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The Evil Dead
1982
Director Sam Raimi's first film has achieved legendary status since its 1982 release, and for good reason. Though perhaps not as widely seen as its two sequels, EVIL DEAD 2 and ARMY OF DARKNESS, THE EVIL DEAD is arguably the best of the three. It is the story of five college-age friends who travel to a cabin in rural Tennessee .. Read more
| Starring | Bruce Campbell, Ellen Sandweiss, Betsy Baker, Hal Delrich |
|---|---|
| Director | Sam Raimi |
| Genres | Comedy, Horror |
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The Evil Dead
Director Sam Raimi's first film has achieved legendary status since its 1982 release, and for good reason. Though perhaps not as widely seen as its two sequels, EVIL DEAD 2 and ARMY OF DARKNESS, THE EVIL DEAD is arguably the best of the three. It is the story of five college-age friends who travel to a cabin in rural Tennessee where the stumble upon the Book of the Dead, an ancient tome bound in human flesh and inked in blood. After unwittingly awakening the unspeakable terror told of in the book, each of the friends is transformed into the evil dead, one by one, except for Ash (Bruce Campbell). So Ash is left with no other way to survive than to dismember the living corpses of his sister, girlfriend, and two of his friends. Shot on a shoestring budget, the film boasts some impressive camera work and extremely over the top gore effects as well as a sense of humour much more subtle than the tongue-in-cheek aesthetic of the two sequels.
| Starring | Bruce Campbell, Ellen Sandweiss, Betsy Baker, Hal Delrich, Sarah York |
|---|---|
| Director | Sam Raimi |
| Studio | ANCHOR BAY HOME ENTERTAINMENT |
| Run time | DVD: 1 hr 26 mins |
| Certificate | |
| Genres | Comedy, Horror |
| Language | DVD: English |
| Dubbed | French |
| Released | DVD: 28 Oct 2002 Production year: 1982 |
| Format | DVD |
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Critics' reviews (2)
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Semi-professional horror rubbish, blown up from 16mm and looking it. When released in England, it was prosecuted as unsuitable for public showing and gained a cult following. It was released on video in a cut version.
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Raimi's first feature, a sensationally bad-taste effort which narrates the rapid decline into demonic mental and... read more on Time Out
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Most helpful member's review
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39 out of 51 people found this review helpful
[Highly rated reviewer]
Kill her if you can, loverboy.
'The Evil Dead' is about a group of young adults who travel to a cabin in the woods and discover a 'book of the dead'. No prizes for guessing what happens rest of the film.
Is it a great film? Of course not. Once the movie hits the 20-minute mark, the notion of plot completely disappears. I didn't expect the gore to be so elaborate. There's plenty of gore (some say that to today's standards, the gore would be considered tame, but I say it's still quite extreme), and it doesn't look too cheesy. The blood looks real, the make-up effects are great. 'The Evil Dead' contains a few scares and the gore effects are often fun to watch (this was before the invention of CGI and I felt impressed knowing that not one effect was computer generated), but I still wish it could've had more plot. After all, we're basically watching one character after another get killed and come back alive again, and all that changes within the repetition of this pattern is the way they get killed. The quality of the acting leaves very little to be desired, but is on par with films of its time.
There are lots of movies out there that put this in the shade, but there are also a lot, lot worse. Worth a watch, just don’t expect too much. Good for its age.
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- JediSi
- Posted 30 Aug 2007 06:52
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Most recent members' review
View all -
39 out of 51 people found this review helpful
[Highly rated reviewer]
Kill her if you can, loverboy.
'The Evil Dead' is about a group of young adults who travel to a cabin in the woods and discover a 'book of the dead'. No prizes for guessing what happens rest of the film.
Is it a great film? Of course not. Once the movie hits the 20-minute mark, the notion of plot completely disappears. I didn't expect the gore to be so elaborate. There's plenty of gore (some say that to today's standards, the gore would be considered tame, but I say it's still quite extreme), and it doesn't look too cheesy. The blood looks real, the make-up effects are great. 'The Evil Dead' contains a few scares and the gore effects are often fun to watch (this was before the invention of CGI and I felt impressed knowing that not one effect was computer generated), but I still wish it could've had more plot. After all, we're basically watching one character after another get killed and come back alive again, and all that changes within the repetition of this pattern is the way they get killed. The quality of the acting leaves very little to be desired, but is on par with films of its time.
There are lots of movies out there that put this in the shade, but there are also a lot, lot worse. Worth a watch, just don’t expect too much. Good for its age.-
- JediSi
- Posted 30 Aug 2007 06:52
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News and features
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Drag Me To Hell
- 01 Jun 2009
After too long in the blockbuster business – taking great responsibility for the Spider-Man trilogy – Sam Raimi returns to what he does best: which is being very, very bad. Evil Dead fans are going to flip for this. It’s a mean little shocker and as funny as hell. In her best role since Matchstick Men, Alison Lohman is Christine, a loans officer at a bank. As the posters very succinctly put it: “Christine Brown has a good job, a great boyfriend, and a bright future. But Read more
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The Evil Dead
Director Sam Raimi's first film has achieved legendary status since its 1982 release, and for good reason. Though perhaps not as widely seen as its two sequels, EVIL DEAD 2 and ARMY OF DARKNESS, THE EVIL DEAD is arguably the best of the three. It is the story of five college-age friends who travel ...
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