A wonderful combination of horror and humour

Rating: 6/10 (19 March 2011)

'The Evil Dead' is a wonderful combination of horror and humour. Made on a shoestring budget, it is extremely entertaining and very fast-moving. Bruce Campbell is excellent as the put-upon hero who must do battle with some very nasty and resourceful zombies.
When five friends drive to a secluded cabin in the woods of Tennessee, they are looking forward to a fun weekend. But upon arriving at the aforementioned cabin, they discover a tape machine. When they play the tape, they hear a man reciting from the Book of the Dead. It is these recitations which awakens an unspeakable evil in the surrounding woods which possesses several of the group and transforms them into hideous, homicidal zombies. Pretty soon, Ashley 'Ash' J. Williams (Bruce Campbell) is the only one left who has not been transformed, and he must fight for his life.
This is a thrilling and imaginative horror classic whose camera-work - like that in Peter Jackson's first film, 'Bad Taste' - is really splendid and cleverly conceived. The special effects makeup is very impressive considering the limited budget, and the film's most notorious scene - in which a major female character is raped by a tree - is completely unexpected and very twisted.
That first-time director Sam Raimi should go on to such massive box office success with the 'Spider-Man' franchise is no surprise; you can feel a lot of fledgling talent at work when you watch 'The Evil Dead'. If you are a fan of horror, then this film, subtitled 'The Ultimate Experience in Gruelling Horror' is required viewing.