What happens in the woods stays in the woods

Rating: Null/10 (4 October 2011)

It's always interesting to go back to a famous director's early days and see the film that showed all of his/her promise. In Sam Raimi's case, that film would be the 1981 gore-fest "The Evil Dead".
Five college students steal way for the weekend to an isolated cabin in the woods of Tennessee (what could go wrong?). Stashed in the cellar is an old Sumerian text, better known as the Book of the Dead. Also with this book is a tape recording that, when played, recites the written contents of the book . . . and summons the spiritual evils that lurk within the woods. In no time, the cabin turns into a haunted house, the woods become alive and demons start possessing the new tenants.
It's a horror film that's heavy on scares and bodily fluids and light on character development. The college students aren't so much characters as they are archetypes (even Bruce Campbell, who will go on to play the memorable hero in the sequels, is just the token gangly dweeb here). But it's not a movie about character. Five kids get trapped in a cabin, surrounded by evil, and all manner of horrors ensue. That's it. And the filmmakers deliver.
The film's strength lies in Raimi's ability to make the absurd (i.e. a woman being raped by vines) uncomfortable to watch - if not downright scary. And on a shoestring budget, no less. It's a scary movie laced here and there with some comedic touches - but things won't get funny until "Evil Dead 2".
7/10