Bruce Campbell, Ellen Sandweiss and Richard DeManincor in the Sam Raimi movie ‘The Evil Dead’

We queue a film we’ll review here having earned the rating NC-17 from the Motion Picture Association of America. Directed and written by Sam Raimi, The Evil Dead (1981) offers the supernatural horror of five college students vacationing at a cabin in isolated woods when seemingly innocuous actions go madly wrong.

(Bruce Campbell as Ash Williams in the Sam Raimi movie The Evil Dead).

Five college students from Michigan State University in East Lansing, Michigan come upon a cabin in the woods of Tennessee opens the story of The Evil Dead. Things feel strange quickly with the inexplicable movement of porch swings, the drawing of objects around the cabin that affect their operation, and the hearing of voices by members of the group that create fear.

(From left, Betsy Baker as Linda, Ellen Sandweiss as Cheryl Williams and Theresa Tilly as Shelly in the Sam Raimi movie The Evil Dead).

When a trapdoor opens of its own accord during dinner, the group splits up to investigate. Ash Williams and Scott, as portrayed by Bruce Campbell and Richard DeManincor, respectively, investigate the cellar as Cheryl Williams, Linda and Shelly, as portrayed by Ellen Sandweiss, Betsy Baker and Theresa Tilly, respectively, remain upstairs.

(Richard DeManincor as Scott in the Sam Raimi movie The Evil Dead).

The finding of the so-called Naturom Demonto, supposedly a Sumerian version of the Egyptian Book of the Dead, along with the tape recorder of Raymond Knowby, animate much of the storyline that follows. Bob Dorian portrayed the voice of Raymond Knowby as recorded on tape recorder. The introduction of supernatural components through the rest of the horrific experiences of the vacationers are shown to satisfactory effect. The influence of the George A. Romero movie Night of the Living Dead (1968) upon The Evil Dead is clear.

(Director Sam Raimi in support of the Sam Raimi movie The Evil Dead).

The low budget quality of the original The Evil Dead movie is clear from the product. The inclusion of gore and some semblance of black humor initiates some stylistic choices replicated with moderate success later on. As captured by Rotten Tomatoes reviews here, the movie performed better for critics than it did for the audience that has seen the film in theatres or elsewhere. My rating for The Evil Dead as written and directed by Sam Raimi is 3.75-stars on a scale of 1-to-5.

Matt – Wednesday, October 26, 2022