Editing The Evil Dead (section)

==Promotion and distribution rights==
[[File:RedfordTheatreMarquee.jpg|alt=View of a movie theater marquee.|thumb|right|''The Evil Dead'' premiered at the [[Redford Theatre]] because Bruce Campbell watched films there as a child.]]

With the film completed, Raimi and the crew decided to celebrate with a "[[Film premiere|big premiere]]".{{sfn|Campbell|2002|p=125–126}} They chose to screen the film at Detroit's [[Redford Theatre]], which Campbell had often visited as a child.{{sfn|Konow|2012|p=419–422}} Raimi opted to have the most theatrical premiere possible, using custom [[Theater ticket|tickets]] and wind tracks{{Clarify|reason=What is a wind track?|date=October 2021}} set in the theater, and ordering [[ambulance]]s outside the theater to build [[Atmosphere (architecture and spatial design)|atmosphere]].{{sfn|Campbell|2002|p=125–126}}{{sfn|Kawin|2012|p=13}} The premiere setup was inspired by horror director [[William Castle]], who would often attempt to scare his audiences by using [[gimmick]]s. Local turnout for the premiere exceeded the cast's expectations, with a thousand patrons showing up. The audiences responded enthusiastically to the premiere, which led to Raimi's idea of "touring" the film to build hype.{{sfn|Campbell|2002|p=125–126}}

Raimi showed the film to anyone willing to watch it, booking meetings with distribution agents and anyone with experience in the [[film industry]].{{sfn|Campbell|2002|p=136–137}} Eventually Raimi came across [[Irvin Shapiro]], the man who was responsible for the distribution of [[George A. Romero]]'s ''[[Night of the Living Dead]]'' and other famous horror films.{{sfn|Konow|2012|p=422–425}}{{sfn|Warren|2000|p=125–126}} Upon first viewing the film, he joked that while it "wasn't ''[[Gone with the Wind (film)|Gone with the Wind]]''", it had commercial potential, and he expressed an interest in distributing it.{{sfn|Campbell|2002|p=136–137}} It was his idea not to use the then-title ''Book of the Dead'', because he thought it made the film sound boring. Raimi brainstormed several ideas, eventually going with ''The Evil Dead'', deemed the "least worst" title.{{sfn|Campbell|2002|p=136–137}} Shapiro also advised distributing the film worldwide to garner a larger income, though it required a further financial investment by Raimi, who managed to scrape together what little money he had.{{sfn|Campbell|2002|p=136–137}}

[[File:Stephen King, Comicon.jpg|alt=Close-up of a man wearing glasses.|thumb|left|upright|[[Stephen King]] cited ''The Evil Dead'' as one of his favorite films, which brought the interest of [[New Line Cinema]].]]
Shapiro was a founder of the [[Cannes Film Festival]], and allowed Raimi to screen the film at the [[1982 Cannes Film Festival|1982 festival]] out of competition.{{sfn|Egan|2011|p=24}}{{sfn|Collings|2008|p=26}} [[Stephen King]] was present at its screening and gave the film a rave review. ''[[USA Today]]'' released an article about King's favorite horror films; the author cited ''The Evil Dead'' as his fifth favorite film of the genre.{{sfn|Collings|2008|p=26}} The film severely affected King, who commented that while watching the film at Cannes, he was "registering things [he] had never seen in a movie before".{{sfn|Egan|2011|p=20}} He became one of the film's largest supporters during the early efforts to find a distributor, eventually describing it as the "most ferociously original film of the year", a quote used in the film's promotional pieces.<ref name="thingstoknow"/>{{sfn|Collings|2007|p=157}} King's comments attracted the interest of [[Film criticism|critics]], who otherwise would likely have dismissed the low-budget thriller.{{sfn|Egan|2011|p=20}}{{sfn|Campbell|2002|p=151–152}}

The [[Film promotion|film's press]] attracted the attention of British film distribution agent [[Stephen Woolley]].{{sfn|Finney|1997|p=58}}{{sfn|Chibnall|2001|p=184}} Though he considered the film a big risk, Woolley decided to take on the job of releasing the film in the United Kingdom.{{sfn|Finney|1997|p=55}} The film was promoted in an unconventional manner for a film of its budget, receiving marketing on par with that of larger budget films.{{sfn|Campbell|2002|p=151–152}}{{sfn|Egan|2011|p=19}} Dozens of promotional pieces, including [[film poster]]s and [[Trailer (promotion)|trailers]], were showcased in the UK, heavy promotion rarely expended on such a low-budget film.{{sfn|Egan|2011|p=27}} Woolley was impressed by Raimi, whom he called "charming", and was an admirer of the film, which led to his taking more risks with the film's promotion than he normally would have.{{sfn|Egan|2011|p=19}}{{sfn|Newman|2011|p=38}}

''[[Fangoria]]'' started covering the film in late 1982, writing several articles about the film's long production history.{{sfn|Egan|2011|p=21}} Early critical reception at the time was very positive, and along with ''Fangoria'', King and Shapiro's approval, the film generated an impressive amount of interest before its commercial premiere.{{sfn|Campbell|2002|p=151–152}} [[New Line Cinema]], one of the distributors interested in the film, negotiated an agreement to distribute it domestically.{{sfn|Konow|2012|p=422–425}} The film had several "sneak previews" before its commercial release, including screenings in New York and Detroit. Audience reception at both screenings was widely enthusiastic, and interest was built for the film to such an extent that wider distribution was planned. New Line Cinema wrote Raimi a [[Cheque|check]] large enough to pay off all the investors, and decided to release the film in an unusual manner:{{sfn|Konow|2012|p=422–425}} simultaneously into both cinemas and onto [[VHS]], with substantial domestic promotion.{{sfn|Egan|2011|p=24}}