Evil Dead, The (1982)

reviewed by
Frankie Paiva


The Evil Dead
rated NC-17
85 minutes
released in 1982 by New Line Cinema
starring Bruce Campbell, Ellen Sandweiss, and Hal Delrich
written and directed by Sam Raimi
An Archive Review by Frankie Paiva

Stephen King said The Evil Dead was, "The most ferociously original horror movie I have ever seen." The author supported this film, and helped it to become the cult classic it is now. Two sequels, Evil Dead II and Army of Darkness followed in later years. So what does the original have going for it, besides a rave from a horror novelist? It has nothing, nothing at all. It's just a by-the-numbers horror picture. The type a Scream movie destroys with delicious malice.

A group of teens head out to a remote cabin in the mountains. Their plans for endless midnight orgies and marijuana highs get put on hold by their lodging's creepy aura. After some investigation, they find the cottage used to be a lab for a scary professor. He discovered the Book of the Dead, a publication that puts a curse on whoever reads it. The only way to break the hex is by dismembering the victim. Our hero, Ash (Bruce Campbell), reads the book, unaware of its power. Soon his friends are turning into zombies and chasing him through the house. It seems doubtful Ash has what it takes to stay alive, and cut up his former pals.

This is a movie that puts recent supposedly violent flicks like The Cell to shame. If you cannot handle a large, continuous amount of gore, this is not for you. The blood is extremely frequent and bursts out often. Prepare to see pencils, knives, clocks, chainsaws, trees, and more all used as weapons of destruction. Just because the carnage is excessive doesn't mean it's realistic. From first to last frame this is obviously a student film. The blood often looks like badly colored water. Clay gets employed near the end for beheadings, flesh explosions, and other bodily mishaps. Prepare not to eat oatmeal for a long time. Prepare to never look at trees the same way again. Despite the bloodshed, there is some nice composition in the first half an hour or so. After which the cinematography tries to follow two simple questions. Can the camera get closer? and Can we make it seem bloodier?

Head out into the woods with some of the worst actors and least intelligent human beings ever. Overused, supposedly ominous music is your guide through the forest of an '80s Blair Witch. This overly gross gorefest is slightly scary about once, somewhere between zombie one's face being blown off and zombie two's foot being severed. It is occasionally good for a laugh, but director Sam Raimi tries too hard.

The sequels fared much better than this movie, which many consider inferior. Yet I really had to ask myself whether I would survive two more Evil Dead movies. My unsettled stomach screams no.

D+
Frankie Paiva
SwpStke@aol.com
http://homestead.com/cinemaparadise/mainpage.html

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