Written & Edited by: Lee Fenton

'The Evil Dead', what a movie!

It's fun, it's wacky; it's horribly violent – the film that cemented director Sam Raimi as the pioneer of a sub-genre known as Splat-stick, a combination of the words slapstick and splatter. It's actually a very accurate description of the director's style. 

There have been many imitators of Raimi's unique vision, thus this type of filmmaking has emerged as a niche genre, adored by fans all around the globe. Films that fall into this category: 'Shaun of the Dead', 'John Tucker Must Die', and 'Tusk' - plus a whole host of others. Hell, even the hit TV show 'The X-files' borrows heavily from the director of 'The Evil Dead's' repertoire. If you haven't watched Sam Raimi, now's a good time to start! 

 I'm going to keep this review brief as possible. in the near future I'll be touching on all three of Sam Raimi's 'Evil Dead' features. All three of these initial entries into the franchise starred Bruce Campbell; he was a relatively unknown actor, and a personal friend of Raimi's. The director grew up with Bruce Campbell, knowing him from a young age. Sam Raimi, his brother Ted, and Bruce Campbell were all equally obessed with film, making it a shared personal hobby for the trio.

“Raimi became fascinated with making films when his father brought a movie camera home one day. He began to make Super 8 movies with his friend Bruce Campbell, whom he met in 1975." [1]

“Raimi began experimenting with filmmaking at a very early age. By his teen years he was already an active member of a circle of amateur actors and directors in the Detroit area. Among this group were his brother Ted and aspiring actor Bruce Campbell, both of whom became staples in Raimi productions.” [2]

The Evil Dead is shocking. The Evil Dead is visceral. The Evil dead is a nonstop assault on the senses.

And I love it.

This film scared the bejesus out of me as a child and now it holds a special place in my heart. This first film is by far the most serious of Sam Raimi's entries, it was an earnest attempt at making a gonzo horror film for next to no money. It's an edge-lord schlock fest full of makeup edges that are way too obvious, blood and guts that are obviously red paint and oatmeal, Bruce Campbell's over-the-top acting (he intentionally stares at the camera, in the FIRST sequence of the movie), as well as many other filmmaking 'gaffs'. Most of this is forgivable - since it's the director's first film – but I'm not complaining! If you took these mistakes out of 'The Evil Dead', it would be a very bleak film. 

There is one scene in 'The Evil Dead' that ensures this film is banned in several countries to this day. Although it was a bit traumatic as a child, on re-watch I realized that in comparison to today's media - it’s rather tame. I feel it doesn't detract from the film overall but as some have pointed out – it isn't completely essential either. Preferring not to describe it myself, (to avoid triggering any of my readers) I will simply reference another horror movie's visuals. If you haven't seen the movie I'm referencing – I'm sorry, you're shit out of luck.

The scene in 'Alien Covenant', when the Xenomorph sneaks up on the two lovers in the shower. 

Well, remember the visuals of the barbed tail and where it was headed...? That's close enough to what happens in 'The Evil Dead', (exchange fierce some extraterrestrial with a scary-ass Demonic Tree). If you have the potential to be triggered from content like this, it may be best to avoid it. Horror films tend to use imagery of sexual violence to represent and explore the depravity of evil. This rather unpleasing sequence pales in comparison to something like 'Last House on the Left' but for my own tastes, it's still entering a problematic area. After all I chose not to finish LHOL and if Sam Raimi had pushed it any further – I may have not finished the first ‘Evil Dead’ either.

I really loved the film Don't 'Breathe', in spite of sitting through the infamous 'turkey baster' scene – but it was still A LOT.

Almost too much, in fact. 

While attempting to recommend Don't Breathe, I always hesitate - when I try to warn the potential viewer about any 'triggers' without misrepresenting the film as a whole. Usually it’s easiest to sum it up with: great movie, but leaves a bad taste in your mouth – which almost ruins the experience, overall.

 Luckily, Sam Raimi realized this paradox and chose instead to steer into the unintended humor of his low-budget productions, with each subsequent film; leaving behind the more disturbing concepts and imagery. Raimi also decided to make the protagonist 'Ash' Ashley Williams (played by Bruce Campbell) endure the majority of torment, in his later entries - avoiding the use of more traditional 'fridging' tropes for his female characters. In 2014 we finally got a Sam Raimi horror-film that starred a female protagonist; 'Drag Me to Hell' lead by the talented Alison Lohman.

“Raimi wrote Drag Me to Hell with his brother before working on the Spider-Man trilogy. The film premiered at the Cannes Film Festival and was a critical and commercial success, grossing $90.8 million worldwide against a $30 million budget. It won the Saturn Award for Best Horror Film at the 36th Saturn Awards.” [3]

At the time the film was considered highly transgressive; helping to fuel the 'video nasty' controversy in the UK. The extended scenes of uncensored violence as well as some of the a fore mentioned x-rated content, landed The Evil Dead on the top of the DPP's (Director of Public Prosecution) 'video nasties' list.

“Although The Evil Dead was quite different in tone to many of the so-called 'video nasties', in that its tongue was firmly in its cheek, it was not entirely surprising when the video version (which had already been cut in line with the BBFC's cinema cuts) was added to the list of 'video nasties'.” [4]

• BBFC - British Board of Film Commission
  

In closing, I will say this – The Evil Dead is a film that most will enjoy, some will detest, and was absolutely a template for low-budget filmmakers everywhere. It's unfair to 'throw the baby out with the bathwater' and even though it contains plenty of mistakes, slip-ups, continuity errors, and out-there acting – The first Evil Dead film, ended up as an extremely hot mess. 

For a first time filmmaker Sam Raimi hit a lot of home runs with this picture. He employed a truly impressive amount of dolly shots, allowing him to become a pioneer in the field. He crafted some unbelievable sound design in this initial film, switching from classic scoring that's reminiscent of an early 1960s movie; into a surrealists nightmare - filled to the brim with vibrant sound effects and jarringly demonic voices. This all goes a long way to adding a terror inducing confusion to the final half hour of the picture. Bruce Campbell's acting is transformative, you watch him go from annoyingly wooden to a man that can almost rival Jim Carrey for his putty-like expressions. NO he isn't as off-the-wall funny as Carrey, but he makes up for it with a sort of Kurt Russel like composure. 

After-all, it's hard NOT to love a movie that managed to immortalize the quote, 

“This is my boom-stick!”

_____________________________________________________

[1]https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Sam_Raimi#:~:text=Raimi%20became%20fascinated%20with%20making,whom%20he%20met%20in%201975.

[2] https://www.britannica.com/biography/Sam-Raimi

[3]https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Drag_Me_to_Hell

[4]https://www.bbfc.co.uk/education/case-studies/the-evil-dead