Review of The Evil Dead (1981) by Alejandro E — 06 Apr 2013

Archetypal cabin in the woods horror. Hoaky acting of an already clunky script. Effects that I remember looked dated when this originally came out especially the Claymation ending. Some of the gore is well done, though it borrows heavily from Dario Argento.

It was made on a shoestring budget and looks it, however the tight camera angles and extreme close ups not only help to disguise a cheap set, but also add menace, especially when you have the likes of Bruce Campbell mugging for you.

I remember this actually being quite terrifying back in the 80s. Now it looks really dated and it's hard to read anything but comedy here, especially when you bring to mind the sequels.

I watched this again to see if the 2013 remake is justified and it clearly is. Doesn't mean it's any good though!