Whether or not this is a false memory is up in the air, but to my recollection, Sam Raimi’s The Evil Dead was the first horror film I ever watched. What isn’t a false memory is how bone-chillingly scared I was when[ever] I first watched it. The Evil Dead was the film that started it all for Raimi. Spawning two direct(ish) sequels, two reboots, a musical, three seasons of a television show, and multiple video games (one of which was my favorite asymm of 2022). Two brilliant careers flourished from this film, bringing endless love and attention to horror.
The Evil Dead follows five friends who head out to a cabin in the woods for a little trip. We join Ashley Williams (Bruce Campbell), his sister Cheryl (Ellen Sandweiss), girlfriend Linda (Betsy Baker), and friends Shelly (Sarah York/Theresa Tilly) and Scott (Hal Delrich/Richard DeManincor). During dinner on their first night there, a secret basement door swings open and reveals a world beyond their own: a Kandarian dagger, a book bound in flesh and inked in blood, and a tape recording. After the young friends play the tape recording, they find themselves in the thralls of something greater than anyone could have imagined.
One of the biggest debates in horror when discussing this franchise is which is better: The Evil Dead or Evil Dead II? As someone who has always been on the fence with horror comedies, The Evil Dead takes the cake. (I’m not even a huge fan of Army of Darkness, but that’s a horror fan card-revoking discussion for a later time.) The raw, emotional, terrifying, bloody tale Raimi spills with his debut feature film checks all of the boxes for an effective and [nearly] timeless horror flick. Evil Dead II is just too fun and goofy for me. Some of the Three Stooges-ness that bombarded II is sprinkled throughout The Evil Dead, though it doesn’t overtake the horror these five friends are enduring.
Raimi’s script for The Evil Dead does leave something to be desired. I almost wish the film had less dialogue and left the terror up to visual storytelling. Too many times throughout the film poor dialogue takes precedence over proper pacing. That’s really my main issue with this film (other than the poorly aged tree rape scene, which Raimi has since publically regretted). The practical effects and SFX makeup don’t necessarily hold up (visually) nowadays, but that doesn’t necessarily make or break the film’s overall tone.
The makeup work for the Deadites haunted me as a child. I’d see those faces, hear their singsongy taunts, and have chills down my spine. Even if it doesn’t look so great now, the ankle stab with the pencil was the first time I really felt mirror-touch synesthesia. And it’s probably why I have such an aversion to ankle-related violence to date. All of this took place after Raimi’s entrancing POV shot through the bog–a shot that would nearly define his entire career. It’s impossible to see a low-angle POV shot scurrying through the woods and around trees and stumps without thinking about Sam Raimi.
Bruce Campbell and Sam Raimi begged and pleaded to get The Evil Dead made, and it shows. There is endless passion behind this film. I’ve said it before, and I’ll say it again, some of the best art is created when artists are hungry…and these two best friends were HUNGRY. Little did this small group of filmmakers in their 20s know that this tiny film made for less than half a million dollars over a few weeks from 1979 to 1980 would turn into a monolithic franchise.
Evil Dead (2013) and Evil Dead Rise are two excellent reboots of Raimi’s IP, and both told their stories in unique ways. 2013 was a down-and-dirty reimagining of The Evil Dead (and I think it takes place in the same universe as the original). Rise somehow exists within the franchise universe and has a fun blend of horror and comedy (while keeping the horror at the forefront). The Evil Dead is an all-around horrifying and spectacular film that has been noted as influencing many horror filmmakers working in the industry today–horror would not be what it is without this drive-in classic.
