THE EVIL DEAD is a 1981 horror film directed by Sam Raimi and starring Bruce Campbell. A classic of the genre, Raimi followed it with two sequels, EVIL DEAD II and ARMY OF DARKNESS, both starring Campbell. Shot on a budget of about four hundred thousand dollars, the plot concerns a group of college students who go to an abandoned cabin in the woods. There, they find an audiotape that unleashes demons, who slowly posses their bodies, turning them into zombie-like creatures. The main character is Ash, who is played by Campbell. As his friends become possessed by demons, he realizes hat the only way to kill them is to cut them into pieces. Now we have our movie.
THE EVIL DEAD is a very straight-forward horror film. There is no mystery in it, no big plot twists, and that is why this movie is so cool. Sam Raimi makes a horror film that takes no time at all getting started, and once it gets started, it never lets up. Filled with over the top, disgustingly awesome gore, it has everything to love about horror films. There are creepy demons, a deserted cabin in the middle of the forest, and demon possession. Now, as I said before, when people are possessed, they become zombie-ish creatures who can only be killed by being by being chopped up into many, bloody pieces.
PLOT: As I said before, the plot for this film is very straight-forward, and that is why I love this film. Sure, I love horror films that take their time building suspense and characters, but every once in a while, it's fun to watch an over the top gore-fest, and that being said, EVIL DEAD delivers.
SPECIAL EFFECTS: All the effects in this film are practical, and awesome practical effects at that. It's nice to see horror flicks where the film makers take time to create real looking, creepy effects. That being said, the effects improved even more in the sequel.
ACTING: This is one of those films that required no acting, but the actors decided to act well anyways. Every actor in this film does a very good job, with Campbell standing out (of course). This film manages to do a very rare thing: its victims are not annoying. This is very difficult to pull off, but this film does it.
ATMOSPHERE/SCARES: This film is less scary, and more creepy. As I said in the beginning of this article, it's a fun, over the top gore-fest. That being said, there are some genuinely creepy moments in this film.
All in all, THE EVIL DEAD is a great horror flick that definitaley deserves the franchise it spawned and is one of my favorite horror films. It's a great time; and I would give it:
10/10, or 5 stars, or in real world terms; it is definitaly worth the drive to the DVD store and the money to buy a high quality version of this amazing horror film. You'll take it home, and it will have a well deserved place in your DVD collection.
It's kind of hard rating this film, because EVIL DEAD II is definitely my favorite film in the trilogy, but when I thought of giving this film 4 stars, I couldn't do it. This film more than deserves the 5 stars that I gave it.
What did you think of THE EVIL DEAD? What's your favorite film in the trilogy? How do you feel about the remake? Are you excited that Sam Raimi may be making an EVIL DEAD 4? Leave a comment below, and let me know.
COMING SOON: I will review EVIL DEAD II and ARMY OF DARKNESS, the next two installments of Sam Raimi's awesome trilogy. I may also review DRAG ME TO HELL, because it is a Sam Raimi horror movie that has references to EVIL DEAD.