A group of friends head up to a remote cabin for a little rest and relaxation, everything seems to be going fine, until they start exploring the cabin’s cellar and stumble upon a reel to reel tape recorder that we quickly discover contains a professor reading resurrection incantations from the Necronomicon Ex Mortis (Book of the Dead). Wickedly creepy demonic possessions ensue, and copious amounts of gore follow. The Evil Dead is not to be missed.

Saying that The Evil Dead is a classic in the genre would be a severe understatement. I think just about any avid fan of the horror genre has at least heard of it, and if any of you readers haven’t seen it, SHAME ON YOU!!! You’re grounded until you pick it up and submit a full report! Bruce Campbell, the almighty “Chin” wouldn’t be a God to us without this little horror gem. Sam Raimi probably wouldn’t have been the Director of Spider Man had it not been for this flick.

Nothing I had seen previously to The Evil Dead could have prepared me for what I was about to see. Granted, Romero’s “Dead” movies were shocking and disturbing, but something about The Evil Dead just struck a chord in me, I knew that these guys weren’t screwing around. If there was a song to describe the going’s on in The Evil Dead it would definitely be AC/DC’s If You Want Blood, You Got It. The gore is absolutely disgusting; there is a ridiculous amount of it and believe me when I say that when it starts, it never really stops. The possessed are absolutely disgusting, and the overall feel of isolation, helplessness and doom is so thick you can chew on it. The most disturbing thing to me in the movie however, are the possessed voices: When they're talking, and ESPECIALLY when they’re screaming, to this day, that horrific sound sends an icy chill down my quivering spine.

Time and time again, in movies leading up to The Evil Dead and hundreds that have followed, filmmakers have failed miserably at creating believable isolation. How many times have you screamed at the characters on the screen to just “get the hell out of there!?” This flick has all the bases covered, the demons that have been summoned have made damn sure that nobody’s going anywhere, and Raimi doesn’t take any shortcuts while proving to us, that these poor bastards are stuck in that forest, end of story.

During my initial viewing, I was either too scared, or too awed to notice any flaws in this film, and now, 24 years later, I still can’t find anything to bitch about. Some may immediately jump and start pointing out shortcomings, errors, and things that could have been done differently, but to that, I will revert to my childish ways, with my eyes closed, fingers in my ears, loudly chanting “la la la la la.” I simply love this movie, for everything that it was, is, and ever will be.

And for those of you who’ve seen Evil Dead 2, and/or Army of Darkness, get it out of your mind that this movie is ANYTHING like those flicks. About the only similarities between the three films is Bruce Campbell, and even then, his portrayal of Ash is different in every film. I’ll say right now that I do love all of The Evil Dead films, and especially Campbell’s performances in all of them, but this one is purely serious horror, no humor, just visceral, gritty seriousness.

This is another one of those movies that absolutely has to be seen by every horror hound. Otherwise, just sit in the corner and hang your head in shame.

Pros: Copious Gore, Horrific Possessions, Bruce Campbell.
Cons: Almost too good if you ask me.

Review Rating: 10 out of 10 Arboreal cervical violations

I recently saw this movie for the first time and I was ready to trash it to no end. Knowing very well how many people on this site love this movie, I was ready to be crucified for my blasphemous views on this low-budget cult classic. Then something very strange happened.

I rented this film along with FVJ and I watched them back to back. First was Evil Dead and I will admit that it was a creepy movie. There were times when I caught myself with my hand leaning over the end of the sofa and pulled it close so that nothing would grab it. But it never really scared me...or so I thought.

Then I watched FVJ and since this isn't the place to comment on that movie I will just say that it opened my eyes to how good Evil Dead was.

Part of me can't get past the things that would get other movies blasted such as when they were driving to the cabin and Ash would stick his head out of the window and in the next shot the same window would be closed. Another is when they were crossing the bridge and someone from the crew can clearly be seen just standing there like a goon. And I won't get into the horrible shots of the moon.

That being said this movie was a thrill ride. Once it really got started it never let up. The music, the cabin, and the actors really made this film come alive and then I saw what most of you have seen before. It was definitely a very good horror flick.

8.5 out of 10 girlfriend bitch slaps

Dear Fellow Horrorwatchers,

I would like you all to please slap me for not getting hold of this movie sooner. Please. It was everything I thought it would be, everything that everyone had said, and more.The gore, the characters, the setting, BC's chin...It was WONDERFUL!

It's early in the morning because I could barely sleep last night. The moans of the demons kinda haunted me, and so did the sound of a chainsaw. I loved watching BC slowly start losing it, that was amazing. The tree scene....That just adds one more reason for me not to come out of my room and die a virgin.

Overall, it was everything I wanted it to be. This was NOT a happy flim. And it was not cliche at all. And after seeing some of the crap that comes out of Hollywood now (*coughHOUSEOFWAXcough*) I was never more relieved.

Thank you Horrorwatchers. Thank you.

Still hiding under the bed
Relics

Greatness, that is the first word that comes to mind when thinking of The Evil Dead. Over the years I have debated on which I liked better Evil Dead or Evil Dead 2. I came to the conclusion a few years back that the sequel is the superior. After rewatching the original last night I have changed my opinion to this. It’s not that the sequel is superior it’s that ASH is superior. Campbell’s acting was at a all time low in the first Dead film, but in the second he was a physical genius, in the second he becomes a horror superhero.

The truth is the first is a scary movie, the second is a entertaining movie. That being said I have decided to move up the first film into a tie with the second. I love them both but for different reasons.

Anyway back to the first. Its brutal, dark, original, and frightening. Also I LOVE the characters. Scotty is AWESOME. He's such a freaking jerk you gotta love him with lines like "She's your girlfriend, I don’t care what happens to her, I’m getting out of here"

Classic, and that’s just a taste of his great lines in this film. The demons are down right terrifying with voices that could cause grown men to wet themselves. The setting in this film is unmatched (well besides the sequel) and creates the ultimate feel of isolation. The impending doom feel is up their as one of the all time greats at creating it.

Well this is just a response review so I won't ramble on to long. Ill just say this. If you haven’t seen it you have NO IDEA what you're missing. This is one that every horror fan should not only see multiple times but own a copy for their collection. highly, highly, HIGHLY recommended!

Would you believe that I've NEVER seen The Evil Dead until last night? Yes, it's true. I have been an "Evil Dead virgin" for all of my years watching Horror Movies. To be completely honest, the only Evil Dead movie that I'm very familiar with is Army of Darkness. I haven't even seen all of Part II yet, but I digress.

I've heard about this movie since I was in high school. My friend had a copy, yet he never gave me one. I guess he wasn't that good a friend. At any rate, I would hear about different scenes from this movie, most notably the rape scene. Having never seen this I went into it with a pretty open mind. Was it as good as I had hoped? Not at first. It was very slow and wasn't going anywhere in the beginning. I think this was a ploy by the filmmakers to lull you into a false sense of "this isn't so bad." I was starting to wonder why the movie is so great, but then the possessions started. Yeah, that was cool.

Allow me to say that the makeup is phenominal. While I can appreciate the CGI of today (to an extent) I like my horror to be latex and rubber. This movie doesn't disappoint in that department. In fact, the makeup looked scarier with each possession. There were times when the blood looked a bit fake, but I do like a good smattering of cheese with my horror when it's appropriate.

The demon voices were very well done. Forgive me when I say that they're no match for the late Mercedes McCaimbridge. One thing that got to me a little was the demonic cackling. If I wasn't the seasoned horror geek that I am, I would have been terrified.

Sam Raimi really pulled out all the stops with this. I knew of his career but never counted him as a master of horror. It's probably because I had never seen this and didn't think about it, but yeah I'll put him in the same league as John Carpenter and Wes Craven. His vision added a lot to the isolation that we see in horror movies today. I can also see how a lot of people try to emulate what this movie accomplished. They usually fail and need to put forth a much better effort.

The acting was cheesy. I'm not going to sugar coat it. There's not really much more that I can say about it.

All in all this was a solid horror movie to say the least. It definitely deserves its reputation and should be watched at least ONCE by anyone who calls themself a horror fan.

8 out of 10 reasons not to touch stuff that doesn't belong to you.