The Evil Dead (1981)

Five friends travel to a cabin in the woods, where they unknowingly release flesh-possessing demons.

Director:

Sam Raimi

Writer:

Sam Raimi

Stars:

Bruce Campbell, Ellen Sandweiss, Richard DeManincor

3 wins & 1 nomination.

Cast

Cast overview, first billed only:
Bruce Campbell	...	Ashley 'Ash' J. Williams
Ellen Sandweiss	...	Cheryl
Richard DeManincor	...	Scott (as Hal Delrich)
Betsy Baker	...	Linda
Theresa Tilly	...	Shelly (as Sarah York)
Philip A. Gillis	...	Fake Shemp (as Phil Gillis)
Dorothy Tapert	...	Fake Shemp
Cheryl Guttridge	...	Fake Shemp
Barbara Carey	...	Fake Shemp
David Horton	...	Fake Shemp
Wendall Thomas	...	Fake Shemp
Don Long	...	Fake Shemp
Stu Smith	...	Fake Shemp
Kurt Rauf	...	Fake Shemp
Ted Raimi	...	Fake Shemp

Storyline

Five college students take time off to spend a peaceful vacation in a remote cabin. A book and audio tape is discovered, and its evil is found to be powerful once the incantations are read out loud. The friends find themselves helpless to stop the evil as it takes them one by one, with only one survivor left with the evil dead and desperately tries to fight to live until morning.

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Plot Keywords:

cult film | evil dead | necronomicon | supernatural rape | book of the dead | 

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Taglines:

They got up on the wrong side of the grave.

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Genres:

Horror

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Motion Picture Rating (MPAA)

Rated NC-17 for substantial graphic horror violence and gore

Details

Country:

USA

Language:

English

Release Date:

15 April 1983 (USA)

Also Known As:

Sam Raimi's The Evil Dead

Filming Locations:

Michigan, USA

Company Credits

Production Co:

Renaissance Pictures

Technical Specs

Runtime:

85 min 70 min (FSK 16)

Sound Mix:

Mono DTS (re-mastered version) Dolby (5.1)

Color:

Color

Aspect Ratio:

1.33 : 1

Did You Know?

Trivia

The biggest selling VHS release of its year in the UK.

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Goofs

At one point in the movie, Ash's feet are shown walking across a blood-covered floor. Near the end of the movie, his feet are shown walking down the steps to the cellar, and he is obviously wearing different shoes.

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Quotes

[first lines]
Scotty: Hey, Ash, where are we?
Ash: Well we just crossed the Tennessee border...

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Crazy Credits

The swing music from the old Victrola in the cabin's cellar plays during the closing credits, only to wind down and grind to a stop leaving the sound of the wind to accompany the rest of the credits. The final sound heard as the closing credits end is the fly buzzing - the first sound heard in the opening of the film.

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Alternate Versions

Forty-eight seconds are missing from the German version. There are 2 German versions on the market:

• Tanz der Teufel (banned/uncut)
• Tanz der Teufel 1 (heavily cut)

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Connections

Referenced in The Riven (2014)

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Soundtracks

Westminster Quarters
(uncredited)
Traditional

User Reviews

"Join us!" "The Evil Dead" is gruesome fun!

Before "Spider-Man," Sam Raimi started off as the director of the classic fright film "The Evil Dead," which, to this day, is one of the hippest horror films ever.

Ash, his girlfriend Linda, his sister Cheryl, and his friends Scott and Shelly head out to an isolated cabin in the woods for some fun. But right from the beginning, strange things happen. Cheryl hears voices howling "Join us!" And then, Ash and Scott find a recording of a ritual from a book called The Book of the Dead. Too bad for them, because that ritual releases soul-hungry demons who possess everybody in the cabin. The only way to stop the demons is through the act of bodily dismemberment, and it's up to Ash to return the demons to their resting place. However, it's not gonna be easy.

"The Evil Dead" can be very scary, but it's mostly great fun to watch due to its shameless amount of gore. This movie goes so over the top, it sort of becomes comic, and I dig that.

Bruce Campbell has created such an icon out of Ash, a character who has lasted through 3 films. Campbell is a master. The other cast is very good with Ellen Sandweiss as Cheryl, Hal Delrich as Scott, Betsy Baker as Linda and Sarah York as Shelly.

"The Evil Dead" is a movie done with so much love for the genre, and a movie like that only comes once in a while. Hilariously gory, well-acted, and great fun to watch on a nice Halloween night, a horror movie like this doesn't get any better. A classic!

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