Cult Classic

Rating: 8/10 (19 September 2016)

It's always fun to go back and watch films with a mass-cult following. Perhaps no horror film in history has a bigger cult following than The Evil Dead, and rightfully so. Director Sam Raimi and the small cast made one of the most intense and original films to date.
Sometimes it's hard for myself to go back and watch horror films from decades ago, especially those with a smaller budget. Most of the time the lack of sufficient funds to edit horror pictures make the end product a lot less re-watchable. With The Evil Dead, the one-setting and minimalistic story actually adds to the film and makes it all the more terrifying. Yes, 5 friends spending a night in a secluded cabin in the middle of the forest with little lighting is unsettling, but with Raimi's amateur directing style, it's horrifying.
Of course, I mean amateur with the best intentions. This was essentially a film funded using what we call 'kick-starter' now, with a bunch of his friends. Bruce Campbell being the one friend who went on to do extensive acting. Although Raimi didn't have the proper funds necessarily, there's actually a lot more skillful directing than you may think. You imply just have to look at the effective camera placement in suspenseful sequences to know this guy had a future in the filmmaking industry.
The first act of the film is played out a lot like an old Hitchcock suspense thriller. It's all about "what you don't see" that make the hairs raise on the back of your neck. Until the film changes into a contained gore fest for the last hour which is among the best slasher pictures of the 80's. The dialogue and acting isn't all that great but it makes for a solid B-movie atmosphere, which was common for plenty of horror films of that time. It's great on its own, but the story behind the making of the film certainly certifies this as one of horror-cinema's crown jewels.
+You can already see Raimi's talent
+One cabin, one forest, one friend group
+Atmospheric
-Dialogue
8.2/10