The patriarch of epic indie Horror

Rating: 8/10 (17 April 2013)

I literally laugh out loud when I hear someone say...The Evil Dead? That movie is terrible. OF COURSE IT IS!! It is deliciously, brilliantly terrible. It is gory, and even creepy at times and then flips flawlessly over to being downright hilarious. But in my opinion the true brilliance of The Evil Dead is when you look at it from a film making perspective...which I don't usually like to do...but this movie was essentially done on a shoestring budget with hands on special effects and gore. The cast went through gruelling conditions to bring this movie to life (no pun intended) It is the quintessential indie film. It proved and still proves that a horror film made independently by then "unknowns" can still be immensely successful. The story is incredibly simplistic, for the most part it is said that Sam Raimi didn't have a real script but had all the ideas in his head. There is nothing about this movie that you can say is "brilliant" except for the sheer fact that it was made by an incredibly talented group of young people. The script is silly, the gore is gratuitous and over the top, everything about it is simple but the film is legendary and incredibly fun to watch for horror fans.
Ellen Sandweiss, Richard DeManincor, Betsy Baker and Theresa Tilly are all okay in their roles. They are a little campy in the beginning and a little stiff in line delivery but then once they're all possessed and part of the "evil dead" is when they all really shine especially Sandweiss and Tilly. They put their heart and soul into the movie and basically signed themselves over to Raimi and let him do whatever it was he did and they deserve kudos for that. Did they make or break the movie? No. Honestly they felt like fodder for the demons and didn't really stand out. This is perhaps the reason why The Evil Dead made Bruce Campbell a legend. We all know him now as the King of Camp but in The Evil Dead he is truly giving his very best "serious" performance. Yes some of it is laughable but he is so dedicated and fun to watch and there is absolutely no doubt that he has this charisma on screen that makes him riveting. He carries this movie on his back and does so perfectly. The guy is covered from head to toe with every manner of disgusting body fluid that you can imagine and he looks classy while doing it.
The Evil Dead is the most fun because it tries so hard to be serious. Those who are squeamish will certainly find the gore hard to watch. Those of us who are die hard horror fans will see the dark humour in how over the top everything is. But it is is a horror film through and through. The atmosphere that Raimi created (again on virtually nothing) is brilliant. The entire setting in the cabin, the dark and creepy woods, the infamous "woods raping scene" is all simply twisted and disturbing and even the humour in this film is (I think) entirely unintended and comes from watching these guys have a lot of fun making a horror film. But unlike many independent horror film makers (especially nowadays) this group of people headlined by Raimi and Campbell are incredibly talented and went on to much bigger things. The Evil Dead is not for everyone but it is a classic without a doubt and true horror fans and fans of film making have to appreciate it for what it is and what it has become. The remake currently in theatres is stone cold brilliance...but for a variety of different reasons. 8.5/10