The Evil Dead (1981)

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

Director:

Sam Raimi

Writer:

Sam Raimi

Stars:

Bruce Campbell, Ellen Sandweiss, Richard DeManincor

3 wins & 1 nomination.

Cast

Cast overview, first billed only:
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

Storyline

Five friends go up to a cabin in the woods, where they find unspeakable evil lurking in the forest. They find a tome called the "Necronomicon", Book of the Dead, and the taped translation of the text. Once the tape is played, the evil is released. One by one, the teens are possessed. With only one remaining, it is up to him to survive the night and battle the evil dead.

---

Plot Keywords:

Evil | Woods | Tape | Cabin | Friend | 

---

Taglines:

They got up on the wrong side of the grave.

---

Genres:

Horror

---

Motion Picture Rating (MPAA)

Rated NC-17 for substantial graphic horror violence and gore

Details

Official Sites:

Deadites Online - Official Fan site Within the Woods - fan site

Country:

USA

Language:

English

Release Date:

24 April 1983 (USA)

Also Known As:

Book of the Dead

Filming Locations:

Detroit, Michigan, USA

Box Office

Budget:

$375,000 (estimated)

Company Credits

Production Co:

Renaissance Pictures

Technical Specs

Runtime:

85 min 70 min (FSK 16)

Sound Mix:

Mono DTS (re-mastered version)

Color:

Color

Aspect Ratio:

1.37 : 1

Did You Know?

Trivia

Joel Coen was an assistant editor on the film. This was one his earliest profession jobs. He and his brother Ethan Coen, would produce and make the film Blood Simple. three years after the release of this film. In preparing to get funding for that film, the Coens enlisted the help of friends Bruce Campbell and Sam Raimi to help out and they happily did so. Campbell and Raimi also starred in a short film based on scenes of Blood Simple for the Coens to show to potential investors and it worked.

---

Goofs

When Scotty is fighting with Shelly in front of the fireplace, Shelly is holding the Kandarian Dagger, however, when the shot cuts to Scotty trying to get his buck knife out of the sheath, you can see the Kandarian Dagger lying on the floor on the bottom right corner of the screen.

---

Quotes

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

---

Crazy Credits

The swing music from the old Victrola in the cabin's cellar plays during the closing credits, only to wind down and grind to a stop leaving the sound of the wind to accompany the rest of the credits. The final sound heard as the closing credits end is the fly buzzing - the first sound heard in the opening of the film.

---

Connections

Referenced in The Cinema Snob: Entrails of a Virgin (2011)
"This is set in Evil Dead woods apparently."

User Reviews

The ultimate in terror

It's the early 80's, what do you expect? This is a scary scary film. And I think I know why films now a days can't hold a candle to films like Halloween and Evil Dead. And that is because a photo copy is never as good as the original. That is the bottom line. Directors don't care about a lot of the material that they are filming today, especially when it comes to horror films and that is because they don't write their own stories. They do someone elses work. But not Evil Dead. This was Raimi's baby from the outset. When films like the two mentioned were filmed they were filmed by two directors that were complete unknowns. They had no pressure to make a great film and they did it on an incredibly low budget. Halloween was made for $150,000 and Evil Dead for $50 000. So what that meant is that the directors could stick to their visions but they had to find innovative ways to do so. Their budgets didn't allow a heap of special effects so they had to rely on what they knew. And that was, how to create atmosphere using the camera. And Evil Dead is one of the best at doing that. There is one scene in this film that I will never forget and that is one of the early scenes where the cast arrives at the cabin. Here we see a long shot of the cabin and it has very eerie music playing. This shows the cabin as being menacing. It lets you know that there is evil in that cabin. And that we are in for a hell of a ride.

Sam Raimi made a masterpiece here that I believe stands the test of time. You can put this film up against any of today's so called horror films and I guarantee you this scares you more. Raimi cares about his movie and he does everything to make you feel the terror that the cabin people feel. We are scared and disgusted at what happens when one of the women goes outside alone at night and meets a tree that does unspeakable things. And when the book is first introduced.... that is horror movie history there. What a brilliant concept. A book that is evil. I have often wondered about such books. We hear about them all the time in movies about ancient Egypt and ancient times. But here we have a book that has weird incantations from another world and another language, and you just know that as soon as some idiot utters the words that they are not supposed to say, well they won't be around much longer.

The Evil Dead is a miracle. It was made on a rock bottom budget yet it is scarier than any Hollywood movie that is made for 20 million could ever hope to be. If you want to truly experience a frightening experience, rent this film, it knows what it wants to say. And it knows how to make you afraid. So be afraid. Be very afraid. You may never look at the forest the same again.