The Evil Dead 1981 review

The Evil Dead
Aka: the power of the chin compels you. 

Yes, it would be nearly impossible to start a reviewing blog about cult classics and B movies and not start with this amazing classic. Originally a small project launched by Sam Raimi, his brother Ted Raimi and his best friend Bruce Campbell. This low budget cheap thrill would change the face of horror for many years to come. No one on the set would ever think that what was originally called “The Woods” would become such a hit. but before we continue to talk about what made this movie so famous, let’s take a look at the plot.



Five friends decide that it would be a ‘groovy’ idea to spend a weekend in an abandon cabin in the woods (yes, that’s where Joss Whedon’s movie got the name). a creepy cabin, a group of friend, a big and dark wood surrounding the place, what could go wrong? Well, I don’t know, how about reading some lines from a demonic book, call some demons to possess your friends and turn them into green slime spitting monsters that want to eat your soul? Yup, sounds like the right thing to do.
And the rest of the movie holds no surprise, it’s all about the survival the group and the defense of the cabin from the demons and trees that have seen far too much Japanese entertainment.Thankfully, the group have a hero in their midst, we call him ‘the chin’, ‘El chino’ or simply, Bruce Campbell…who is kind of a wimp in this movie but will totally kick massive ass in the sequels. 

'The Chin'

So yeah, you heard this story before, and you’ll hear it again. Modern movies use this tale all the time and other movies even use it for laughs. And with good reasons, The Evil Dead was one of the first and definitely the most famous to use this plot that now seems cliché. But where this movie really shines, is in the atmosphere. The creeping feeling of the possessed friends and the eerie dark woods makes you feel isolated and scared.
For me, this movie shines in the acting and the effects. Sure, nowadays it can be laughable, but think of this as a movie with almost no budget that managed to scare the world for a few years. And I dare you not to find Linda creepy as hell as she just sits in the hall chuckling to herself while all hell breaks loose around them.
But…if I really can be honest, I’m not really a fan of this one. Now hold your pitchforks and torches at bay folks, I don’t say it’s a bad movie, hell, it made a significant change in the entire movie industry and was groundbreaking for its time. But I’m just not a fan of THIS particular evil dead, the reason is probably for the special place in my heart I hold for the sequel, and because it’s the weakest in the series for me. Bruce Campbell’s character Ash wasn’t as refined as he was in the rest of the series and there are too many scenes that make me roll my eyes, yes, I’m especially talking about ‘that one scene’.So like I said, good movie, but if you want to have yourself a little Evil Dead marathon, I don’t blame ya for skipping that one, hell, the entire movie is remade in the first seven minutes of the second one, and much better in my opinion.



 Things Evil dead can teach us:
- When something is written in Latin in a book made of flesh with a creepy face on it, in the middle of the woods, and you still decides to read it out loud, then yup, you deserve to die, Darwin’s law kids, Darwin’s law…
 - Hide yo kids, hide yo wifes, hide yo husbands cuz we got a rapist in these woods, here's a hint: it IS the woods
- Demons are made of clay and daylight seems to melt them...lolwhut?
- The original is not always better that the sequel


Personal rating:
5.5/10

Critical rating:
7.5/10