Headscratchers / The Evil Dead (1981)

• Why was the evil force repelled by the cabin? Except when it wasn't?
  • The Evil Force could have came in at anytime, it was merely toying with its fresh victims.
  • Alternatively, if you find that answer unsatisfying, perhaps Professor Knowby took some kind of precautions to make the place safe- rubbed garlic or whatever on the cabin door.
• Whats the deal with that scene near the end where Ash touched the mirror, only to find it's surface acts like a pool of water (while somehow not spilling out despite being vertical). Is it just to be weird and doesn't have a point?
  • It is clear from both this movie and the sequels that the evil is capable of toying with peoples' minds as well as bending reality to a certain degree. Really, the whole liquid mirror trick is nothing compared to what it does in the other movies.
• The film implies that the demonic forces that Professor Knowby had already unleashed in the Tennessee backwoods were actively targeting Ash and his companions even before they reached the cabin (e.g., possessing Scotty's hand to try to make him swerve into an oncoming truck), and then even before they retrieved Knowby's tape and artifacts from the cellar (e.g., possessing Cheryl's hand to force her to sketch out the Naturom Demonto, trying to entice the group into the cellar by opening the hatch while they were eating dinner, and subtly making their presence known in other ways such as blowing the porch swing when there was no wind). Given all of this, even if the group had not played Professor Knowby's tape (or, in particular, the part with the incantation), would they still have been grievously or lethally attacked by the Evil Dead, and if so, would what they had to endure have been as severe (especially since the spirits seemed particularly angry at being awakened by the incantation)? Another related question is why the Evil Dead target them, and not other residents, visitors, or passerbys in the surrounding area, even before they reach the cabin site?