The Evil Dead (1981)

Rating: NC-17

Country: US

Running Time: 85 minutes

Director: Sam Raimi

Starring: Bruce Campbell, Ellen Sandweiss, Betsy Baker, Hal Delrich, Teresa Tilly

Banned in multiple countries and cities (Finland, Germany, Iceland etc.), heavily edited and cut to maintain a premiere and release to cinema and notorious for its tremendously soaring gore status and B-movie ambience (backed up by a superbly done cartoonish feel), The Evil Dead is one of the most controversial, violent, sleazy, preposterous and marvellous cult horror movies ever. With Sam Raimi (At the time being a low-budget making film student) behind the camera, what can you expect? What hasn't already been said about this? It's downright silly but at the same time suspenseful, thrilling and full of tension. Most directors today don't even come up with there own plotlines and ideals. Not Raimi. This was from the beginning his innovative plan for entertainment. Even on his shoestring budget, he manages to create true and pure darkness from start to finish. He pulls this off with his talented use of photograpy. Unlike his later achievements and most well-known pieces of celluloid (Spider-man being one), Raimi uses a variety of impressive and magnificent techniques, including the shots where the demons seemingly are hunting the people. Deserves more recognition on this skill. The Evil Dead also doesn't take itself seriously. It knows what it was meant to be, and from the first 15 minutes the faithful movie buff is informed of that certain lack of solemnity. Last but not least: Bruce Campbell as Ash. He literally is the king and master of zombie badassery, especially in the next two sequels (Which still don't match up to this). Equipped with a chainsaw and other weapons, he really set a new standard for B-movie acting. Remarkable. All in all The Evil Dead is not flawless, but it isn't bad either. In fact, it's awesome. How anyone cannot be entertained while experiencing this is beyond me.

Pros: Just about anything

Cons: Above comment = LIES! It's not perfect. It does have some minor difficulties and obstacles it can't get past through.

Recommended? Definetly (You might want to watch a few B-movies to flow with the vibe and path this film chooses)

9/10