The Epitome Of Horror... And Ingenious Film-Making!

Rating: 10/10 (7 February 2009)

There are good Horror films, there are great Horror films and then there are masterpieces that every Horror fan, no, every film fan MUST see. Sam Raimi's "The Evil Dead" of 1981 definitely belongs to the latter category. If a survey was held among true Horror fans, this film would certainly be one of the most frequent titles in the top ten. And for good reasons, as this low budget masterpiece is one of the most awe-inspiring, creepiest, scariest and simply amazing Horror films ever produced. The amazing fact aside that Raimi and his crew shot this with an incredibly low budget, "The Evil Dead" accomplishes what hardly another film has. This is easily one of the scariest, creepiest, simply terrifying Horror/Gore films ever made. Even though this is one of the films that epitomize the term Horror, however, it is also witty and hilariously funny at times, which is something unique for a film as scary as this one. At the time of its release, the film was heavily bashed by critics for its extreme violence and gore, and censored and banned in several countries. If anything, however, the repulsion of censors and some critics helped the film achieve an instant cult-status. Director Sam Raimi instantly became known as a Horror master, the leading man Bruce Campbell became one of the most celebrated Horror/B-movie cult-actors, and "The Evil Dead" has since long been recognized as a milestone of the Horror genre.
"The Evil Dead" takes place in a world of the all-mighty H. P. Lovecraft whose amazing literary work has been the base of many brilliant Horror films. And nothing does the man's genius more justice than a cinematic masterpiece like this film. The film follows a group of friends (two guys and three girls) who want to spend a fun weekend in a remote log cabin in the woods. When they find a tape in the basement of the house, they play it out of curiosity and subsequently awaken evil spirits which possess them one by one...
I do not want to give away too much, but I will say this: "The Evil Dead" is an absolute must see for everybody even slightly interested in Horror. As mentioned above, this film epitomizes the term "Horror" and is extremely creepy and purely terrifying from the beginning to the end, and yet it is also funny - a combination which is, at least to this degree, extremely rare. As opposed to most films, this film's extremely morbid sense of humor does in no way lessen the constant suspense, but goes perfectly in hand with it. The gore is not only extreme, but also extremely well-made. By the time of its release, this was one of the goriest American films ever, today it proudly stands as one of the most celebrated Horror/Gore films ever made. Bruce Campbell is the ONLY choice for the leading character Ash here. Campbell has long become a cult-figure and one of the most popular Horror actors, and while the man is great in every role he plays, he will always be Ash to his fans. The film is impressive in all regards, especially visually (even more so regarding the low budget). The brilliant cinematography contributes a lot to the films incredible scariness, the makeup is incomparably creepy and the gore effects are amazing. The film's sound effects, the voices,... there is simply nothing about this film that is not scary and simply fantastic. The film spawned two sequels so far, which are both very good, but for me this terrifying and ingenious original is still the greatest. Another sequel is planned for 2010. I've personally seen "The Evil Dead" countless times and I sure intend to see it countless more times. I could on praising this film forever, but I'll end this comment with a recommendation: If there is a poor soul out there who hasn't seen it so far, do so immediately. "The Evil Dead" is an ingenious masterpiece, and no one interested in Horror or film in general can afford to miss it. 10/10