At the time, it mixed old and new shock tactics to stunning effect!

Rating: 9/10 (12 March 2005)

If you're a young, talented and ambitious film-maker; how to get people's attention? Well, horror's always a reliable genre in which to make your first big 'splash'; being as it doesn't have to be entirely dependant on 'flashy' effects, if you're on a tight budget. Some 'innovative' camera-work always goes down nicely, too. (how many subsequent films have copied John Carpenter's ingenious 'edge-of-frame' technique in "Halloween", for example?) Oh yeah, getting your film banned at least helps in the 'notoriety' stakes, too; so often as it is the clinching factor in persuading otherwise indifferent audience members to have a look and see what all the fuss was about.
... all requirements eagerly met by the joyful enterprise known as "The Evil Dead"! There's plenty of the traditional spooky music and dark foreboding spaces, but brought to the table for the first time in 1981 were audacious camera moves and a no-holds-barred approach to piling on the gore! I'm sure it felt fresh in its early days of release, and surprisingly, it still feels fresh today. This is 'Grand Guignol' horror that has no time to linger in admiration over its gruesome handiwork, due to its breakneck pace. I'm now prepared to forgive Raimi the first film of his that I saw, ("Darkman") thanks to the fun I had watching this. Little details make me eagerly await the chance to catch the other two entries, also - the first minor cameo from the 'chainsaw', for example! It's a simple plot - basically just watching Bruce Campbell slay the ranks of the undead - and even the OTT nature of what's gone before is stretched by the 'Claymation'-like explosions of the finale; but such largely irrelevant quibbles are almost wholly redeemed by the unforgettable nature of the last shot. It's best to experience that for yourself; but bear in mind when you watch that you're seeing elements that have since become mainstays of every notable scarefest within the last 20 years. Was LOTR director and future Oscar winner Peter Jackson taking notes prior to making "Bad Taste", for instance? You bet!