Headscratchers / Evil Dead 2

• Why exactly does the severed head say "I'll swallow your soul" over and over. It doesn't seem to be in much of a position to threaten Ash.
  • It's the severed head of an old woman possessed by an Ax-Crazy race of demons, it was probably trying to unnerve Ash, Deadites are typically not known for thinking things through.
  • Some people, when feeling really mad and powerless, may feel compelled to say "fuck you", "eat shit", "kiss my ass", etc. A Deadite just happens to find it more appropriate to say "I'll swallow your soul".
  • Also, the Deadites are part of a "collective." Each person it possesses is after the same goal of either possessing others or killing them in the name of the evil, and the taunts are just an extension of that. While Deadite Henrietta's head isn't in a position to personally swallow Ash's soul, it's essentially a mouthpiece for the evil in the woods itself. Just because Ash has defeated the Linda, Ed, and Henrietta Deadites, it doesn't mean it doesn't have something else it will possess and throw at him to try and finish the job. And sure enough, it does have another unseen enemy up it's sleeve to spring on him in the climax.
• The Deadites don't like the sun? It seems to be contradicted by the finale of the movie itself. Ash vs. Evil Dead points this out later.
  • It may be the evil is less powerful when newly resurrected and is susceptible to sunlight which it later begins to overcome.
• If Ash succeeded in repelling the demon that possessed him simply through a stimulus that reminded him of the people (or things) he loved, why does the lullaby only serve to distract the witch rather than purge her of the demon? Which makes me wonder...if Ash didn't interrupt the singing by attacking the witch, would she have been turned back to normal?
  • Perhaps not, unless by "normal" you mean dead, since the witch has been dead since before Ash and friends arrived in the cabin.
  • It's theorized in general that when possessed, the human soul is also trapped in their bodies, it would explain why some people like Ash, Sheila and Mia can come back from possession, and why deadites have knowledge of certain things they would have no way of knowing if the person they possessed was just a corpse, willpower is probably a factor too Ash had enough willpower along with the Power of Love to come back, whereas Henrietta maybe only had enough left to be distracted by th lullaby.
• In an extension of the above question, why is it that Ash has been shown to be the ONLY person capable of becoming unpossessed, barring the whole "chosen one" thing that only starts to become canonized by AoD, he is certainly capable of being possessed, unless it's a case of "can only possess you so many times before we get barred" rule they never mention in the media.
  • Bruce Campbell mentioned in one of the commentaries that people who panic and can't keep their wits tend to be the ones to die in this series. While Ash isn't exactly smart, he's rather savvy when it comes to being able to assess a situation and pull an Indy Ploy. In contrast, you have characters like Bobby Joe who when confronted with literal demons decide it's a great idea to run out into the middle of the woods at night.
• The evil forces of the deadites made a lot of mess murdering Linda and trying to possess Ash. Wasn't it such a struggle to subdue the professor and his wife? The cabin is pretty much pristine when they arrive.
  • The professor and his wife are both quite a bit older than Ash and Linda, who are two fit, college-age kids.