Wednesday, April 29, 2009
The Evil Dead(1981)
Everyone knows this movie, of course. It is a huge cult classic. It is directed by Sam Raimi who also directed the sequels and the Spiderman movies. It stars Bruce Campbell. It was made on a very low- budget, but I think that that makes it even better! This film was given a hard time because of the gore in it and the violence. Of course, this helped it become even more popular!The story begins with five young college students who are travelling to a log cabin in the woods in Tennessee for a vacation together. They are enjoying themselves when they hear something in the cellar. Scott(Hal Delrich) goes to investigate and when he doesn't come back, Ash (Bruce Campbell) goes after him. They find a book and a tape down there and they bring it upstairs to see what it is. The book is actually a Book of The Dead and the tape contains an evil incantation which brings demons from the grave. The girls are not happy listening to the tape and they turn it off but it is too late. The demons have been reawakened. Cheryl(Ellen Sandweiss) is the first to be possessed by the evil spirits. She goes outside to see what is happening and she is caught by an evil tree but she escapes and makes her way back to the cabin to tell the others that there is something very wrong but they think that she has gone a bit funny.She wants to leave but they can't because the bridge has been knocked. She suddenly is possessed by the evil spirit and they push her down into the cellar after she stabs Ash's girlfriend,Linda(Betsy Baker) in the ankle with a pencil. They lock the cellar door so she can't come up. They don't know what to do and when Shelley(Sarah York) turns too, they have to dismember her otherwise she won't die. They bury her and Scott heads off, trying to find a way out of the woods. He is soon back , though as the trees attack him and won't let him go. He is injured badly and then Ash has to contend with Linda turning into a demon too. He is surrounded by the evil spirits and he has no choice but to take action. He has to attack Linda and he tries to bury her, but she won't stay dead. He hits her with a shovel, beheading her. He comes back to the cabin to find the cellar door open. Soon, Shelley is back to attack him and he has to fight her off. Scott has turned into a demon too and he is trying to attack Ash as he reaches for the Book of the Dead which seems to hold the key to the demons. As the book begins to burn, Scott's body burns as well so Ash figures that he needs to burn the book totally to get rid of the demons. He does this and the two demons fall apart in front of his eyes. He sighs with relief as they are gone. He walks outside into the sunshine and he is thankful that he has survives. Or has he? There is another demon alive and it is heading for Ash as the movie ends.... A real horror classic. This was great fun with lots of blood and gore for the horror fan. I am giving this one a 10/10.
The Evil Dead is one of the most memorable movies of all time. And for me it holds a special place in my heart. Its where I took my girlfriend on our first date!
ReplyDeleteI was a teenager and it was showing at the midnight movie, and what an experience that was. The 80's, as well as the early 80's slasher movies, totally rocked.