Directed by Sam Raimi
Written by Sam Raimi
1981/US
IMDb page
Repeat viewing/Amazon Prime rental
One of 1001 Movies You Must See Before You Die
Cheryl: [possessed] Soon all of you will be like me… And then who will lock you up in a cellar? [cackles]
Amazing what you can do at 20 years old with a small budget and a lot of talent.
There are about five or ten minutes of exposition in the plot. Some college students are going on a low-budget vacation in an isolated cabin in the woods. When they arrive, the cabin is creepy and in disrepair. The men in the group – Ash (Bruce Campbell) and Scott (Richard DeManincur) – find a strange book and a tape recorder. The tape contains a recording by a previous owner saying that the book is the key to raising the spirits of demons who possess the living. It speaks the phrase needed to do so. As the tape plays forces begin awakening in the woods.
Thereafter the movie is just one horrific jump scare after another. The students are possessed one by one and Ash becomes the only one left who can defeat them. Unfortunately, this involves dismembering the bodies of his deceased friends.
My nephew introduced me to this movie and the others in The Evil Dead trilogy. I believe I saw Evil Dead II first, and that is my favorite. The effects, makeup, etc. are so over the top in this that I can’t help but love it. I also find it very scary in the moment despite the cheap makeup and sets. Raimi doesn’t let you relax for a second.
I’ve seen this as a midnight movie on the big screen, and it does not disappoint.
Evil Dead II is my favorite of the trilogy as well. I think it has some solidly scary moments, but allows Raimi to explore his more whimsical side, too.
Have you seen the remakes? They’re not bad–and not at all comedic.
I haven’t seen the remakes. I am sadly lacking in post-2000 viewing.
You would think that it plays at so bad that it is good, but it is not bad at all. It is actually pretty awesome.
It is just amazing that Raimi had such vision and wit at such a young age.