"Shut! It! Off!"...

Rating: 9/10 (10 November 2019)

THE EVIL DEAD is a true, low-budget labor of love, and a damned good horror film! From the opening scene, the sense of unease begins. Director Sam Raimi's camera skims the cold water like a ghost, letting us know that we're in for a terrifying experience. Everything that follows is a lesson in how to make a fright film. For its age, and lack of big money, this movie shows what a young director can do by using his ingenuity and imagination. This movie is scary, even when nothing is happening! The cabin! The cellar! The forest! All soaked In bleakness and doom! Scant moments of humor only accentuate the wickedness in the air. The practical effects range from innovative to ingenious. In Bruce Campbell, Raimi found the perfect... hero? anti-hero? Non-hero? Whatever he is, his role as Ashley "Ash" Williams is that of a regular guy caught up in increasingly unbelievable, supernatural circumstances, and Bruce is absolutely believable. He would go on to surpass even this, in the uproarious sequel! Everyone else is good as well, especially when the demons arise, and the gore hits the fan! Few filmmakers charge right out of the gate w/ anything even remotely like THE EVIL DEAD. Raimi quickly joined Romero, Carpenter, Craven, et al., in the upper levels of horror movie-making...