It has to be said this film is probably not terribly well known amongst the modern day youth (all though I have no real evidence). However it is becoming increasingly more recognised and has now built up a large group of cult followers. I have to say I'm not a die-hard fan, but I do appreciate that it is a damn good example of directing genius and imagination.
Marking the appearance of one of the most original and visually exciting directors of his generation and making a star of Bruce Campbell, the Evil Dead, directed by Sam Raimi, whose most recent enterprise has been the Spiderman Trilogy (quite a change there then), is not your average B-movie. Like many other horror films of the decade it had a rather ridiculously low budget - a mere $350, 000 (compare that to Evil Dead III's $11 million), but it is a triumphant case of imagination over budget. Unlike many of the other cheapie horror films, this one reigned supreme and became an iconic and much imitated classic. It's mostly an exercise in technique as Raimi plays with the audience, trying to tweak out our primordial fears.
Raimi notes in his DVD audio commentary that with this movie he set out to make one of the scariest movies of all time. Indeed many modern day critics feel that Raimi achieved that goal. I personally wouldn't differ. Some may also class it as one of the most disturbing films of all time although, looking at the kinds of films hitting our screens at the moment, I feel that statement is a little over-the-top.
The story isn't a new one: 5 friends go off and visit a cabin in the middle of the woods in a remote location (just like you do), find a Satanic book, listen to the recording of someone translating its passages and one by one they are possessed by demons and turned into blood thirsty zombies. Yum (well kind of…). Only Bruce Campbell can battle them off and live to see the daylight with his Neanderthal looks and incredibly bad acting.
So why is this film a cult classic of the genre?
Well, firstly it's a rollercoaster ride from start to finish, and by the end it's turning you upside down and going pretty damn fast. The use of the claustrophobic set and rather disorientating camera angles (which have gone down in movie history) manages to create an atmosphere of overall dread, punctuated by a relentless series of jump-out-of-your-seat shocks. However Raimi was also a great slapstick fan and so one of the features of the film which works well is the obvious humour which creeps in from time to time. The audience welcomes some light humour throughout the relentless bleakness and terror of the movie.
Look out for the clock throughout the movie - when it has stopped or is moving backwards that indicates that "evil" is again on the move, and this also gives the effect of night lasting forever. Raimi's "demon cam" is also well used and is praised for critics for its originality and unusual effects. The very end of the film is classic and is one of the most famous and best-known of all time.
The budget did have its limitations, and the bloods and guts were made from a combination of Karo syrup, red food colouring and marshmallows, but what the film lacks in budget it makes up in the sheer fear factor. Apparently the shooting was abandoned for a few days as they had run out of these supplies and had to wait for a new delivery. Archetypal B-movie traumas.
Raimi's movie melds chunks of Night of the Living Dead (1968) with The Texas Chainsaw Massacre (1974) alongside some of his own rather twisted humour. After its release the film was banned in many countries for a number of years and the uncut version was only released in the UK in 2001. I would have to criticise the film for being rather unnecessarily violent in places and in one circumstance there is a rather explicit moment involving a women and a tree (that's '80s cinema for you), but luckily this does not dampen down the overall quality of the film.
If you've seen such classics as The Exorcist (1973), The Texas Chainsaw Massacre (1974), The Hills Have Eyes (1977), Halloween (1978), Nightmare on Elm Street (1984) or the George A. Romero Trilogy (1968/78/85) and were impressed or at least engaged by any of them then this certainly be added onto your list.
I haven't commented on the next two films in the trilogy, but that's simply because I don't think they're nearly as good for as Raimi himself admitted, unlike the first one, he wanted the second two to be classed as comedies and he let loose on the slapstick like there's no tomorrow. If you're there for the chills and thrills then I wouldn't bother with the next two. The second and third films go for the laughs, the first goes for the throat.
TRIVIA: After completing principal photography in the winter of 1979-1980, most of the actors left the production. However, there was still much of the film to be completed. Most of the second half of the film features Bruce Campbell and various stand-ins (or "shemps") to replace the actors who left.
DVD: RUNNING TIME: 85 mins LANGUAGE: English CERTIFICATE: 18
AWARDS: 3 wins and 1 nomination.
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Production Year: 1998 - Horror - Director: Steve Miner - Original Language: English - Classification: 18 years and over - Starring: Jamie Lee Curtis, Michelle Williams, Adam Arkin, Adam Hann-Byrd, Janet Leigh, L.L. Cool J.
Production Year: 1978 - Horror - Director: John Carpenter - Original Language: English - Classification: 18 years and over - Starring: Donald Pleasence, P. J. Soles, Jamie Lee Curtis, Nancy Loomis
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