Within the Woods
Tags: violence

Plot synopsis:
Two romantic couples, consisting of four teenagers, decide to spend a weekend together located in a remote cabin found in the woods. An unseen force stalks and watches the group without their knowledge. Ellen (Ellen Sandweiss) and her boyfriend Bruce (Bruce Campbell) enter the woods to have a picnic lunch. The other couple, Scotty (Scott Spiegel) and Shelly (Mary Valenti), remain at the cabin playing Monopoly to pass time. During their lunch, Bruce announces to Ellen that they're camping on an Indian burial ground. Ellen is concerned, but Bruce assures her that they will be fine as long as they don't disturb the graves of the dead. Bruce then explores the area and discovers an ancient dagger belonging to the Indians. Ignoring his own advice, he takes the dagger with him.
After lunch, Ellen takes a nap. When she awakes, she finds Bruce missing and wanders into the woods looking for him. To her horror, she finds Bruce's dead body, horribly mutilated with apparent knife wounds. She is then startled by the presence of a demonic entity hiding within the woods, and quickly runs back to the cabin. While fleeing, she is attacked by unseen forces. She runs back to the cabin and screams to be let in immediately, being let in just as the entity is approaching her. Ellen tells her friends that Bruce has been murdered, but Scotty dismisses the whole thing as a joke and goes to find Bruce. Shelly - Scotty's girlfriend -, and Ellen are concerned when Scotty doesn't return right away. Shelly walks outside to begin a search for the missing men, but a possessed Bruce assaults and strangles her, eventually stabbing her in the neck and killing her with the dagger that he found, moaning "join us."
Ellen encounters her possessed friend and flees into another room, grabbing knives to protect her. Something attempts to enter the room where Ellen is hiding, and she blindly lashes out with a knife - mistakenly stabbing Scotty who had just returned to the cabin. While horrified, Ellen is then attacked by the possessed Bruce. Ellen manages to trap Bruce outside, stabbing Bruce's hand several times in the process. The bleeding Scotty tells Ellen to look into the cellar for the gun they brought along. While walking down the stairs to the cellar, she trips on a broken step and injures herself. After finding the gun, she goes back up stairs and discovers that Scotty had been stabbed to death while she was downstairs. The demonic Bruce then attacks her, but she manages to cut off his hand.
Ellen attempts to flee but is severely beaten by the possessed Bruce, who throws her around the cabin. While being strangled, Ellen picks up Bruce's mutilated hand which is still holding the dagger found from before, and she uses it to stab Bruce. A large amount of blood is expended by Bruce, who lies motionless for a moment, only to then continue his assault on Ellen. Ellen mutilates Bruce's body even further with an axe, chopping off nearly every limb from the writhing body. Severely disturbed by the things she has witnessed, Ellen rocks back and forth muttering to herself. The corpse of Scotty suddenly springs up, before turning towards the oblivious Ellen, ready to attack. The screen then cuts to black, leaving the fate of Ellen ambiguous.

Review: The same plot as Evil Dead, but really really old and simple compared to the first full-length production of Sam Raimi.
I enjoyed it, but if you didn't know anything about Evil Dead or Sam Raimi, you would just blow it off.
Great little horror film by a pre-Evil Dead Sam Raimi..
Bruce Campbell and Ellen Sandweiss go out for a picnic while Scott Spiegel and Mary Valenti play Monopoly.
Sam Raimi made this film for $1,600 on Super-8 over one weekend.
This film is a real treat for Evil Dead fans, because, despite lacking Campbell's Ashness (where he was a wimp in Evil Dead, and progressed into an asshole in Army of Darkness), it contains many scenes that would later be seen in Evil Deads 1 and 2, and Sam Raimi's Evil POV shots.
"Within the Woods" is largely known as the prequel to "The Evil Dead".This 30-minutes film was created to sell investors on the idea of "The Evil Dead".The film is extremely low-budget and the story is minimal.Still there is plenty of gore to satisfy fans of American horror.Bruce Cambell plays Bruce,who gets zombified.Ellen Sandweiss plays his girlfriend,Ellen.However she doesn't get raped by a tree in this film,though.The cinematography is grainy and the moving steady/shaky camera-a Raimi trademark-probably made it's debut here."Within the Woods" is rather tough to find,but if you get a chance watch it.Highly recommended..
This 30-minute concept movie was intended to convince people to loan Raimi and his crew money to make the first "Evil Dead" movie.
Fun, huh?First off, I can't believe that Raimi actually had the nerve to use the words "Ancient Indian Burial Ground" in a horror movie.
But that and the vacuum cleaner sound effects aside, this is a great concept movie that showed exactly what it needed to - that Raimi even at that age was a competent director capable of making a successful movie.
There are aspects of this short movie that are present in the later ones, and it is interesting to note these ideas (the follow cam, the banging swing, "Join Us!") and exact sequences such as Linda trying to open the cabin door and the whole three minute "Zombie At The Door" sequence that appear literally shot-for-shot in Evil Dead and Evil Dead 2.Serious Evil Dead fans should definitely take a look if you ever get the chance..
It premiered in August 1979 at the Punch and Judy theatre in Detroit double-billed with the Rocky Horror Picture Show (1975)The good: This movie heralds the birth of the Evil Force, a Raimi horror staple, along with his crazy camera movements.
The film was so intense, that even if the super-8 projector filled a 1/4 of the screen, the audience actually reacted to it!The bad: No available copy (excluding of course Raimi's and Campbell's) has high quality or sound and is hard as all hell to find.
This Super 8 short was put to round up some funding for what would later become "The Evil Dead" (1982).
You'll see many a gag and shot that will later be replicated in the official version and let's face it any "Dead" fan has got to see "Within the Woods" for the sheer fun.
A short film by director Sam Raimi, he made it in his college days in hopes of raising money to be able to make his masterful horror film The Evil Dead (1981).Two couples staying at a country house are terrorized when one of them becomes murderously possessed by evil spirits.Even with its grainy, home-made quality, Within the Woods is perhaps the greatest horror short ever made!
Raimi would later spoof scenes from this short in both The Evil Dead (1981) and Evil Dead II (1987).Young Bruce Campbell heads the small cast.
Campbell does a good show as a likable teenager turned horrid monster by an evil spirit.
Ellen Sandweiss (who would go on to star in The Evil Dead) appears as the films heroine.A bit of a rare find, but a must-see for Raimi's fans!*** 1/2 out of ****.
You can see some good Rami touches, but it is no way the caliber of Evil Dead..
This is the short film from the filmakers that made "The Evil Dead".
The film is kind of rough, and it doesn't come in that great, and about the only place to find it, is bootlegged on the internet.The story involves college students who take a picnic on an indian burial ground.
Anyone who likes Evil Dead or Evil Dead 2(-Dead By Dawn) will probably enjoy this effort of Rob Tapert (who is credited as Rip Tapert), Sam Raimi, and Bruce Campbell.
a 30 minute short with just 4 actors turns out to be a classic Art-house presentation of what would become the evil dead series.Highly recommended if you can find a copy, i saw this long ago.9/10.
Sure Sam Raimi and Bruce Campbell have gone on to bigger and arguably better things but this short is one of the coolest things they've ever done.
It's a shame this has never been given a legitimate release, I think it would inspire many people to go out and make their own horror films!.
Within the Woods (1978) *** (out of 4) Early Sam Raimi short has Bruce Campbell and three friends going to the woods for the weekend when they disturb an Indian burial ground.
If you said it sounded like The Evil Dead then you're correct because this is the film Raimi shot to show investors to try and get money for the feature, which would eventually be released three years later.
Needless to say, this doesn't hold a candle to the feature but fans will certainly want to check this out just to see how much Raimi kept from this movie and put into the future film and its sequel.
I was really surprised to see Raimi using many of the same techniques but many of them, like the point of view shots of the creature going over the ground, work very well here.
I think the film gets a little long winded as it runs just over 30-minutes but there's still a lot to enjoy here.
I remember making amateurish home movies with my buddies during our high school years, but young Sam Raimi took it a step further.
At 18, he wrote and directed this amazing half-hour short that would, a year later, be remade as The Evil Dead.While its far from a great film, its a truly amazing little gem that has sadly gotten lost in the folds of time.
Now, in an age when music could easily be lifted from the feature, Raimi (and his star Bruce Campbell) have made numerous comments that they're happy it is not readily available.
To quote an interview, "releasing it would be like showing off our dirty underwear".What they fail to realize is just how much fans of their work want to see this movie in a pristine version - or at least a better version than the one readily available online.Come on Raimi...
It's the granddaddy of all Sam Raimi/Bruce Campbell zombie films.
Before director Sam Raimi and actor Bruce Campbell would team together for their Evil Dead films (thus generating a strong cult following for this series of "funny" zombie films), they wanted to create a mini movie using a Super 8mm camera to demonstrate their artistic vision.
It must have worked because only a short time later they had enough to make the low-budget classic, THE EVIL DEAD--a film that went on to make millions and led to sequels, of sorts, such as EVIL DEAD II and ARMY OF DARKNESS (and even an off-Broadway musical).
This review is for that cheapie short, WITHIN THE WOODS.So what's the film like?
Sam Raimi's practise run for The Evil Dead..
While spending the weekend with friends at a remote house in the country, Bruce (Bruce Campbell) unwittingly violates an Indian burial ground, thereby unleashing a vengeful spirit that possesses his body and proceeds to attack his pals one by one.Within the Woods is director Sam Raimi's practise run for The Evil Dead, an extremely low budget thirty minute horror that lays down many of the ideas and film-making techniques that Sam and his team of enthusiastic friends would use in the making of their infamous 1981 video nasty.Although the film is extremely rough around the edges, it will undoubtedly provide half an hour of fun for fans of all things 'deadite' thanks to the the involvement of many familiar Evil Dead names and faces, the familiarity of the material, and, of course, a fair smattering of gore..
This short film was mostly made to show the Investors what kind of feature length horror film to what Sam Raimi and his friends are trying to make.
it went on to premiere in front of "The Rocky Horror Picture Show" that was playing in Detroit, most of the audience really loved the short film but, it wasn't a commercially success.
Sam Raimi went to Approaching several investors in order to make his feature length horror entitled,"The Evil Dead." The plot of the film is the same as the movies teens hang out in the woods and get pick off by the spirit and demons one by one.
The quality of the short film is pretty bad looking, it's kind of hard to see, which it's understandable because, it was shot in a super 8 camera.
the only actors that appear in "The Evil Dead" are Bruce Campbell and Ellen Sandweiss, the difference in the film is Bruce in the short film is Possess by the spirit and Ellen is the hero but,in the movie Ellen gets Possess by the spirit and Bruce is the hero.
Not really a big fan of the music, i just find the music not scary and also, there is one music piece that came from "Jaws." I personally find the short film not scary at all but, i got to give it credit for helping Sam and his friends to Make one of the best horror films ever made..
So much of what we would see in the shoestring-budget "Evil Dead" (and it's not-as-shoestring first sequel) is on display here in micro form, and after over a decade of being a fan of the series, I sat in amazement and marveled at this 8mm prototype.
This is great film, and also EVIL DEAD is continuation of Within The Woods.
Find a copy and may your Evil Dead collection be complete.Although most copies available are not very good quality it is definitely worth your time to watch this and see if you can spot some of the scenes that turn up in later Evil Dead movies..
This 32 minute short Within the Woods is great.
The movie is about Bruce Campbell who digs up an old Indian grave and turns into a deadite.
This movie is the "prequel" of the Evil Dead trilogy.
My favourite film maker (Sam Raimi) directed this movie.
Raimi's Super-8 precursor to his cult debut feature THE EVIL DEAD (1983) is an amateurish half-hour piece about a geeky young man (the ubiquitous Bruce Campbell) coming under the influence of an Indian graveyard in the woods.
Despite it's obvious low budget, un-professionalism and complete lack of intelligence: Within the Woods may well be the most important horror short ever filmed.
For, if it were not for this little movie; the student team of Sam Raimi, Roger Tapert, Bruce Campbell et al may never have gone on to make the finest film in horror movie history; The Evil Dead.
If you've seen this film, then it's a good bet that you've seen The Evil Dead too; and if you have, you wont be able to get away from the similarities of the techniques used and the sequences shown.
Much of what happens in this film made it into the final cut, with things such as the conclusion to Ellen Sandweiss' chase sequence, the zombie at the door and the final monologue of the main character being lifted wholesale from this movie into The Evil Dead.It's not surprising why Sam Raimi and co ended up getting funded for this short.
The basic premise of the film wasn't changed for The Evil Dead, except that the actors have been swapped around.
This time, we get to see the great Bruce Campbell as the main monster, and Ellen Sandweiss as the protagonist.
While this works because Bruce's charisma allows him to excellently portray a possessed human; he makes for a better hero really, and Raimi and co ended up getting this right for the final cut.
If you're not an Evil Dead fan (unlikely), you wont like Within the Woods...but if you are - make sure you track it down!.
A good horror movie..
either way, sam raimi already showed great skill with a very minimal approach at creating suspense, and terror in this short..
the camera moving through the woods towards the character, ala evil dead, and the minimal soundtrack enhance it all.
not giving a long detailed review here, but if you are a big fan of the evil dead, and horror in general, this is WELL worth a look..
Before THE EVIL DEAD (1981) came this "concept" movie which is nearly the same exact plot aside from the fact it's missing the "Book of the Dead" stuff and drops one of the characters.
It runs only 30 minutes and since the budget is virtually nonexistent, it's naturally not nearly as polished as the later films and has that "home movie" feel to it.
Some slight changes were made here and there, but elements from this, as well as whole scenes, ended up making their way into the first two Dead films, so it's certainly a worthy watch for fans of the series.
The makeup effects from Tom Sullivan are fairly good, the acting isn't bad and there's enough imagination going around to see how Raimi was able to get investors involved in helping back the feature length version a few years later..
They plan on having a picnic & Bruce warns Ellen about the ancient Indian burial ground nearby & not to disturb it, however Bruce takes a sacred knife buried in the ground & ends up possessed by an evil spirit who wants to take revenge on the rest of his friends...Written & directed by Sam Raimi Within the Woods is a curious little film, it was made for the bargain basement sum of $1,600 specifically by Raimi to show to potential investors who might put up some cash so the full length Book of the Dead later renamed The Evil Dead (1982) could be made & I guess it worked.
Many scenes in Within the Woods are mirrored & perfected in The Evil Dead, from the spirits point-of-view shots to the general story to the same actor's although here Campbell plays the bad guy where as in The Evil dead he became the hero.
It is also different in some respects in particular instead of an ancient Book of the Dead the reason behind the evil spirits is an ancient Indian burial ground being violated.
To be honest I wouldn't say it's even finished, there are obviously sound effects & music cues missing, some of the editing is choppy & it's a touch dark at times but when all said & done it does look pretty good & is watchable.
The special effects are alright actually & again put some legit horror films to shame!Within the Woods is really only of interest to fans of The Evil Dead & want to see a virtual carbon copy of it, since it was never meant to be released to the public I can't say it was even a finished film but it ain't too bad.
As an avid fan of The Evil Dead, Sam Raimi and, of course, Bruce Cambpell, it would be no surprise that i give this movie a 10 rating.
But let me explain why: Elen Sandweiss and Bruce Campbell appear in this fantastic super-8 movie of a bunch of college kids in a house in the middle of the woods.
The ground-breaking camera-angles are apparent even in this early movie.The violence (which has become The Evil Dead's trademark) is in no short supply here.
It will satisfy any horror/Campbell/Raimi/Evil Dead fan..
Remarkable for a Super 8 short (and I've seen more than my share over the years), WITHIN THE WOODS proves that Sam Raimi had "The Fright Stuff" from the very beginning.
Raimi and Company manage to generate some genuine suspense and the makeup fx and the music and sound fx are all outstanding for a short (the totem pole was a nice touch and one can't help but smile when the normally scene-chewing Bruce Campbell gnaws off his own hand).
This half hour is an 1978 horror movie written and directed by Sam Raimi.
You will find quite a few parallels to the filmmaker's "Evil Dead" movies which came out shortly later.
The most astonishing thing about this short film is probably that Raimi was only 18 or 19 when he made it.
Today, he is mostly known for the "Spider Man" trilogy, but there is a lot more to his body of work and it looks like he is going to stay faithful to his early works with a new "Evil Dead" television serious about to be released.
Many of the actors in here also appeared in the "Evil Dead" series and Campbell is going to be in Raimi's new series as well.
This is a "must-see" for 'Evil Dead' fans!.
horror flick where **spoiler, i guess** Bruce Campbell talks tells his girlfriend how an indian burial ground was right under the house they're staying at with their friends.
This truly is an awesome movie which used a lot of 'Evil Dead' cliches which makes it even more entertaining as well as makes you very curious to see what happens next.