'The Evil Dead' brings the ultimate in terror

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By Kristina Stafford

Grade: A

Blood, gore, guts, terror, destruction, death, and much, much more can all be found in the 1981 rendition of The Evil Dead.

Looking for a fun weekend away, five friends leave town headed for an isolated cabin in the woods, anxiously awaiting a weekend filled with drinking and fun galore. As they get closer to their get-a-way destination, they begin to see mysterious and unexplainable things; they ignore the phenomena and decide to settle into the cabin.

After everyone has gotten settled in, a clock in the cabin stops, and a mysterious trap door opens up on its own, revealing a long abandoned cellar beneath them. The boys go down to investigate the situation, finding an old, horrifyingly ugly book, a reel-to-reel tape recorder, and a dagger made of bone.  They play the tape, and discover that the book is an ancient Summarian Book of the Dead, and the tape has recorded incantations, from the book, intended to raise evil spirits. They don't believe in supernatural phenomenon, and disregard the claims of evil demon spirits as false.

Then later as one of the vacationers is walking in the woods, she is attacked and violated by the trees, which are being possessed by demons, in one of the most bloody and violent scenes of the entire movie. She manages to escape back to the cabin, but no one believes her story, until it is too late. She has become possessed, and through her the demons deliver a terrifying message, "You will die! Like the others before you. One by one, we will take you". Horrified they begin to realize that the book is true and the evil has come for them.  

What makes this film so scary? There are several explanations, the first being the ingenious camera angles. Fast, rapid and above all else stylish, especially when from the demon's point of view. The angles sometimes make you feel like you are being grabbed by the shirt and pulled along for the ride. 

The intensity of the violence and brutality of each individual attack inflicted upon the characters by both each other, and by their environment, leaves feelings of vulnerability. This allows the imagination to run rampant with possible scenarios of the viewer being mutilated in a similarly atrocious fashion.

The off-road cabin is a perfect setting to create a horrifying scene, as it provides an eerie mood for the entire movie.  Add to that a creepy soundtrack with disturbing sounds and equally superior use of silence, this movie has scene after scene of agonizing terror.  

Sam Raimi, more well-known for his participation in the Spiderman movies, did a superb job of creating a technically intriguing film. The effects, though somewhat fake-looking by today's standards, hold up a much better than you might expect. Raimi made his debut in the directing world with this low-budget classic horror. 

Overall this 1980s horror film works thanks to constant gore, clever and energetic direction and a real sense of cruelty in the action. Using five actors, a small set, and big ideas, Raimi created a horror flick sure to spark the fear in anyone to steer clear of the woods. Seriously, if you have never seen this movie, do so. The Evil Dead will keep you at the edge of your seat from beginning to end.

Originally Published: Issue 821 - October 28, 2009

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