684. The Evil Dead (1982)

Running Time: 85 minutes
Directed By: Sam Raimi
Written By: Sam Raimi
Main Cast: Bruce Campbell, Ellen Sandweiss, Betsy Baker, Hal Delrich, Theresa Tilly

FRIGHTFEST 2011: 1 of 5

Today, I kicked off "Frightfest 2011" by heading to the DVD shelf and grabbing "The Evil Dead". It's a film we own, simply because we found it for cheap, at a time when my wife and I were on a horror movie binge. Will it hold up and maintain it's spot on my DVD shelf or was it deemed a worthless purchase and be gotten rid of?

The film opens with a group of college age students, in a car and headed to a cabin for a weekend in the woods. Sounds like a typical horror film opening to me. We have Ashley (Campbell), his sister Cheryl (Sandweiss), his girlfriend Linda (Baker), his best friend Scotty (Delrich) and Scotty's girlfriend Shelly (Tilly). Once they cross the rickety, wooden bridge that leads them to the cabin, they, at first, have no idea of the horror that awaits them. Almost immediately upon entering the ominous looking, wood cabin, weird things begin to happen. For instance, the clock stops on it's own and the cellar door opens and slams shut, without being touched. When Scotty goes to inspect the cellar, he and Ash find a collection of things that peak their interest. Among the items is a "Book of the Dead", a dagger with a skull on the end of it and a tape player. When they bring it upstairs and play the reels that are loaded in the tape player, they unknowingly resurrect demons upon the area, bringing even the trees to life. From here, the shit really hits the fan, as certain members of the quintet are possessed.....and we'll leave it at that.

You know, I, just today, watched a trailer for a horror movie that is to be released in January called "The Devil Inside Me" (i think) and after watching "The Evil Dead", I got to thinking. It always tickles me how hard modern day "horror masters" try so hard to give us "the scariest movie of all-time", but almost always end up failing with a *THUD*. No name directors are handed millions of dollars to try and give us our next fright and they can never come through. But then, you look at a movie like "The Evil Dead", with a budget of a mere $375,000 and a really simple formula, and realize that it's scarier than anything that Hollywood has put out in the past 20 years. Now granted, I'm a twenty-seven year old who's grown out of his fear of horror cinema, but I can still admit when a film really gives me a little bit of fright and this one totally delivers. Hell, I haven't seen "The Exorcist" in a while (soon to change that, check back later this month), but I'd be willing to say that "The Evil Dead" is right up there, on par with it, as far as being scary. The make-up and effects are off the wall, sometimes silly, but usually creepy and the sound effects and music only add to heighten that terror.

The book makes note that with the addition of the two sequels, today "The Evil Dead" is laughable, at best (I'm paraphrasing), but I haven't seen "Evil Dead II" or "Army of Darkness" in ages and can barely remember a thing about them, so I guess as a standalone picture, "The Evil Dead" is a damn fine horror movie, if you ask this blogger. Horror movies haven't been my cup of tea for a long time and in a way, I've really grown out of them. But I'm still ready and willing to admit when someone (Sam Raimi and crew) do a fantastic job of evoking thrills and chills and really putting me on the edge of my proverbial seat. It's also funny to realize that when it was made, Hollywood wouldn't touch "The Evil Dead" with a ten foot pole, citing that it was far too gruesome. Fast forward about 20 years into the future and Hollywood hands over the helm to "Spider-Man", a big summer blockbuster, to none other than Sam Raimi. Bottom line is this: IF you're looking for a good scare, then "The Evil Dead" is a top notch choice. However, I'm not sure I'd label it a "must see", but that's just me.

RATING: 7/10 That's a rating on the horror movie scale. It's a solid scary flick and one that I would recommend...to the right people.

MOVIES WATCHED: 334
MOVIES LEFT TO WATCH: 667

October 19, 2011 6:04pm