Review of The Evil Dead (1981) by Allan C — 15 Sep 2018

Classic low budget horror film that I love and can no longer objectively review. Directorial debut of Sam Raimi ("Army of Darkness" "A Simple Plan" "Spider-Man"), film debut of cult favorite Bruce Campbell in his most iconic role as Ash Williams (although his Elvis in "Bubba Ho-Tep" is my personal favorite), and the filmscore debut of prolific composer Joseph LoDuca ("Xena: Warrior Princess" "Spartacus" "Brotherhood of the Wolf").

The film was produced by Rob Tapert, who'd go on to produce many more films and TV shows with Raimi. Ash and his group of friends in their 73 Oldsmobile head to a remote cabin in the woods and inadvertently wake the evil dead when they read aloud from the Necrocomicon.

Demonic possessions, evil trees, and all sorts of weirdness ensue. For such a low budget film, it's manages to to be visually inventive (particularly the evil spirit POV shots through the woods), shockingly gory (but in a fun over-the-top way), and also works wonderfully as a black comedy.

"Evil Dead 2" does feature better special effects and is much more consistent in tone, staying consistent as a dark horror comedy than this first film, which at times wants to be a straight horror film and at other times wants to be tongue-in-check, but those are minor quibbles for a film that's terrifically fun and wildly inventive.

A must see for horror fans, but maybe not a film for all tastes.