Adam Williams, right, who runs the YouTube page “TheDailyWoo”, with fellow YouTuber “Scott on Tape” introducing their video in which they tour the locations in Anson County where the film “Evil Dead 2” was filmed.
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Ash Williams, played by Bruce Campbell, left, prepares to shoot a scene for “Evil Dead” (1981) in the then-operational J.R. Faison High School alongside director Sam Raimi.
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Sam Raimi, left, works with cast and crew outside of J.R. Faison High School; the house across the street is also still standing.
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Set diagrams for the outdoor cabin are shown here.
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This property in Anson County has been used in both “Evil Dead 2” and “The Color Purple.”
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WADESBORO — “The Color Purple” wasn’t the only movie filmed in Anson County.
Director and writer Sam Raimi’s 1987 cult classic horror movie “Evil Dead 2: Dead By Dawn” was filmed in Wadesboro and Lilesville in the summer of 1986.
YouTuber Adam Williams — also known as “The Daily Woo” or “Adam The Woo” — toured the filming locations last month with YouTuber “Scott on Tape” as they delved into behind-the-scenes secrets and footage. They visited locations including a white farmhouse on the intersection of Diggs Road and Hollywood Road which was also used in “The Color Purple,” Lilesville’s water tower, the Anson County Airport, and of particular interest — the abandoned site of J.R. Faison High School.
Now a storage and dumpsite, J.R. Faison High School was then converted into a soundstage. In his video, Williams mentioned that the school’s gym became a two-story cabin and interior set with a fruit cellar. Cast and crew also congregated at the school and the production office next door where the crew made props. A classroom was even turned into a personal gym for a cast member.
“This is a huge franchise for horror fans. This is legit horror history here,” Williams said during the tour.
Williams showed how a popular franchise found its footing in Wadesboro and Lilesville, cementing Anson County’s place in film history yet again.
To watch the video yourself, visit “TheDailyWoo” page on YouTube and look up the video entitled “Evil Dead 2 Filming Locations (1987) – Inside Abandoned Cabin Soundstage / Behind The Scenes Secrets.” The page has about 620,000 subscribers at time of writing.
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Reach Hannah Barron at 704-994-5471 or hbarron@ansonrecord.com.
To suggest a correction, email editor@yourdailyjournal.com or call 910-817-2673.
