A Nightmare On Elm Street and The Evil Dead have been theorized to exist in the same universe, but an Easter egg clearly debunks this – here's how.
While fans theorize that The Evil Dead and A Nightmare On Elm Street exist in the same universe, there's one Easter egg that completely debunks this theory. Wes Craven's first contribution to the slasher sub-genre transformed into one of the most defining characters of the 1980s, while Sam Raimi's low-budget flick popularized the cabin in the woods sub-genre. In Evil Dead 2, Raimi included Freddy Krueger's glove as an Easter egg, which led fans to suspect that they were interconnected.
The 1980s was one of the greatest decades for horror movies. As the slasher sub-genre grew, groundbreaking directors made a name for themselves, and the beginning of several large franchises released their first installments. Some even created their own cinematic universe, which became especially apparent when Jason Voorhees of Friday The 13th took on Freddy Krueger in 2003's Freddy Vs. Jason. Prior to these crossover movies, Easter eggs became a major source of establishing connections between one franchise and another. The theory that A Nightmare On Elm Street and the Evil Dead franchise exist in the same universe stemmed solely from the appearance of Freddy's glove in Evil Dead 2 as Ash Williams (Bruce Campbell) went to the cabin's shed to get a chainsaw to fight off the titular threat.
If this theory were at all true, it could've expanded into an even more expansive connection. This interconnectivity suggests that Freddy Krueger is a deadite who came to life after the reading of the Necronomicon Ex-Mortis in The Evil Dead. Ultimately, this theory is entirely false based on The Evil Dead's appearance in A Nightmare On Elm Street.
In the original A Nightmare On Elm Street, Nancy Thompson (Heather Langenkamp) is watching The Evil Dead as she starts to doze off. The sole reason why it was included is based on the fact that a poster of Craven's The Hills Have Eyes appears in Raimi's movie. This led to both Evil Dead 2 and Ash Vs Evil Dead featuring Freddy's glove in the toolshed at the cabin. It's nothing more than an Easter egg that both directors used to pay homage to each other.
However, it is important to note that the reason that Nancy is watching The Evil Dead as she tries to stay awake is because the entirety of Raimi's movie takes place in one night. In order to survive the deadites, Ash must survive until dawn, meaning he cannot go to sleep either. He and Nancy are forced to stay up all night in order to evade death. It is a tactical addition as well as an Easter egg since it briefly alludes to the struggles that horror's final girl and final boy have to deal with in order to survive. It's a common bond they share; Nancy may have turned to fictional heroics to strengthen herself for the fight ahead.
When Raimi included the glove in Evil Dead 2, it was paying favor to Craven, who featured his movie in A Nightmare On Elm Street. The glove's inclusion in Ash Vs Evil Dead can be seen as a way of giving a final send-off to the director following his death. The series premiered on October 31, 2015, approximately two months after Wes Craven passed away. While it could be mere coincidence, it was an impeccable way for Sam Raimi to bring The Evil Dead's Easter egg in A Nightmare On Elm Street full circle, despite losing the influential director a few months prior. Ultimately, the theory that they exist in the same universe is debunked, as these Easter eggs were born out of the directors' mutual respect for each other.
