The Evil
Dead
the
power of the chin compels you.
Yes, it
would be nearly impossible to start a reviewing blog about cult classics and B
movies and not start with this amazing classic. Originally a small project
launched by Sam Raimi, his brother Ted Raimi and his best friend Bruce
Campbell. This low budget cheap thrill would change the face of horror for many
years to come. No one on the set would ever think that what was originally
called “The Woods” would become such a hit. but before we continue to talk
about what made this movie so famous, let’s take a look at the plot.
Five
friends decide that it would be a ‘groovy’ idea to spend a weekend in an
abandon cabin in the woods (yes, that’s where Joss Whedon’s movie got the
name). A creepy cabin, a group of friend, a big and dark wood surrounding the
place, what could go wrong? Well, I don’t know, how about reading some lines
from a demonic book, call some demons to possess your friends and turn them
into green slime spitting monsters that want to eat your soul? Yup, sounds like
the right thing to do.
And the
rest of the movie holds no surprise, it’s all about the survival the group and
the defense of the cabin from the demons and trees that have seen far too much
Japanese entertainment.
Thankfully,
the group have a hero in their midst, we call him ‘the chin’, ‘El chino’ or
simply, Bruce Campbell…who is kind of a wimp in this movie but will totally
kick massive ass in the sequels.
So yeah,
you heard this story before, and you’ll hear it again. Modern movies use this tale
all the time and other movies even use it for laughs. And with good reasons,
The Evil Dead was one of the first and definitely the most famous to use this
plot that now seems cliché. But where this movie really shines, is in the
atmosphere. The creeping feeling of the possessed friends and the eerie dark
woods makes you feel isolated and scared.
For me,
this movie shines in the acting and the effects. Sure, nowadays it can be
laughable, but think of this as a movie with almost no budget that managed to
scare the world for a few years. And I dare you not to find Linda creepy as
hell as she just sits in the hall chuckling to herself while all hell breaks
loose around them.
But…if I
really can be honest, I’m not really a fan of this one. Now hold your
pitchforks and torches at bay folks, I don’t say it’s a bad movie, hell, it
made a significant change in the entire movie industry and was groundbreaking
for its time. But I’m just not a fan of THIS particular evil dead, the reason
is probably for the special place in my heart I hold for the sequel, and
because it’s the weakest in the series for me. Bruce Campbell’s character Ash
wasn’t as refined as he was in the rest of the series and there are too many
scenes that make me roll my eyes, yes, I’m especially talking about ‘that one
scene’.
So like
I said, good movie, but if you want to have yourself a little Evil Dead
marathon, I don’t blame ya for skipping that one, hell, the entire movie is
remade in the first seven minutes of the second one, so no loss there.
Things I learned from The Evil Dead:
- When
something is written in Latin in a book made of flesh with a creepy face on it,
in the middle of the woods, and you still decides to read it out loud, then
yup, you deserve to die, Darwin’s law kids, Darwin’s law…
- Hide
yo kids, hide yo wifes, hide yo husbands cuz we got a rapist in these woods,
hint: it IS the woods
- Demons
are made of clay and daylight seems to melt them, that’s unexpected
- The
original is not always better that the sequel
Personal
rating:
6/10
Critical
rating:
8/10
No comments:
Post a Comment