The Evil Dead - (7/10)

[The Delfonics]

http://www.bruce-campbell.com/images/filmography/evil-dead-01-03.jpg

The Evil Dead - (7/10)
Info: (1982) NC-17, Bruce Campbell, Hal Delrich, Sarah York
Genre: Horror
Comments: One of the most respected cult movies of all time, Evil Dead is one of the most gory horror movies I have ever seen. The first time I saw ED was about 2 years ago when I barrowed it from a friend. I was pretty creeped out and disgusted. I didn't love it but it was definately a good horror flick. It wasnt until I went to a Bruce Campbell book signing that I really started to like this flick for other reasons. I read his book and became very inspired. After knowing all the production values behind this film I began to respect it more and more until I began to want to make my own films. That being said, I can't say that at the base this is a really good movie. I love the atmosphere, the special effects, the shock value, the production values, and all the stuff that surrounded the making of this film. All of that stuff is very inspirational. The commentary is also priceless, it is extremely funny. Getting back to the story, Evil Dead is about 5 kids who take a trip up to a cabin in the woods. While there they discover a book and tape recording that unlock an Evil Force lurking in the woods. Even if the movie is just a gorefest, I still admire the priceless one-liners and the shelves that constantly fell on Bruce Campbell. Don't get me wrong, this film scared me the first time, but after repeat viewings I seem to just get grossed out. I still consider Evil Dead a classic even if I am not as fond of the story as I used to be. It's amazingly shot and is an inspiration to all filmmakers.

Acting - 5/10 (A lot of bad acting here, but its a very low budget horror flick. Bruce Campbell is still the man!)
Violence/Gore - 10/10 (One of the most sick movies I have ever seen. Heads getting chopped off, bodies getting torn and ripped apart)
T&A - 2/10 - (Tree rape and a boobie shot)

[bob]

Yeah, the atmosphere and sounds are kinda cool, making it a great film to experience, but the wooden acting and complete lack of a plot makes this a film I watch only with Bruce's commentary (which, as you said, is quite hilarious). I'd give it a 4/10, tops.

[blankpage]

A bad start to a very "groovy" series. I found it to be quite dull, with nothing really exciting. I thought this would be hard-core horror fun, but I was wrong.

The other two are great, though....

4.5/10

Evil Dead II- 8/10
Army of Darkness- 9/10

[Sad man]

This movie was lame. The plot is stupid, the acting is bad as well as the fx and the whole movie was just a big joke. I didn't like this at all.

4/10 or D

[PorcheRacer]

I seen this with a group of people and we had a blast laughing at the dated effects and the cheesy acting. I can see why this has such a cult following, it's alot of fun. Sam Raimi did a great job with the camera. The two sequels were better though.

**MY RATINGS FOR THE EVIL DEAD MOVIES**

EVIL DEAD (7/10)
EVIL DEAD 2: DEAD BY DAWN (8/10)
ARMY OF DARKNESS (8/10)

[Jon Lyrik]

From my sarcastic hollywoodbitchslap.com review...

"Evil Dead" may be dismissed as a cheesy horror film, while in fact it is a deep revenge movie with a tree falling in love with a woman, but she not accepting him due to his status of a tree.
The plot is about five teenagers up in the woods, not knowing that a tree has a crush on them. That night, a certain Necronomicon has made the Tree speak outside in Tree Language. With Cheryl (brilliantly played by Ellen Sandweiss) hearing the noises outside not knowing that the tree is reading sex poetry to her, she goes outside and has sex with the tree.

Even after the sex, Cheryl still doesn't like the tree just because it's a tree, and goes inside and tells her friends that the tree raped her.

Convinced by her story, they go outside and chop the tree down for fire wood, little knowing that the tree's spirit is about to have his revenge, sending other spirits (evil, that is) to possess the group of teenagers. Can they be stopped?

See what I mean? This movie has a truly moving premise (a tree loving a woman?) and awe-inspriring acting, especially from Ms. Sandweiss, who should have made a career from this movie. It's a tear-jerking drama you'll never forget, especially the tree's revenge.

And the wonderful, powerful script, made even better by the direction of Sam Raimi, with great dramatic tension, is even better.

Forget any other classic, this is the one to rule them all.

A masterpiece. 10/10.

[El Bracamonti]

pretty awesome and classic movie if you ask me........7/10

[Golden Ghost]

Tip top of the crop, but the cheesy acting started to get on my nerves after a while. Loved the grittiness of the filming and the over-the-top gore was fantastic but still...overrated. -- 7/10

[urbanlegend23]

THE EVIL DEAD (1981)

THE GOOD:

--The makeup department for this movie must've had a great time. The possessed teenagers looked terrific and horrifying, and this movie is one of - if not the - most gore soaked horror flicks I've ever seen. Fans of horror who like their ketchup good and red will not be disappointed.

--I liked the inner turmoil that our hero had to face - they're demons, but they were previously his friends. Does he kill them, or does he have some kind of hope left that they return from their demon forms and be the friends he used to have?

--I liked the way the movie's atmosphere was built up, it was really subtle. Sound was used well. The noises of everyday things (wind, clocks) somehow made the atmosphere more intense. I dug the way the movie had all the mist and the constant wind noise was haunting.

--There was impressive camera work in this movie. I loved the long zoom outs, upside down angles, close-eyes up on the eyes and the POV following through the woods.

--This movie doesn't piss around. It has a fast pace, the story maintains interest and we're into the scares straight away.

THE BAD:

--Sometimes the possessed teenagers go over the top. They look stupid at times and instead of being scary just look retarded and silly and it takes the effect away. But that's always the risk doing films like this.

--The over-the-top actress that was first attacked by the trees is very annoying and every scene with her pissed me off as she seemed like a 5-year-old having a temper tantrum half the time. I was extremely happy when she was brutally killed.

--"The Evil Dead" has a very repetitive story, that doesn't allow much to happen. Its basically just one gory kill after another. I was left wondering if this movie was made for the story, or to see how much bloody kills and gore they could include.

--Very convenient how everyone except Ash was possessed.

RATING:

7/10 - Fun low budget horror film with a cult following.

IF YOU LIKED THIS MOVIE I RECOMMEND:

Bad Taste (7/10)
Book of Shadows: Blair Witch 2 (2/10)
The Exorcist (9/10)
Friday the 13th (3/10)
They (7/10)

[Mr.HyDe807]

Rview:8.5/10
Seeing this movie for the first time scared the living crap outta me with those creepy demon girls and overall the entire movie. The cast is good for this movie, the scares are plenty, and the gore abundant. A great horror movie that is worht seeing

[arby19]

Evil Dead was a good movie.

I may have had to high of expectations for it. Everyone was raving about it and I belived it. I was sort of let down though. It had some cool looking monsters, some pretty good scares but the thing that pissed me off was the shitty acting(besides Bruce who keeps getting better as the series goes on)

Overall, 7/10.