Once again it's Halloween season and if you're looking for an outrageous 80's B-rated horror flick, take a look way back to the old horror cult classic "Evil Dead" (1981) – Sam Raimi's debut full-length feature film in which he takes on the role as as writer, producer, choreographer and special effects guy.
Before he directed the "Spiderman" trilogy and "Drag Me To Hell" Raimi gained cult notoriety in the movie biz by creating the trilogy of “Evil Dead” stories, "Evil Dead II" (1987) and "Army of Darkness" (1993) which revolve around the shotgun and chainsaw wielding, demon-killing hero Ash played by Bruce Campbell – Raimi's childhood friend and executive producer of the movie.
Raimi's love for film and shows early on in his career through every frame of this movie which was brought to life with the help of friends, family and investors. As each scene in the movie progressively gets more and more absurd in the level of gore through special effects,
"Evil Dead" starts out as the typical T & A horror movie filled with the usual camp of blood and demons, no-name actors and actresses dressed in the 80's garb with bad 80’s hair, and the theatrical silliness that stems from the long line of "don't go out there / in there" horror plots. All of this, of course, preempted by creaky floors, high winds and demon noises lurking outside in the dark and creepy woods. What makes this horror movie stand out from the slash and gash movies of yester-year, is the attention to cinematography.
As in most horror flicks, curiosity is what kills the character. Ash discovers an artifact that cabin's owner has left in his basement. And so Ash quickly discovers a reel-to-reel tape player in the dungeon-esque basement of the cabin. Soon after playing the “incantations that allow the demons to posses the living” from the "Book of the Dead", the evil spirits stir in the woods that surround.
Raimi’s creates this roaming evil presence by simply attaching a camera to an ATV and cruising through a forest, zooming up at ground level and leading up to the entryway of the cabin. A simple dolly shot in film-speak. But, this is one of Raimi's many signature film techniques that can be accredited to his style and craft.
The ‘camp du Raimi’ is so absurd, it is notably different from any other horror film of that era, and thus much more entertaining. Raimi relentlessly pulls out every trick in his hat with incredible attention to detail with his unorthodox framing and dolly shots, quick cut editing, and choreography of all the multitude of stunts and gags in the film. Raimi and his special effects gurus take every chance they can get to squeeze out another angle to reveal a version of a latex demon with its eyes bulging out and skin falling off; blood and puss oozing from each gash or blown out of an orifice from its disjointed and mutilated carcass; ghouls and demons flailing themselves at the hero, only to be hacked into parts and shown flinching on the floorboards below in a pool of blood and bits. It’s absurd, it’s cheezy and it’s totally hilarious.
As mentioned before, he also received some help from a budding movie personality during that time – a young Joel Coen, who lends a hand on this film as assistant film editor, well before he went on to establish his cult status in film. Along with the addition of Bruce Campbell’s moxie as a leading actor via his physical comedic relief with his classic expressions, it just goes to show why every part of this movie came together and became a cult-classic low-budget film. Raimi’s craft is what makes this movie so enthralling. It is these qualities rather than the simple plot that makes this absurd horror movie shine over the years.
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