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.

---

Plot Keywords:

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

---

Taglines:

Can They Be Stopped?

---

Genres:

Horror

---

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

Joel Coen was an assistant editor on the film. This was one his earliest professional jobs. He and his brother Ethan Coen would produce and make the film Blood Simple (1984) three years after the release of this film. In preparing to get funding for that film, the Coens enlisted the help of friends Bruce Campbell and Sam Raimi to help out and they happily did so. Campbell and Raimi also starred in a short film based on scenes of Blood Simple for the Coens to show to potential investors, which proved successful.

---

Goofs

When Scotty is attacked in the bathroom, not only his hair is shorter, but he also has a different shirt on. He also has this new shirt on in all his scenes with his hair short (these additional scenes were shot months after principal shooting ended)

The original shirt was probably unusable, rather than being lost, since it was all ripped apart in the scene where he returns to the cabin after being attacked by the trees.

---

Quotes

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

---

Crazy Credits

The opening credit for The Evil Dead shimmers like a ghost.

---

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)

---

Connections

Featured in The Blockbuster Buster: A Look Back @ the Evil Dead Trilogy (2015)

---

Soundtracks

Charleston
(uncredited)
Music by James P. Johnson and lyrics by Cecil Mack
Performed by Traditional

User Reviews

You don't need a big budget to make an accomplished film

Sam Raimi's feature length debut "The Evil Dead" is truly one of the greatest horror films of all time and the start of a magnificently entertaining trilogy of hilarity and some real scares. Made on a budget of only $375,000, the film is surprisingly accomplished on a technical level. The effects, although they do look fake by today's standards, hold up a lot better than you might have expected, and the stop motion sequence at the end, which looks a lot faker than anything else in the movie, was accomplished for its time and budget.

"The Evil Dead" is about a group of young adults who travel to a cabin in the woods and discover a 'book of the dead'. No prizes for guessing what happens next as each character is possessed (except for Ash) and disposed of via an intriguing variety of methods. Considering its budget, unknown director (at the time), and typical slasher plot "The Evil Dead" would almost certainly seem headed towards forgotten B-movie status, and yet it has stood the test of time and remains one of the most widely acclaimed horror films of all time. Why? It's simple. Although "The Evil Dead" is nowhere near as funny as its sequels, it's still a humorous self-satire while also being terrifying despite its age. This odd combination (only perfected in this film's sequels and "Creepshow") works because Raimi crafts a tense and moody environment, puts his characters in there, and then ruthlessly disposes of them, sometimes doing so several times for the same character. What's worse is that there's nowhere to go. Raimi creates a claustrophobic feeling in anyone watching, he wants you to think about being in a situation where you're trapped with nothing but death and destruction surrounding you. For most people, he probably succeeds. As far as acting goes, none of it is really very good but Bruce Campbell is instantly likable as Ash, who just has to be one of the most memorable horror film characters of all time.

Gory, desolate, hopeless, and still funny, "The Evil Dead" is a horror masterpiece that isn't quite the strongest entry in the series, but is shockingly accomplished and entertaining despite its low budget and inexperienced cast and crew. This is a film everyone must see, along with its sequels.

9/10