Release CalendarTop 250 MoviesMost Popular MoviesBrowse Movies by GenreTop Box OfficeShowtimes & TicketsMovie NewsIndia Movie Spotlight
    What's on TV & StreamingTop 250 TV ShowsMost Popular TV ShowsBrowse TV Shows by GenreTV NewsIndia TV Spotlight
    What to WatchLatest TrailersIMDb OriginalsIMDb PicksIMDb Podcasts
    OscarsBest Picture WinnersBest Picture WinnersEmmysSTARmeter AwardsSan Diego Comic-ConNew York Comic-ConSundance Film FestivalToronto Int'l Film FestivalAwards CentralFestival CentralAll Events
    Born TodayMost Popular CelebsMost Popular CelebsCelebrity News
    Help CenterContributor ZonePolls
For Industry Professionals
  • All
  • Titles
  • TV Episodes
  • Celebs
  • Companies
  • Keywords
  • Advanced Search
Watchlist
Sign In
  • Fully supported
  • English (United States)
    Partially supported
  • Français (Canada)
  • Français (France)
  • Deutsch (Deutschland)
  • हिंदी (भारत)
  • Italiano (Italia)
  • Português (Brasil)
  • Español (España)
  • Español (México)
  • Cast & crew
  • User reviews
  • Trivia
IMDbPro

The Evil Dead

  • 19811981
  • NC-17NC-17
  • 1h 25m
IMDb RATING
7.4/10
208K
YOUR RATING
POPULARITY
1,087
16
Bridget Hoffman in The Evil Dead (1981)
Five friends travel to a cabin in the woods, where they unknowingly release flesh-possessing demons.
Play trailer1:28
7 Videos
99+ Photos
Horror
Five friends travel to a cabin in the woods, where they unknowingly release flesh-possessing demons.Five friends travel to a cabin in the woods, where they unknowingly release flesh-possessing demons.Five friends travel to a cabin in the woods, where they unknowingly release flesh-possessing demons.
IMDb RATING
7.4/10
208K
YOUR RATING
POPULARITY
1,087
16
  • See more at IMDbPro
    • Director
      • Sam Raimi
    • Writer
      • Sam Raimi
    • Stars
      • Bruce Campbell
      • Ellen Sandweiss
      • Richard DeManincor
    Top credits
    • Director
      • Sam Raimi
    • Writer
      • Sam Raimi
    • Stars
      • Bruce Campbell
      • Ellen Sandweiss
      • Richard DeManincor
  • See production, box office & company info
    • 958User reviews
    • 365Critic reviews
    • 71Metascore
    • Awards
      • 3 wins & 1 nomination

    Videos7

    U.S. Version
    Trailer 1:28
    U.S. Version
    The Evil Dead
    Trailer 1:51
    The Evil Dead
    The Evil Dead
    Trailer 1:47
    The Evil Dead
    How "Carnival Row" Gets Lovecraft Right
    Clip 3:47
    How "Carnival Row" Gets Lovecraft Right
    The Evil Dead: Makeup
    Featurette 1:11
    The Evil Dead: Makeup
    The Evil Dead: Casting
    Featurette 1:42
    The Evil Dead: Casting
    The Evil Dead: Bruce Campbell
    Promo 1:06
    The Evil Dead: Bruce Campbell

    Photos267

    Ellen Sandweiss in The Evil Dead (1981)
    Bruce Campbell in The Evil Dead (1981)
    Ellen Sandweiss in The Evil Dead (1981)
    Betsy Baker, Ellen Sandweiss, and Theresa Tilly in The Evil Dead (1981)
    The Evil Dead (1981)
    Bridget Hoffman and Bruce Campbell in The Evil Dead (1981)
    Bruce Campbell in The Evil Dead (1981)
    Bridget Hoffman in The Evil Dead (1981)
    The ladies of Evil Dead.
    The Evil Dead (1981)
    Bridget Hoffman in The Evil Dead (1981)
    The Evil Dead (1981)

    Top cast

    Edit
    Bruce Campbell
    Bruce Campbell
    • Ashley 'Ash' J. Williams
    Ellen Sandweiss
    Ellen Sandweiss
    • Cheryl
    Richard DeManincor
    • Scott
    • (as Hal Delrich)
    Betsy Baker
    Betsy Baker
    • Linda
    Theresa Tilly
    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
    Ted Raimi
    • Fake Shemp
    Ivan Raimi
    Ivan Raimi
    • Fake Shemp
    Bill Vincent
    • Fake Shemp
    Mary Beth Tapert
    • Fake Shemp
    • Director
      • Sam Raimi
    • Writer
      • Sam Raimi
    • All cast & crew
    • Production, box office & more at IMDbPro

    More like this

    Evil Dead II
    7.7
    Evil Dead II
    Army of Darkness
    7.4
    Army of Darkness
    Evil Dead
    6.5
    Evil Dead
    Ash vs Evil Dead
    8.4
    Ash vs Evil Dead
    A Nightmare on Elm Street
    7.4
    A Nightmare on Elm Street
    Halloween
    7.7
    Halloween
    The Texas Chain Saw Massacre
    7.4
    The Texas Chain Saw Massacre
    Friday the 13th
    6.4
    Friday the 13th
    Evil Dead Rise
    Evil Dead Rise
    Hellraiser
    6.9
    Hellraiser
    Drag Me to Hell
    6.6
    Drag Me to Hell
    Poltergeist
    7.3
    Poltergeist

    Storyline

    Edit

    Did you know

    Edit
    • Trivia
      The cabin used as the film's set was also lodging for the 13 crew members, with several people sleeping in the same room. Living conditions were terrible, and the crew frequently argued. The cabin didn't have plumbing, so the actors went days without showering, and fell ill frequently in the freezing weather. By the end of production, they were burning furniture to stay warm.
    • Goofs
      Characters' hairstyles, as well as the amount of blood on them, change drastically from shot to shot - a result of shooting the film sporadically over several years. Note that seconds after Ash is completely covered in Linda's blood, he is clean again.
    • Quotes

      [repeated line]

      Voice of Evil Force: Join us...

    • 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.
    • Alternate versions
      When originally released to theaters in Britain, the UK censors removed 49 seconds of footage including an ankle stabbing, Shelley chewing off her own hand, an eye gouging, Shelley's body being dismembered, body blows with a poker and a wooden post, and shots of blood spurts, and it was this version that was released on video originally. Despite the cuts, it became one of the most notorious of the UK video nasties and was subject to many obscenity trials before being withdrawn on video in 1984, when mandatory video censorship was introduced to the UK. It was not until 1990 that the film surfaced on video in the UK again, due to wrangles between the distributors and the BBFC over how much footage should be cut from a legal video release. In the end, a further 1m 6s was removed, in addition to the previous theatrical version cuts. Most of the scenes depicting excessive gore were shortened or removed, with the tree rape scene being particularly targeted for cuts. The fully uncut version was finally released on DVD in 2001.
    • Connections
      Edited into Bhayam (2007)
    • Soundtracks
      Charleston
      (uncredited)

      Music by James P. Johnson

      Lyrics by Cecil Mack

    User reviews958

    Review
    Review
    Top review
    Interestingly good...
    For a film that was made on a budget that would make Steven Spielberg die laughing, "Evil Dead" was one for the most interesting pieces of horror cinema I've ever seen. I watched the series backwards, so "Army of Darkness" was the film I saw first, then "Evil Dead II." While "Evil Dead II" is probably still my favorite, it was interesting to see where it all started.

    The camera work is incredibly good, and the fast motion sequences showing the demon's approach was pretty well done, if not completely original. Though also interesting, and kinda funny to note is that we see the characters running away, but when the camera switches away from the demon's view, we don't see the demon, and that seems like a touch of genius...we know it's there, but we can't see it, and while it probably was a limitation of the budget, it actually proved to be a great method of suspense.

    The special effects are as laughable as they were in the rest of the series, but there's something to be said for a film that takes its chances and goes to the extreme in lieu of lacking resources. People complain about this a lot, but I have to say to them "get a sense of humor." The whole point of the "Evil Dead" series was to mock horror films and show how campy they were and that they could get even worse. It's humor is in that the film tries to take itself seriously, but the lack of a big budget makes this not only impossible, but even funny in spite of the fact that it could conceivable be a serious film.

    The acting is also terrible, but again in that way that it's so obviously bad that it's hard to tell were the actors just plain bad or were they doing that deliberately to serve the purpose of mocking the genre. Bruce Campbell's introduction into the world of abused heroes is interesting since his character is actually less of a chauvinist in this one than he ultimately became famous for. But it works, and the horror on his face when his friend has no reservations about chopping up his possessed girlfriend is actually believable.

    Overall, this movie is a great piece of cinema. It's humorous, but serious as well, and its greatest strength is its ability to draw the line between being part of the genre and mocking it. There are plenty of moments of original horror (I don't think anybody could keep their composure during the "Tree Rape" scene, which they repeated to lesser effect in "Evil Dead II," but let's face it that movie was supposed to be a rehash and extension). Give the film a chance and don't take it too seriously. Otherwise you're missing the point.
    helpful•138
    41
    • yucel81x
    • Feb 5, 2001

    FAQ8

    • What is a Fake Shemp?
    • Where is the location of the cabin?
    • What are the differences between the old British BBFC 18 VHS and the Uncut Version?

    Details

    Edit
    • Release date
      • April 15, 1983 (United States)
    • Country of origin
      • United States
    • Language
      • English
    • Also known as
      • Evil Dead
    • Filming locations
      • Marshall, Michigan, USA
    • Production company
      • Renaissance Pictures
    • See more company credits at IMDbPro

    Box office

    Edit
    • Budget
      • $350,000 (estimated)
    • Gross US & Canada
      • $2,400,000
    • Gross worldwide
      • $2,895,379
    See detailed box office info on IMDbPro

    Technical specs

    Edit
    • Runtime
      1 hour 25 minutes
    • Color
      • Color
    • Sound mix
      • Mono
    • Aspect ratio
      • 1.33 : 1(original ratio)

    Related news

    Contribute to this page

    Suggest an edit or add missing content
    • IMDb Answers: Help fill gaps in our data
    • Learn more about contributing
    Edit page

    More to explore

    View list
    List
    New & Upcoming Superhero Movies and Series
    See the full list
    View list
    List
    Fall TV Guide: The Best Shows Coming This Year
    See the full list
    View image
    Photos
    Double Take: Celebrity Twins
    See the full list
    Back to top

    Recently viewed

    Please enable browser cookies to use this feature. Learn more.
    Get the IMDb App
    Sign in for more access
    Sign in for more access
    • Get the IMDb App
    • Help
    • Site Index
    • IMDbPro
    • Box Office Mojo
    • IMDb Developer
    • Press Room
    • Advertising
    • Jobs
    • Conditions of Use
    • Privacy Policy
    • Interest-Based Ads
    IMDb, an Amazon company

    © 1990-2022 by IMDb.com, Inc.