The Evil Dead: 1983’s Cult Classic

I had no idea what to expect when I sat down to watch this movie. Though I know it's a cult classic, lots of times that doesn't mean much. People tend to love Monty Python and for the life of me, I can't understand it. I suppose though, that's why we have chocolate and vanilla........ and Oreo Blizzards...........

So anyway, my better half had to take off for a few so of course I took advantage of this prime opportunity to watch The Evil Dead since I know he would be rolling his eyes and making snide remarks the entire time if I were to try and bribe him to watch it with me. Based on the low budget of the movie, under $375,000, and the no name actors and then unknown director, the bribe would have to be huge and I was feeling a little to lazy.

The movie starts out innocently enough, laying groundwork for what poses to be a major health hazard. Five young adults manage to strand themselves in a wilderness cabin where they discover a "Book of the Dead." Reciting incantations bring about strange noises and dark shadows that let you know something very bad is coming, however when the movie takes a typical spin and proceeds to offer up a rape scene where one of the girls gets assaulted by a tree, I started to question my sanity in that I actually watch these things (needless to say I was really glad my better half was not witness to this scene. I would have never heard the end of it until I shut the DVD player off.) I am a trooper though, and despite this graphic scene, the movie soon had me hooked.

This movie is filled with inventive special effects that range from impressive, to grotesque, to absurd, and even laughable. Much of the filming focused on facial expressions which was pretty common place in older movies, however in this day and age, the "wink-wink-nod-nod" captured on film offers an air of comedy for this film that really is evil at its best. If you have not had the pleasure of seeing this film, I highly recommend you do. This one definitely earns the title of cult classic!

Interesting Trivia About The Evil Dead (borrowed from IMDb.com):

• The original script called for all the characters to be smoking marijuana when they are first listening to the tape. The actors decided to try this for real, and the entire scene had to be later re-shot due to their uncontrollable behavior.

• In Germany the movie was released to the theaters and on video the same day to avoid problems with the censorship boards. It was banned shortly afterward but dominated the top ten in the few weeks of the release. The movie is still banned theatrically in Germany.

• The blood is a combination of Karo syrup, non-dairy creamer, and red food coloring.

• The cabin was located in Morristown, Tennessee. In Bruce Campbell's biography he says that it was later burned down. No one knows for sure what happened (Sam Raimi says that he burnt it down himself after filming). Also, no one will give out complete directions because the only remaining part of the cabin is the brick chimney and everyone was stealing a piece of it.

• The white liquid that often emits from the possessed after they're injured or maimed is 2% milk that Sam Raimi chose to use, not just to show how these aren't normal beings but also to mix it up so the MPAA wouldn't give it an X rating.