By Melissa Antoinette Garza
A horror cult phenomena, THE EVIL DEAD (1981) spawned sequels, crossed genres and even inspired video games. It stands the test of time and remains one of the scariest pictures ever made.
The movie opens with five friends vacationing in a cabin located deep in the woods. Upon their arrival they find an old recorder and play the tape inside. They listen to the tale of the previous owner who had unlocked the door to something evil. The man speaks in a monotone voice but mixes it with moments of urgency that are haunting and help begin the pace of this insane film.
After listening, most remain unaware that they just awakened the demons that possess the very land they are on. Cheryl (Ellen Sandweiss) however senses the evil almost immediately and wants to leave. She attempts to go on her own and in her journey is raped by a tree. Upon her return, her friends are still not believers thinking she must have been attacked by an animal. Perhaps, because she felt the presence before the others or possibly because of the sexual assault endured, Cheryl becomes the first possessed. In one of the most frightening scenes ever to be filmed, Cheryl transforms into a demon who floats above ground and speaks in an awful horrible tone that is likely to give the most loyal horror fan nightmares.
One by one, the friends are turned into horribly frightening creatures who taunt, abuse, and threaten the survivors. Ash (Bruce Campbell) is soon the only non-demon left among them. He learns the only way to stop them is to dismember the demons which is made harder when they at will can reform into his girlfriend and closest friends begging for mercy.
Admittedly, this is one of the very few movies I will not watch alone. Everything from the dark camera work, the demonic voices, the bright white eyes, the old music, and baby doll dresses, are meant to petrify, and it works. This film is brilliant in the way that it invokes terror. In one scene, Ash’s possessed girlfriend Linda (Betsy Baker) sits in a doorway, dressed in a glowing white nightdress laughing a horribly wicked childlike laughter. Ash becomes so insane that he punches the demon in the face but the laughter continues.
The pace, the music and the overall tone of this movie was done incredibly well. There are few flaws, and this could have been a gateway to one of the greatest horror series of all time. Sadly, the sequels, though well respected with cult film fans, took a comedic route and lost the energy of the first.
Still,the original Evil Dead remains a very campy fun movie in its own right. The bad special effects, low production value and near horrible acting is quite entertaining. It is very reminiscent of another masterpiece, “Children Shouldn’t Play With Dead Things,” a movie made nine years prior that no doubt had inspired and influenced the film. The similarities are evident in the characters, the setting, the horror and the campiness.
Scared Stiff Rating: 8/10.
