The Evil Dead (1981)

User Review

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  TheMovieDiorama

  7 / 10

  The Evil Dead is possibly the craziest horror film I've seen. If someone asked me "Luke, describe in 400 words what happens in The Evil Dead"...I would probably struggle. Basic plot is basic. Group of teenagers go to remote cabin in woods, discover book of the dead, play a tape recording speaking some dead lingo and then creepy stuff happens. I've seen the remake a good few times, this is my first watch of the original and actually I would probably rate them the same for different reasons. An advantage that the original has, is Sam Raimi. Wow. Probably his best film. He does lack some technical finesse but the inventive POV camera tracking shots through the woods were incredibly effective. When Ash climbs up the stairs in the basement, when he walks through the cabin...extremely well crafted camera techniques that heighten the experience. His writing was also good, not the best but better than your average horror. There are hints of personality to our characters, particularly Ash, but I don't think it was enough to make me care about them. A slight dark comedic undertone within the script but it's extremely subtle. The star of the film is the makeup design. I don't think I've ever seen anything quite like it. Blood is spewing out everyone eventually, bodies start to decompose in rapid stop cuts (great editing during those scenes) and when the teenagers start to become possessed...some of them looked damn terrifying! The prosthetics were innovative as well, particularly the infamous tree rape scene which had been originally cut in several countries (I wonder why...). Let's face it, in 1981 no one ever saw anything quite like this in terms of gruelling horror...it was bound to be cut and edited to make theatrical releases in different countries. This isn't so much a scary film, more aimed towards the gore sub-genre. Some of the characters felt way too calm given the circumstances. Seriously, who would be relaxed if they disembodied their friend? An effective and inventive gory horror that just lacks technical finesse and memorable supporting characters.

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