campy horror-comedy of Army of Darkness back to the "nasty" roots of the original—only worked because the actors were willing to go to some very dark places.
If you're revisiting the film today, look at the background details. Look at how the cast reacts to the environment. The way they handle the Necronomicon. The way they look at each other as they realize nobody is getting out alive. It’s a masterclass in ensemble horror acting.
How to experience the 2013 Evil Dead legacy today
- Watch the "Unrated" Cut: If you’ve only seen the theatrical version, you’re missing some of the most intense work the cast did. The digital unrated version adds several minutes of character beats and, of course, more gore.
- Track the "Mia" Timeline: With Evil Dead Rise (2023) successfully reviving the franchise again, there’s renewed interest in how Mia fits into the larger lore. Pay attention to the "chainsaw" parallels between Mia and the newer protagonists.
- Check out 'Don't Breathe': To see the peak of the Álvarez/Levy partnership, this is required viewing. It carries the same DNA as Evil Dead but in a home-invasion setting.
- Follow the Producers' Updates: Bruce Campbell and Sam Raimi are still actively producing new entries. While a "Mia" return isn't officially on the 2026 slate yet, the producers have never ruled out bringing the 2013 survivors back for a multiverse-style showdown.