The Evil Dead (1981)

User Rating:

7.6/10   

Director:

Sam Raimi

Writer:

Sam Raimi (written by)

Release Date:

15 April 1983 (USA)

Genre:

Fantasy | Horror | Thriller

Tagline:

Can They Be Stopped?

Plot:

Five friends travel to a cabin in the woods, where they unknowingly release flesh-possessing demons.

Plot Keywords:

Evil | Woods | Cabin | Tape | Friend

Awards:

3 wins & 1 nomination

Cast

Bruce Campbell	...	Ashley 'Ash' J. Williams
Ellen Sandweiss	...	Cheryl
Richard DeManincor	...	Scott (as Hal Delrich)
Betsy Baker	...	Linda
Theresa Tilly	...	Shelly (as Sarah York)
Philip A. Gillis	...	Fake Shemp (as Phil Gillis)
Dorothy Tapert	...	Fake Shemp
Cheryl Guttridge	...	Fake Shemp
Barbara Carey	...	Fake Shemp
David Horton	...	Fake Shemp
Wendall Thomas	...	Fake Shemp
Don Long	...	Fake Shemp
Stu Smith	...	Fake Shemp
Kurt Rauf	...	Fake Shemp
Ted Raimi	...	Fake Shemp

Also Known As:

Book of the Dead (USA) (première title)
Evil Dead (USA) (trailer title)
Into the Woods (USA) (working title)
Sam Raimi's The Evil Dead (USA) (complete title)
The Evil Dead, the Ultimate Experience in Grueling Horror (USA) (closing credits title)

MPAA:

Rated NC-17 for substantial graphic horror violence and gore.

Runtime:

85 min | Germany:70 min (FSK 16 version)

Country:

USA

Language:

English

Colour:

Colour

Aspect Ratio:

1.85 : 1

Sound Mix:

Mono

Certification:

Canada:R (Manitoba/Nova Scotia/Ontario) | Finland:K-16 (heavily cut) (1990) | Finland:K-18 (uncut) (2002) | USA:Not Rated (DVD rating) | Malaysia:(Banned) | Germany:16 (heavily cut) | Germany:18 (JK/SPIO) (uncut) (2001) | UK:18 (re-rating: 1990) (cut) (re-rating: 2001) (uncut) | UK:(Banned) (1984-1990) | UK:X (original rating: 1982) (cut) | USA:R (edited UMD version) | Netherlands:16 | Germany:18 (re-rating) (1995) (court decision) (cut) | Argentina:16 | Canada:14A (rated 2006) | USA:X (original rating) | Chile:14 (2006 DVD Rating) | South Korea:18 | West Germany:(Banned) (1984) (uncut) | Sweden:(Banned) | Italy:VM14 | Canada:18A (Ontario) (Re-rated 2008) | Italy:VM18 (original rating) | Australia:R | Canada:13+ (Québec) | France:-12 | Hong Kong:III | Iceland:(Banned) | Ireland:(Banned) (original rating) | Ireland:18 (re-rating) | Japan:R-15 | New Zealand:R16 | Norway:15 (DVD rating) (2004) | Portugal:M/16 (DVD rating) | Portugal:M/18 (original rating) | Singapore:(Banned) | Spain:18 | Sweden:15 (re-rating) (1997) | USA:NC-17 (rated 1994) | Germany:BPjM Restricted

Filming Locations:

Detroit, Michigan, USA

Company:

Renaissance Pictures

Trivia:

Ash's last name is never mentioned throughout the entire Evil Dead trilogy, though Sam Raimi and Bruce Campbell did toy around with calling him "Ashley J Williams" and "Ash Holt," the latter revealing how Sam viewed the character...

Goofs:

Revealing mistakes: When the car is approaching the cabin and the camera truck is filming from the rear angle following the car, you can see a branch get moved out of the way by the camera.

Quotes:

[first lines]
Scotty: Hey, Ash, where are we?
Ash: Well we just crossed the Tennessee border...

Movie Connections:

Referenced in Wild Arms (1996) (VG)

The scariest piece of horror ever!

Until about 3 years ago, my favorite movie was Halloween 2. There was no doubt, whatsoever that THAT was the greatest horror flick ever.

Then, in the fall of 1999, I found The Evil Dead on a sale at a shopping center in Stockholm for a great price. The previous missing 12 minutes of blood and gore (that the Swedish censorship had cut) were back, in the full uncut Swedish version.

I bought it with another film, 'cause there was an offer to buy 2 movies and only pay 100 crowns (about $11/£7 today).

I saw it, and I was scared beyond recognition! The music, the low budget camera, the camera work! Everything. It had everything!

It was scary, it was dark, the music was scary, it was made during the golden age of horror (early 80's) with a low budget and no huge stars in it - everything I look for in a horror movie.

It still is my favourite - no doubt about it. I can't imagine any movie being better than Raimi's masterpiece, I definitely can't.

The greatest piece of horror ever!