

Seriously though, it's demons, a cabin in the wood and Tennessee, so you know this is going to be one terrifying thriller. They're lounging about on my beloved Alabama and I can't say that I care all that much about them, but Quentin Tarantino was born there, so I can safely presume that Tennessee is known for violent, bizarre happenings and a cult following with its entertainment. You can here me with some kind of a thick southern accent with that sentence, and it would only be fitting, because this film does take place in Tennessee, seeing as how stuff like this is about what you'd expect from Tennessee. Oh no, this isn't your honest-to-goodness, fetch you some tea from beyond the grave type of dead, this is some evil dead right here, I tell you what. It's great on its own, but the story behind the making of the film certainly certifies this as one of horror-cinema's crown jewels. The dialogue and acting isn't all that great but it makes for a solid B-movie atmosphere, which was common for plenty of horror films of that time. Until the film changes into a contained gore fest for the last hour which is among the best slasher pictures of the 80's. It's all about "what you don't see" that make the hairs raise on the back of your neck.

The first act of the film is played out a lot like an old Hitchcock suspense thriller. You imply just have to look at the effective camera placement in suspenseful sequences to know this guy had a future in the filmmaking industry. Although Raimi didn't have the proper funds necessarily, there's actually a lot more skillful directing than you may think. Bruce Campbell being the one friend who went on to do extensive acting. This was essentially a film funded using what we call 'kick-starter' now, with a bunch of his friends. Of course, I mean amateur with the best intentions. Yes, 5 friends spending a night in a secluded cabin in the middle of the forest with little lighting is unsettling, but with Raimi's amateur directing style, it's horrifying. With The Evil Dead, the one-setting and minimalistic story actually adds to the film and makes it all the more terrifying. Most of the time the lack of sufficient funds to edit horror pictures make the end product a lot less re-watchable. Sometimes it's hard for myself to go back and watch horror films from decades ago, especially those with a smaller budget. Director Sam Raimi and the small cast made one of the most intense and original films to date. Perhaps no horror film in history has a bigger cult following than The Evil Dead, and rightfully so. It's always fun to go back and watch films with a mass-cult following.
