The Evil Dead (1981) Retrospective (Updated)

October 12, 2018

The Evil Dead (1981) Retrospective (Updated)

By: Nik S

From what you probably learned from the Jeepers Creepers 3 review, I'm from Michigan. There aren't too many movies that are set or based in the mitten state, but one of the most famous ones is a small B-movie that helped to revolutionize the entire horror genre. The Evil Dead, a film written and directed by Sam Raimi (later known for the Spider-Man franchise), and was created on a shoestring budget. Before he wrote and directed The Evil Dead he filmed a small project for $1,600 called Within the Woods which many claim as the prequel to The Evil Dead. He had to raise at least $100,000 so he had to go out and ask for donations, and even do a little "begging" as he puts it. While writing the script Raimi was inspired to put in the Necronomicon due to his interest in H.P. Lovecraft's short stories. Raimi seems to add his own unique humor to the horror genre and bold new ways to film certain scenes.

Everyone but one person had worked with a major production before, so there were a few film taboos that made its way into the final cut. You would think that you would put blanks in a loaded shotgun, but not this crew; each shot you see is a real bullet being fired and the looks on everyone's face is a real expression. To be fair there was really only one person per job on the set, like one carpenter who had to put together several props.

Since everyone on set was inexperienced there were a lot of ways to film certain scenes. Raimi had to think of ways to film everything almost last minute. He drew a few crude illustrations to help break down how his movie should flow. He used dutch angles (tilted shots) to build atmosphere during most of his scenes. Since Raimi had a unique directing style, there were a lot of lo w-budget rigs that had to be set up since they couldn't afford a camera dolly. They called one rig the "vas-o-cam" which had a mounted camera slide down long wooden platforms to create a sense of fluid motion. To emulate a Steadicam inexpensively they created a technique called the shaky cam, which they put a camera on a piece of wood and had two camera operators run around. But due to this they had a bunch of footage to edit, which he had to have the Detroit editing association help out.

The actors had to act under some weird conditions. To create the foggy dead eyes of the possessed, they had to put on contacts that were amazingly thick. The makeup and latex the actors had to put on their face made it hard to breathe, so they could only be in costume for a handful of minutes. Though it was totally work it, as all the practical effects helped to create a campy look that just gave The Evil Dead the quirks that made it unique from others coming out at the time. There's also a lot of blood splatter that the actors had to deal being tossed at them, none more so than the lead actor Bruce Campbell.

Now most of us know Bruce Campbell or at least recognize his voice, as some people have dubbed him the king of B movies. He has lately gone into television acting, staring in such shows like Burn Notice and Hercules: The Legendary Journey, but most of his repertoire is B-movies and various roles in larger pictures. Other actors in the film include Ellen Sandweiss (primarily known for her role as Cheryl), Richard DeManincor under the pseudonym Hal Delrich, Betsy Baker, and Sarah York. Most of the actors took a twenty year hiatus after filming The Evil Dead as they were either embarrassed to be in it or because they were only in it as a favor to Raimi.

When the movie came out it actually had a good critical reception. The Los Angeles Times said the film was going to be an "instant classic" while praising the grisly nature of the film. Most fans and critics alike were shocked that this was pulled off with such a low budget and the audacity of Raimi's directing style. In later years the film has only gotten more popular and even has a cult following with more than just B-movie fans. It was liked enough to warrant two sequels, one being a semi-reboot that was later retconned in the 2015 television continuation.

The story, if done today, would be considered generic but that's only because Raimi is the one who made this cliche popular in the first place. So you have probably heard this premise before: group of college teens go off to a cabin in the woods, there's an ancient evil, people start getting possessed, and they kill each other off. That's really the plot structure of the entire film, and the basic nature of it is what helped to captivate audiences into wondering what was going to happen next. The cast, being of only five characters, made it easy to follow and being in one setting helped the flow of the movie.

Without spoiling too much of the movie, as it is something everyone should see in their lifetime, the movie follows five friends from Michigan State. The group consists of Ashley "Ash" Willaims (Campbell), his sister Cheryl (Sandweiss), his girlfriend Linda (Betsy Baker), his friend Scott (Delrich/DeManincor) and his girlfriend Shelly (York). There are small creepy things happening around them as they enter the cabin like hearing whispers, clocks stopping, and the cellar door flying open. Ash and Scott stumble upon the Naturan Demanto (Necronomicon) a Sumerian book of the dead along with a tape recorder belonging to an archaeologist who recites incantations found in the book. Because of this, they unknowingly summon a demonic force that possesses nature itself. One by one they fall victim to it, becoming warped versions of themselves. There's a lot more that happen, and even a very famous tree scene which can be hard to watch but helped the film to gain its cult status.