A mix of genuine horror and trash-induced bemusement; iconic 'video-nasty' admirably made on a shoe-string budget.

Rating: 7/10 (22 February 2018)

'The Evil Dead (1981)' had a very low budget and it certainly shows. Yet, despite this, it looks and feels very convincing. Some dialogue is hokey, the acting can be hammy and wooden at times and a couple of scenes made me laugh due to their slightly campy nature, but the overall experience is charmingly entertaining. There's this mix of genuine horror and trash-induced bemusement, with some moments causing full-on unease and others provoking unintended chuckles, but this actually all adds to the off-kilter vibe of the picture. It's admirable that a group of people went into the woods and made a film, despite all the issues that befell them, and that adds to its ornate allure. You can almost feel the passion coming off the screen, and this (ironically) gives it a soul so much warmer than any studio ever could. It's well-made (especially for the shoe-string budget), gory, iconic and can be pretty tense and suspenseful, too. There's something to be said for the fact that, for the most part, it pulls you into its world and doesn't let you out until its credits roll. Even when it lapses slightly, the laughter it causes adds to the experience as opposed to detracting from it, and the occasional paint-peeling just proves that the film was made by a rag-tag team of friends. And if they can do it, so can you. 7/10