Evil dead movie review
Evil dead movie credits:
Directed by: Sam Raimi
Written by: Sam Raimi
Cast:
Bruce Campbell (Ash)
Ellen Sandweiss (Cheryl)
Theresa Tilly (Shelly)
Betsy Baker (Linda)
Release date: 1981
Spoiler alert: some crucial elements of the movie are commented in the following review. Be warned!
My bloody rating:
Evil dead movie review:
I was probably around 15 years old at that time. We are in the mid 80s. My friends and I had decided to rent a horror movie. A bad one, just to have a few laughs!
Looking at the VSH or BETA cover (Yep! No DVD or Blue-ray back then!), we thought that this movie title "The evil dead" would be a good candidate! It was the beginning of a long nightmare for us!
"Evil dead" is the simple story of five friends who are trapped in a cabin deep in the woods. After listening to a tape containing a translation of the Necronomicon, evil forces are emerging all around the cabin, leading to death and desolation!
I have watched many horror movies over the years. I don't know if it's because I was only 15 years old at the time, but this is the only movie I remember watching with a pillow near my face.
I was terrified and frankly, I didn't remember much from this first encounter with this classic movie besides the horrible screaming and strange music.
Over the years, I have watched "Evil dead" over and over again (without any pillows!) to realize that even if the movie had an amateurish feel to it, this one was extremely disturbing!
Sam Raimi did a great job creating a frightening movie with a young cast of unknown actors and actresses and a very low budget!
You might not see the Sam Raimi who worked on the "Spiderman" franchise, but clearly the guy was talented back then! The second "Evil dead" (dead by dawn), who was more a remake made on adrenaline of the first one, really showed to the world the potential of this great director!
Some shots are spectacular and very creative! Ladies, you might not see a tree the same way after viewing this one! Many scenes are memorable and will hunt you for a long time!
The music is intentionally annoying, creating an oppressing atmosphere to the movie. The whole picture feels unhealthy and dirty. Something only the original "Texas chainsaw massacre" was able to create with the same level of effectiveness!
Is "The evil dead" still relevant today? Of course it is! Any young filmmaker who wishes to create a great horror movie with a very low budget should be inspired by this movie!
You won't see CGI creatures or zombies in "Evil dead". You will only see some actors with average makeup and annoying voices doing their best to scare the hell out of you! And it works!
Some special effects are amateur and very outdated. Using some props doesn't always work effectively! And the frame-by-frame animation is almost laughable at times!
Sure, these special effects are so basic that even a 12 year old kid with Adobe products can do a better job today. But I'm not sure that this same kid will be able to make a movie as disturbing as this one!
"The evil dead" fails on many levels, but it scores on the most important one: being chilling and scary! Watch it now if you have not done it yet. It's a pure classic, period!
Evil dead movie review written by: Martin Berube
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