A Horror Masterpiece - I Love This Movie.

Rating: 10/10 (20 July 2009)

This film is the definition of a horror film. It's a classic and I will never, EVER, get tired of watching it. If there is one film that I could have on a desert island, this is it. If there is one film to turn a person onto horror, this is it. If there is one film that got me into film-making, this is it.
First, let me say Bruce Campbell is great, even though he is basically a chump in this outing. It's Scott who is the 'bad-ass', chopping up his possessed girlfriend with an ax. Seeing his transition from film to film is great, but here is where it all started.
The film is scary as hell. I know there are people out there who thought it was too cheesy to be scary, but these are probably the same people who think Jason X is one of the greatest horror films of the last decade. Seeing Ash's girlfriend sit on the floor laughing in her high pitched tone is scary, the cabin is scary, the deadites are scary.
The Evil Dead is still fresh, exciting and frightening as the day it was made. This is truly "The Ultimate Experience In Grueling Terror". Forget Spider-Man, this is Raimi's true baby. The camera work and what they did for the time and the budget is mind blowing (to me anyways). I credit this film with being a huge influence on me wanting to make films. I love the camera movement in this film, every small subtle thing works perfectly and all the obvious in your face Raimi style angles are great to see for the first time (which are still used to this day in his films).
While the film is not as gory as it's sequel, it does have more cringe worthy bits. The Tree Rape scene is enough to make people's skin crawl. Or how about the 'original pencil trick'. I cheered in The Dark Knight and cringed my face in The Evil Dead. How many people still talk about this film today? Hundreds of thousands. It's been a huge impact on horror (see Cabin Fever).
I always wonder about what I would do in this situation and it always ends up being the same, sitting in the corner with a shotgun and shooting anything that moves. Watch The Evil Dead you will not be disappointed.