Evil Dead still holds up after 35 years

Evil Dead is the classic horror movie of 1981, starring Bruce Campbell and directed by Sam Rami. Evil Dead is also one of the best horror movies of all time.

Evil Dead follows Ash (Bruce Campbell) as he heads to a cabin in the woods with his friend Scott, Scott’s girlfriend Shelly, Ash’s girlfriend Linda, and his sister Cheryl. Inside the cabin’s cellar, Ash and Scott find a tape recorder and an odd book; Necronomicon Ex Mortis: The Book of the Dead. Bound in human flesh and inked in human blood, this book had the ability to bring the dead back to life. Naturally, as curious teenagers do, they bring the tape recorder and play it. At the same time, Ash is trying to make sense of the book.

The tape recorder mentions that the book has something called the “Demon Resurrection Passages” and begins to read from them. This causes Cheryl to freak out when a tree branch hits the window and run into the other room. Later on, she sneaks out into the woods, and the trees themselves attack her.

Cheryl returns to the cabin in a panic, telling Ash and his friends that the trees are alive. Ash offers to drive her to a hotel and come back to his friends. Ash drives his sister into the woods only and finds the bridge from earlier is completely destroyed. So, they come back to the cabin where they find Cheryl is possessed by demons. Cheryl starts to kill everyone, leaving only Ash to handle four demons, all of which look like his friends.

Evil Dead is a classic, and for a good reason. It’s a first effort from director Sam Rami, so the budget to make the movie was little. In fact, they had to stop shooting to try to get more money for the film. This only adds to the movie however. They couldn’t afford many special effects so most of what they did was practical. Actors left often and forced Sam Rami and his brother Ted to step in as “fake shemps” a phrase they used to describe extras who played big roles. For example, Rami would act as Scott’s hand, and other small parts like that.

It’s important to keep in mind, this is an 80s horror movie; the acting may not be the best. However, it actually adds to the charm of the movie. They do seem terrified when Cheryl turns out to be a demon and Bruce Campbell’s portrayal of Ash has several break downs that Campbell does well. It is, however, a horror movie from the eighties so the acting has to be cheesy.

Rotten Tomatoes provides evidence that proves that the movie is spectacular. Evil Dead received a 95% score with a 84% audience score. Critics and fans alike all enjoy this movie.

In 1986, Rami made Evil Dead 2: Dead by Dawn which received better reviews than the first one. After that, Army of Darkness was released as more of a spoof, but still the third installment of the franchise.

The series was over. Until 2010, when they released Evil Dead: The Musical, a spoof of the original series on stage. Three years later, the remade Evil Dead was exposed to mixed reviews.

Finally, in 2015, the T.V. show Ash vs. Evil Dead, based off the original Evil Dead movie, came out to outstanding reviews.