Evil Dead

Evil Dead (1981)
Directed by: Sam Raimi
Rotten Tomatoes Score: 98%

Allow me to introduce this review by saying that I had never seen Sam Raimi's classic (and groundbreaking) Evil Dead. Judge me how you will but horror movies have just never really appealed to me. When I was younger I saw several of the Friday the 13th movies along with several installments in the Nightmare on Elm Street franchise. These movies terrified me but there was always something bringing me back. Now, I never went out of my way to see a horror movie. I always saw it if it was already on or if a friend wanted to see it. For instance, I saw Halloween: H20 in the theater because my mom wanted to see it. I swear I saw Michael Myers standing in my door way every night the rest of that week. When I was in high school, something changed. I saw that the remake of the Amityville Horror was coming out and it looked pretty good. I did some research and became enthralled with the story. I saw the movie opening day and laughed through the entire thing. It was so bad and not scary at all. They added something about ancient torture grounds under the house and completely ignored all of the compelling things that happened in real life. It was at this point I realized that I wasn't scared of these types of entertainment anymore (this is big coming from someone that would have panic attacks whenever the Unsolved Mysteries theme song would come on). I have since seen several more horror movies (Candyman, Paranormal Activity, The Exorcism of Emily Rose, Child's Play, etc) and must say that Halloween is my absolute favorite. Now, even though I had never seen Evil Dead, I knew that it was an important film not just to the horror genre, but to all of film. After watching it, I can see why.

I will provide a VERY brief synopsis of the movie because I feel it is important for everyone to see so I am hoping to entice you. Evil Dead starts with a group of friends arriving at a decrepit cabin in the woods. The surroundings scream "Please come kill us" but the group is determined to have a good time. Our friends consist of: Ash (Bruce Campbell), who is dating Linda (Betsy Baker) , and their friends Scotty (Hal Delrich), his girlfriend Shelly (Sarah York), and Ash's unpaired sister Cheryl (Ellen Sandweiss). Almost immediately, Cheryl beings to hear a voice saying "join us". She leaves the cabin to investigate (because that's a good idea) and is essentially raped by the forest.

The picture gets pixelated because there is an exposed breast

The tree raping leaves Cheryl disoriented and frantic. She pleads with Ash to take her into town and he agrees to oblige. However, when they reach the bridge they crossed to get to the cabin they discover that it has since collapsed; they are trapped. When the two return, Cheryl sits by the window and stares out. She eventually flips her sh*t and beings to attack the people in the cabin (including stabbing one of them in the foot with a pencil). What follows is both hilarious, disgusting, and disturbing all rolled into one movie!

One of the elements that makes a fantastic horror movie is the feeling of being trapped or confined. When we watch movies, we implant ourselves into the lives of the main characters; we become them. When a film takes place in one location we begin to feel claustrophobic. One of the marks of a great adventure film is exotic locations. We feel we could go anywhere; it's freeing. This makes the horror genre the foil to adventure. Evil Dead gives us a false hope with the ability to get in the car and drive away. Things are not going well so let's just leave. The trapped feeling rushes back when we discover the bridge has been compromised. As I think back, my favorite thrillers/horrors have very few location changes (The Strangers being one of them).

Voyeurism is also another element that is essential to the horror genre. Remember the story about the babysitter that gets a call from a stranger, and then she discovers that the call is coming from INSIDE the house? What's scary about that? It's that he knows where she is but she doesn't know where he is. He can see her and is watching her every move. Even typing that gives me chills. Evil Dead has a fair dose of voyeurism when the "Evil Force" is spying on the friends in the cabin. The camera (representing Evil) comes right to the window and we can see our friends undressing and occupying themselves. This changes the dynamic for the audience too. We are still implanted into the characters lives but we have also taken on the role of the villan. This leaves an uneasy feeling because we can sense our impending doom and there is nothing we can do about it.

Linda Williams argues that horror and pornography fall into the same film genre, and I feel Evil Dead demonstrates that very well. She feels that these (along with Melodrama) are all meant to create physical reactions from their viewers. Horror is supposed to make you shake with fear and pornography is supposed to arouse you sexually. I feel that this could be taken a step further for Evil Dead, because it has such a sexual feeling to it. I have already discussed the "tree rape" above which starts off the tormenting. A seed of evil is implanted in Cheryl which causes her to change into a demon after it has had time to take root. Then each subsequent character is infected when their skin is broken and the disease enters their blood stream. This is much like sex. There are also several instances of extreme close ups (eyes, legs, feet, etc) which is also common in pornography.

No BS

See this movie! If you don't like horror then see it with lights on and with a group of people. It is funny in its own right but is also terribly gruesome. If you consider yourself a movie person then you're doing yourself a diservice if you don't see Evil Dead.

My Score: 9/10