Socko's Retro Movie Review of Evil Dead

Oh yeah, this one has been a long time coming. After reading glowing reviews from the likes of Mike_Bracken and Mangiotto, I had just been waiting for the day I could see this film. The main problem? The video stores in my town suck big time, and the horror collections are meager to say the least. It wasn’t until this week that I was finally able to obtain a copy of Evil Dead (and at the very affordable price of $.99 for five days, nonetheless), and you can be sure that I didn’t waste any time popping this bad body into the old VCR. I can tell you right now, I wasn’t disappointed.

Our story starts out when five young friends decide to make a voyage to a secluded cabin tucked high in the mountains. (How do you define secluded? The bridge they drive on to get there falls apart once they are across. That’s secluded.) Of our five characters, the only one of any real note is Ashley “Ash” Williams (played by cult fan favorite Bruce Campbell), a sweet and sensitive guy just trying to make time with his girlfriend Linda (played by Betsy Baker). Yep, that’s right, Ash is the sensitive guy in this one, far removed from the chauvinist demon killer he becomes in the two sequels. For those keeping score, Ash’s friend Scotty (played by Hal Delrich, who never made another film after this) carries the chauvinist pig part of the story in this film.

All goes well for our fun loving friends until a strange set of occurrences start to take place. First, Shelly (played by Theresa Tilly) draws (against her will, mind you) something that she can’t discern, but later is determined to be the Necronomicon, or the Book of the Dead. Later, the five friends come up that very book, along with a tape recorder. On the recorder, the group discovers that this cabin used to be owned by a researcher who found the book and tried to translate it. The recording also has a reading of the translation of the book on it, and the playing of it sets loose a mighty evil that no one is prepared for.

What follows is one of the more gory and violent experiences that you will ever come upon. Whether it be the infamous “tree rape” scene, or just buckets of blood flying about, you won’t find more bang for your buck when it comes to carnage. Slowly but surely, the Evil takes over the members of the group one by one, turning them into evil demons that must be dismembered to be defeated. Finally, when only Ash is left, there is the final battle between good and evil. We are left with a confusing, yet startling ending, that isn’t fully understood until you watch the sequel.

So, how did a film with a miniscule budget turn into one of the biggest cult classics of the modern generation? Well, for one thing, director Sam Raimi (who also brought the world The Simple Plan, The Gift, and next summer’s Spiderman) obviously didn’t waste any of his allotted money on things like actors and special effects. The acting (with the exception of Bruce Campbell) was abysmal to say the least, which played right into the theme of the movie. Bruce Campbell’s performance wasn’t all that great, either, but it was a great precursor of his later works. Also, you don’t exactly expect Oscar winning-performances out of horror flicks, anyway, so Campbell’s over the top style is a refreshing spark for the genre.

Upon first look, the special effects in the film aren’t anything special. Colored water, milk, and oatmeal are probably the three most used items when the gore and makeup are involved, and nothing at all looks real when it comes to the demons. But what Raimi does right is showing the world that it isn’t what you use…it’s how you use it. Never once do we get a trickle of blood. When you get blood and gore here, you get BLOOD AND GORE. Raimi’s complete overuse in effects is the perfect balance to their unbelievable nature.

But this film isn’t landmark for its acting or its effects. This film hinges its entire success in its camerawork and its gore, and it comes up in spades on both sides. Raimi’s wild and erratic shots are classic, if not completely groundbreaking, in their ability to keep the viewer on the edge of their seat. His fast motion shots through the forest bring a sense of foreboding and terror every time you see them, and really add something unspeakably cool to this little budget gem.

Also, while the special effects themselves might be cheesy and noticeably low budget, the viewers are treated to some of the more abundantly overwhelming amounts of gore you may ever find. Bodies are hacked-a-plenty, flesh is ripped asunder for no good reason, and blood is spewed about in the dozens of gallons. This is one of those parts that I referred to earlier, where Raimi completely overused gore to keep the movie going. One of the more revolting scenes in the film is where Cheryl (played by Ellen Sandweiss) first is possessed by the living dead, and stabs a pencil into the heel of Linda’s foot. Now, a lesser director would show the stabbing and be done, at least have the stabbing and the pencil break. But no, Raimi shows the girl being stabbed, then cuts away and back to her multiple times, showing how the demon is digging and twisting to get the maximum effect. Twisted on the part of the director? Yes. But super cool to view for the fans? You betcha.

This fine little film produced two equally classic sequels in Evil Dead 2 and Army of Darkness (reviews on both coming to you this week, so be sure to check back, cause cheap shillings rule). While both films are exceedingly watchable films, neither one is as gruesome and horrific as this film. Raimi seems to evolve from simple gore fest horror flick to horror flick with some comedic parts in Evil Dead 2, and finally into a glorified comedy with some horror parts to it in the most mainstream of the group, Army of Darkness. While this might not be best of the group (in my humble opinion), it is honestly the most true to the horror genre.

Overall, what else can I say about this film other than I loved it. I easily give this film 5 stars and my highest recommendations. It would be in your best interest to go out today and rent this film (if you can find it). Be sure to check back tomorrow and throughout this week, as my horror fest continues with reviews on Evil Dead 2, Army of Darkness, Invasion of the Body Snatchers (1978), Scanners, The Fog, The Omen, and Night of the Living Dead. Until then, HAVE A NICE DAY!