The Evil Dead
Plot:
5 college students decide to take a small vacation in a lovely rustic cabin within the woods. Unbeknownst to them, the cabin’s previous tenant, archeologist Professor Knowby, has disappeared. The only traces that remain of him being his tape-recorded notes, and the two recently unearthed relics he was studying; a rather demonic looking sacrificial dagger, and an ancient Sumerian text bound in human flesh…
Comments:
It
truly is embarrassing to look back over my notes from a couple of years ago and
see my initial reaction to The Evil Dead. Basically, I was a bit nit-picky
(knowing what you do of me, I’m sure your shocked). Since then, I have watched
this film, oh, roughly 7,000 times, and now consider it one of the pinnacles of
independent film.
“But Bog Man-I hear some of you whining- the acting is so wooden, the dialogue is trite, and the production values are so cheesy!" All of this may be true, but Evil Dead is one of those films which not only manages to transcend its flaws, but to become all the more charming because of them. Maybe it’s the intimacy of such a small production, maybe it’s the primal themes explored, but this film just possesses a certain mystical quality that I can’t put into words. Or perhaps I can, through the magic of haiku!
The film is Autumn
Dead leaves, trees gnarled, cold grasping
Dead shades here to dance
Those that were, shall be
The old ones do not sleep well
When you call their names
No, this isn’t quite working, maybe dodoitsu!
Stop-motion scares me more now
Than CGI ever will
It’s disturbing, like those old
MTV promos
Wow, I suck at this.
Getting back to film itself, I can’t imagine a better showcase for Sam Raimi’s talent than the Evil Dead series. His direction displays a hectic creative energy which constantly flaunts the border between genius and madness. Frankly, though I wish him success in all of life’s endeavors, I’d love to see him stop directing schmaltzy dramas and overrated superhero movies (yes, I liked both Spiderman flicks, very much in fact, but they do have their rough spots) and finally start working on something as original as his earlier films.
On a more banal note, I might add for those of us who are gore aficionados,
the bloody effects in this film never get old, even after seeing it as many time
as I have. The fact that the filmmakers were able to achieve such beatific
illusions on such a low budget blows my mind.
I might add one caveat, there is one highly controversial and unpleasant scene in this film. (And if your on this site, you probably know which one it is, if not, that‘s what Google is for.) I thought briefly about lowering the score for this film because of that one gratuitous bit, but it did serve a purpose in the film (ie., shocking the hell out of the audience) so I guess I can’t fault it for that. After all, horror films aren’t for the squeamish. Keeping that in mind, I have no qualms about giving The Evil Dead a perfect...
10.
You're welcome.