The Evil Dead

Rating:
Summary: The Evil Dead
Review: I've only seen this movie once, so forgive me if I'm a little skethcy on the details, but I think it's an important edition to any horror collection. It's a nasty little splatfestival, the way zombie movies should be.
A bunch of young people head into the woods for a bit of (what's this) camping! And right off you can tell: they're doomed. But hey, we wouldn't have it any other way. What follows is a further hour of low budget dismemberment, slicing, dicing, chopping, slashing, cutting, you name it and I'll add it to the list. Anyway, great movie, I recomend it. The only reason I didn't give it five stars was because it needed a better plotline, and because sence I've only seen it once I can't remember it well enough. But I can remember it well enough to identify it as the best zombie movie sence Night of the living dead.

Rating:
Summary: Forever to rot, controlled by the powers of the EVIL...DEAD!
Review: Being a big fan of Army of Darkness for some time I'd long been planning on checking out the first 2 Evil Dead films. I picked up Evil Dead 2, and while it is quite good it didn't quite live up to expectations. Still, I was sufficiently intrigued that I decided to finally pick up the original. By this point, however, I was a bit suspicious of it, starting to wonder if the consistently positive reviews of it were a case of mass hysteria, or if the low budget combined with an emphasis on gore and visual effects would make it seem too dated. Fortunately, my concerns over the film made my actually seeing all the more enjoyable, as it easily surpassed expectations and still stands as a first rate horror film.

I need to say, right off the bat, that this is a serious horror film. Most people know this, but there is a fairly sizable contingent who seem to think that this is a parody or comedy.(as are the sequels) It does contain some humor, and has a greater emphasis on being unusual and surreal than your average horror film, but it is, by and large, very serious.

As most critics love to point out, this film is a bit short on plot.(Not that I'm looking for plot when I see a horror movie) In short, 5 young adults go to a cabin in the woods, find a book, find a tape, play the tape, become possessed by demons and must fight the demons. It's not much on paper, but the execution is excellent. The major caveat is the acting, although it really isn't as bad as lots of people make it out to be. I would rarely call it good, but it usually isn't bad enough that I'm taken out of the movie. Also, the visual effects occasionally falter, most notably during the 2 obvious uses of ridiculous looking dummy heads. Overall, the effects aren't necessarily realistic, but they are generally cool or gross or both. And their lack of realism doesn't much matter as it is well established that once possessed the people change greatly from a physical standpoint, and are far from human. Lots of the gore effects are self-consciously over the top, most notably the moist 'n gooey claymation extravaganza at the end. The most effective effect, however, is just about the simplest. This is, of course, the agonizing pencil-to-the-ankle scene, which stands as one of the most painful scenes to watch that I've come across. Also of particular note is the scene where one of the demons proceeds to chew their own hand off. A tad inexplicable, but effective none the less.

This movie is interesting as it displays an unusual combination in horror films: it is very gory, yet it is very slow and deliberately paced. The first half of the film is largely uneventful, but I think it sets the mood pretty well and is more interesting then the exposition of your average horror film. And the second half, which is pretty much non-stop horror is still slow and deliberate, as the demons are sadistic and playful, choosing to mock and torment their victims rather than simply kill them outright. The horror set pieces are generally excellent. I particularly like when the lone Ash is assailed by 2 demons simultaneously, one in the room with him, the other clutching at him from the below. While this movie isn't really scary, it is pretty eerie at times. The initial possession is quite creepy, particularly the spontaneous levitation and her slow, crippled movements. The standard 'character is walking through the empty rooms looking for someone' are unusually good as well, generally generating some real tension. The demons are occasionally a bit over the top, but this is largely negated as they are clearly intended to be a bit mischivious.(murderous too, however) They're makeup is usually pretty effective as well, if a bit weird. Cheryl's blue, sometimes grey-blue witch face is more effective then it seemed from still pictures, particularly when she is laughing with blood pouring out of her mouth. Linda's porcelain doll make-up is kinda annoying to look at but it fits her evil and giggly little girl persona very well. Every character has their face horribly mangled or covered in blood at some point during the film and they generally look quite disgusting.

Sam Raimi is famed for his inventive camera work, and it shines here. The scenes where Ash is apparently on the brink of insanity are quite cool, with lots of crazy shots, ranging from ones tilted at a 45 degree angle to one looking directly down from the rafters to extremely low shots, from underfoot. The absolute visual highlight of the film comes when we are given a low shot viewing two corpses in the foreground. Ash proceeds drag one of the bodies outside and the camera tracks him, moving along side til it reveals the possessed Cheryl waiting patiently in the basement. The 'force' shots are pretty cool to, particularly the one where it rams through the cars windshields.

A few closing notes. Personally, I found the infamous plant scene to be a bit, I dunno, stupid. The end of it was just messed up. Not a huge flaw by any means, but it did hurt the film a bit. Also, as many have mentioned, make sure to get the Elite version. All Anchor Bay versions are in pseudo-widescreen where they matted out the top and bottom of the picture. I accidentally got one matted as such, and while it probably isn't a huge deal, it's just stupid to have it cut like that.

All in all this is a very good horror film. It's got gore and violence combined with well designed scenes and plenty of visual flair. Check it out.

8/10

Rating:
Summary: Best zombie movie ever!!!!
Review: I love this movie favorite zombie movie next to night of the living dead. First i rented it and i thougt it was going to be stupid after watching it i loved it that night i watched it two more times. After awhile i went out to hang out with friends and i saw the Evil Dead Book of the Dead edition, i bought it and loved it. The movie is good for its time and good affects until the end when the zombies start melting that was the only thing i hated about it!!! But i still think Evil Dead 2 was better.

Rating:
Summary: Widescreen & Full-screen
Review: This is one of the greatest horror films ever made. Some people may find the special effects work primitive by todays standards, but for a low-budget film as this is they are excellent and charged with a weirdly supernatural energy; something one never sees today in the big production horror films.

However, this review is mainly going to be about the picture format. Evil Dead was filmed in 16mm, which is a full-screen format, not widescreen.
BEWARE of the so called "widescreen" versions: Book of the Dead Limited Edition, and the other editions from Anchor Bay. Nothing has been added to sides of the picture to make it wider; instead the top and bottom of the film have been cut away to make it look like a modern theatre film. Instead of more, you actually gett less. In some parts of the movie this makes an important differance; in the close-ups of faces, parts like the chins are now gone (...); other important details also disappear, like when the trap-door in the floor opens and we look down into the cellar, the lower edge of the opening is gone, so we don't see the entrance in its whole.

The full-screen version is still available, with excellent picture quality, in the Elite Entertainment edition.

Rating:
Summary: THE EVIL DEAD
Review: I love this movie. It is so creepy and gory that it's amazing. The story is simple, but the camera work, acting, and special effects make this one to watch again and again and again. The features are also superb(of course they are, this is an Anchor Bay DVD).

Rating:
Summary: A Cult Classic!!!
Review: Evil dead is one of my favorite horror movie. It beats the exorcist by a long shot! This film was low budget, not that great of effects, but an instant classic. Evil dead, classic horror film, made in 1979, released in 1983 because it was to viloent. This is a definate must see if you haven't. Luckly I got the limited edition pack first, before it went out of print. Their are great features, and a great quality in picture. The features are great, if somehow you can get this get it! The outtakes are funny, it has a great behind the scenes look, and audio commentary by director Sam Raimi and producer Robert Tapert and commentary by the one and only.....Bruce Campbell. If they do mix him in the Freddy vs. Jason thing he should win.

If you haven't seen this movie, this paragraph is for you. This story goes as five teens Ash, Cheryl, Scott, Linda, and Shelly (Bruce Campbell, Ellen Sandweiss, Hal Derich, Betsy Baker, and Theresa Tilly)who uncover the spells of the "Book of the Dead" and now evil spirits spread all over. Some scenes can be very hard to watch by the goreness. As the virus spreads around Ash's friend, its up to him to survive the massacre the spirits left his bloody friends. It is a must see.

I must comment on the make-up. They did a fantastic job on the make-up. Some scenes I seriously thought looked like the excorsist. It has great make-up, and great special effects for a 1979 movie. This film definintley define the words of cult classic.

Rating:
Summary: Bruce commentary is worth the price of the DVD alone !
Review: This is the best movie ever made. It was made by a bunch of friends who used to make movies on their old super-8 camera, and thought they could conquer feature films. They were right. Very right. It has inventive camera work, a good storyline, great acting, and loads of blood. Considering it was made for something like 350,000 dollars (really really low budget)it turned out to be great. I am very impressed with the way this film turned out. I think that everyone should at least see it once. The evil dead is a piece of art, and it is a fun ride. I thank you Sam Raimi, Rob Tapert, and Bruce Campbell for your outstanding piece of film making.

- Ash: a 33 years old, 6'1'', Bruce Campbell.

- Cheryl: a 32 years old, Ellen Sandweiss.

- Scotty: Hal Delrich.

- Linda: a 28 years old, Betsy Baker.

- Shelly: a 28 years old, Theresa Tilly.

Rating:
Summary: One of the Scariest Movies Ever!
Review: I really can't add anything more than the 461 people who've submitted reviews before me, but for the record, this is one scary film. It's also the film that gave us Bruce Campbell and Sam Raimi.

I remember seeing this on video back in 1985 with a group of about twenty people. I remember hearing screams and yells of surprise from both guys and girls in the group. I was fifteen at the time and there are images in this film that still give me the creeps.

The thing to keep in mind while watching this is that it was made on a shoe string budget back in the early 80's. So sure, the special effects don't hold a candle to what can be done today, but for the time, it worked. And the make-up -- the voices and those white eyes -- always scared the bejeezus out of me. There's still lots of shock value left in this film for many more generations. To me, this truly is a classic Horror film that if often duplicated, but never surpassed.

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Rating:
Summary: Horror at its absolute finest
Review: When asked my favorite series of films, I will likely say THE EVIL DEAD. As far as horror series go, "Evil Dead" is definitely my favorite. "The Evil Dead" is the first film in the trilogy, a low-budget film with a $250,000 budget that ended up being one of the most popular and influential horror films ever made. Drawing inspiration from films like "Night of the Living Dead" and "The Hills Have Eyes", "Evil Dead" was the first film to demonstrate Sam Raimi's creative genius.
The story involves five friends (your typical 70's college students) who travel to an abandoned cabin in the woods. There, they unwittingly resurrect evil demons which have one goal: to scare you out of your skin - literally. You see, these ain't just flesh-hungry demons: they're flesh-possessing demons. With the friends being picked off one-by-one, in the end, only Ash (Bruce Campbell) is remaining. Now it's up to him to save the day (or night) and get the hell out of there before the demons reach him.
Sam Raimi, who is in fact much more of a Three Stooges/comedy fan than a horror fan demonstrates his creative genius here. The story was surprisingly original, and the script is filled with suspense and scares. Then there's Tom Sullivan's terrific effects; there's enough barrels of gore here to make even the strong-stomached feel sick. Joseph LoDuca also contributes a creepy score; Bruce Campbell's performance is good, but comes nowhere near being comparable to his role in the sequels.
I loved "The Evil Dead" when I first saw it and still do. It is one of my favorite horror films, and undoubtedly a horror masterpiece, using all the tricks in the book while creating some new ones. "Evil Dead" is a true horror classic, and essential for any and all horror lovers.
"I know that my wife has become host to a Kandarian demon. I fear that the only way to stop those possessed by the spirits of the book is through ... the act of ... bodily dismemberment ..."

Rating:
Summary: a cult classic
Review: If your not a Bruce Campbell or Sam Raimi fan this "B" movie will either annoy you or turn you into a fan. The people who wrote bad reviews on this movie turned down the wrong road when they thought they were getting into a high budget carbon copy horror film. This is not "The Matrix" or "Star Wars", it was made in 1983 with a very small budget. I would reccomend renting this film before buying it if you're not already a fan.

Bruce Campbell's one liners make the whole Evil Dead trilogy worth watching.