Movie Review: The Evil Dead

The Evil Dead (1983) 

Directed by Sam Raimi 

Written by Sam Raimi 

Starring Bruce Campbell, Ellen Sandweiss, Betsy Baker 

Release Date April 15th, 1983 

Published April 20th, 2023 

The Evil Dead is inspired and inspiring. A group of friends in Michigan used the limited tools they had at hand to make one of the most incredible DIY horror movies of all time. With plenty of makeup, innovative small scale special effects, and chutzpah, Director Sam Raimi, Producer Rob Tapert, and star Bruce Campbell crafted a series of iconic scenes from what they were able to scrape together. The Evil Dead launched a million imitators as anyone with access to a camera the ability to make fake blood and bile, began making horror movies in their backyard. And yet, there is still only one The Evil Dead. 

Five friends travel to a cabin in the woods is now a trope for a horror movie. That was not a trope until The Evil Dead. Ash (Bruce Campbell), his girlfriend, Linda (Betsy Baker), his sister, Cheryl (Ellen Sandweiss), his best friend, Scott (Richard Demanicor), and Scott's girlfriend, Shelly (Theresa Tilly) have come to this remote cabin, in the middle of nowhere, to get away from the world, drink some beer, and generally have a good time. Unfortunately for our weary travelers, the previous denizens of this cabin accidentally unleashed an unimaginable evil. 

One by one Ash and his friends are attacked by the demon, possessed, and are subsequently befouled by the demons before having to be dismembered by Ash, our de facto 'Final Girl.' It's actually on the women who end up being subjected to the demonic possession. Scotty is briefly taken but not until he's already dead. Ash meanwhile, is tormented for most of the film by having to dismember his girlfriend and his sister in order to survive this inconceivably insane situation. 

The key to the appeal of The Evil Dead is a dedication to DIY, low budget special effects. Director Sam Raimi brilliantly demonstrates how to make the most of what you have by thinking of ways to maximize his location and use the tools of filmmaking to his advantage. One standout example is how Raimi uses his camera to portray the film's villainous demons. When he wants us to see the demons in action, Raimi's camera becomes the demon as it rushes around the woodsy location running at or after our protagonists. 

It's a simple idea rendered ingenious by Raimi's skillful and economic deployment of this device. But the inventiveness doesn't end there. As Ash's friends are picked off one by one in gruesome fashion, the low budget gore effects take center stage and dazzle you with how cleverly staged they are. It's a wonder how Raimi and his team pulls off having two dead bodies rapidly decompose in a fashion that is both hilarious and gruesome. Your stomach turns at the sight of a seemingly once human body turning to mulch but the gruesomeness of the sight is also comically grotesque making it an absurd joy to watch. 

The blood and guts of The Evil Dead is wildly over the top and the perverse comedy of the gore makes The Evil Dead so much ridiculous fun. Reanimated corpses are punched, stabbed, and chainsawed, buckets of blood cover our heroic Ash, and the fact that he is being forced to decimate the people closest to him in the world adds another perverse layer to the horror comedy at play in The Evil Dead. All the while, Bruce Campbell is ragdolled from one side of this cabin in the woods to the other, all for our unending amusement. 

Campbell embraces the silliness of his stunts. For Campbell, physical comedy seems to come as naturally as breathing. What the star lacks in gracefulness he more than makes up for in hustle. Campbell throws himself wholeheartedly into every bit of physical business thrust upon him and his dedication to the gags is charming and hilarious. Campbell has a huge personality, an expressive and handsome face, and a strong sense of the absurd. It's a rare combination of traits and one that should have made him a major Hollywood star. 

That Bruce Campbell never became one of Hollywood's biggest stars baffles me. I imagine that it had to do with being pigeonholed as a horror guy. But, I can also see where he seemed to only want to work with Sam Raimi and with Raimi struggling through the 80s just get Evil Dead 2 made, followed by the tepid box office of their big gamble, the cult favorite, Army of Darkness, Campbell missed his chance to become a massive Hollywood star. Don't get me wrong, I consider us all lucky that Campbell didn't get big in the mainstream, we'd miss a whole lot of great cult cinema and TV without him, but I can't help but wonder what might have been, just a little. 

The Evil Dead is most assuredly eclipsed by its sort of sequel, Evil Dead 2. That film, with a slightly larger budget, featured the elements that would make the franchise iconic. Evil Dead 2 has Ash fighting his demonically possessed hand, Ash's chainsaw, and his one word catchphrase, 'Groovy.' The Evil Dead however, doesn't completely suffer in comparison. It still has the honor of having introduced the style that would be cemented into cult movie history in Evil Dead 2. The moving camera and the dedication to grisly, absurd gore, each came from the success of the original, The Evil Dead. For that, I will always have a soft spot for the film that kicked off the franchise.