The Evil Delight!

Rating: 9/10 (13 May 2012)

I'm just going to come right out and say it this is a scary movie!
Even though it's Sam Raimi's directorial début, and filmed on a low budget, The Evil Dead (1981) is filled with enough atmosphere and gore to turn the stomachs of even the most hardcore horror fans. It's grittiness and over the top violence is a delight that can't be found nowadays.
Following the exploits of five college students, the audience is lead into an isolated cabin in the woods, where something evil lies in wait. What is this great evil, you ask? Well, it's a book. But not just any book, 'the Book of the Dead', inked in blood and bound in human flesh! Using a book as the source of evil was an ingenious decision. It takes a familiar image, one usually associated with wisdom and knowledge, and completely turns it around, creating an item of evil and torture. We find it hard to believe that such a simple, inanimate object could be the source of such terror, leaving the audience wide open for when the real baddies show.
The film gives birth to one of Bruce Campbell's most famous movie roles, 'Ashley J. Williams', a fan favourite and icon of the horror movie genre. Campbell brought this character to life, walking the line between fearless hero and sheer incompetence. Our protagonist is a man scared out of his wits, whose only talent seems to be dismembering the bodies of his possessed friends. Raimi and Campbell would later take the character in a completely different direction for the sequels, making him goofier and even less reliant.
Raimi's creative use of the camera has become a staple in his movies, to the great joy of the audience. One such technique is the constant use of 'point of view' shots, showing the audience what it's like to be the monster. These shots are clever, because we never see what is chasing the protagonists. This is a great horror technique because the audience has to use their imaginations to fill in the gaps. The monster can be anything that the audience can think of, which is especially frightening because people have a tendency to imagine the worst.
The cabin in the woods, the central location for the film, completely isolates the characters from any kind of salvation. This does for The Evil Dead what the boat on the ocean did for Jaws (1975), a small oasis in the middle of nowhere, the monster lurking just outside. The audience is never shown any scene that takes place outside the woods, making them feel just as trapped as the characters.
Without a doubt, the highlight of the film is the stop motion scene towards the end. In the early 80's, stop motion was the closest that a low budget film could get to CGI, due to the lack of technology. The scene was unexpected, disgusting and incredibly fun to watch! The Evil Dead seems to be aware that it's a very simple movie, almost parodying itself and the genre. This would be built upon in the later sequels, taking the humour to all new levels. But the first film in the trilogy is a far more traditional horror film, relying on atmosphere, suspense and tension building to get a reaction from the audience.
It's cheesy at times, filled with the usual horror clichés, but this is what we love about it. It never takes itself seriously, and doesn't expect the audience to. There are many big budget horror films today that try to come close to The Evil Dead but fail miserably.
This movie will forever be a horror classic.
So, switch off the lights, grab a bowl of popcorn, and maybe even a change of underwear, because this is one horror movie that won't disappoint its audience!