The Evil Dead [Series]

[blackmoses]

[blackmoses]

This is a masterpiece! This film holds nothing back, and just throws ordeal after ordeal at the viewer. This is one gory film. We get one body completely dismembered, with no two body parts connected together, one is stabbed in the foot with a pencil and two are melted down in a long, unbelievably gory way. Both last for a long time as well, so the gore is even more intensive. This is possibly one of the goriest films of all time. There are very few movies that might be gorier than this one. What makes the gore work so well is that their is so many creepy moments thrown in that it just makes the gore that much better. This film is a perfect example of how to make a great horror film on a low budget. The Evil Dead delivers the ultimate in grueling horror, it's so energetic, features loads of gore and is just great to watch. The atmosphere is great and their is some of the most violent and best special effects ever put on film.

The camera work is truly masterful! It has so many fast and great shots. The film is so eerie that it is way too entertaining to turn away from. Raimi's style is absolutely unmistakable. It is perfectly displayed in the beginning of the film, where the camera alone creates enough atmosphere to leave you in suspense of what's about to happen. You feel at any moment someone is going to get killed by something in the woods that is about to pop out. Their is some of the most impressive camera work I have ever seen! I love the "dead cam", one of the great shots is where they show the evil dead as they twist and turn their way through the woods moving and knocking tree branches out of their way. A cool looking shot is where Ash buries Linda in the woods, the camera is placed in Linda's grave looking up at Ash as he shovels dirt into it, Ash chucks the dirt onto the camera lens, bit by bit the screen goes black until finally only Ash's face is visible through a little section that hasn't been covered. Or the shot where Ash walks on screen, but the image is upside down and the camera moves toward the back of his head and over him turning 90 degrees it comes to rest on a shot of his face the right way up. Also all the fast close ups and tilted shots at the end are all magnificent. This film has so much gore and so much blood it is so terrifying. I love how it is cheesy and still so scary at the same time. The cheesiness is so ridiculous, I love it! Even though it's sometimes cheesy, there are some downright terrifying moments in this film that most horror films could not pull off. The tree rape scene is a fantastic, unforgettable scene! Bruce Campbell delivers a terrific performance under situations that you can't imagine. His facial expressions, his yelling, and the torment expressed on his eyes, are the elements that make an unforgotten performance. The movie works in every field that the horror genre can offer. There's gore(tons), there's tension, suspense, and the feeling of horror that not much films can offer. I didn't even mention how great the ending was. The ending made me so happy, I loved the end!

10/10!

[captainofbeef]

You wrote a review?? I'm absolutely shocked.

[blackmoses]

I only write reviews for good movies!

[criterionmaster]

I agree with what you said. It is great because it can mix true horror with comedy so well; so much influenced by The Three Stooges. One of the best horror films ever, like you said. Don't think the second and third are really anything like this, because the second film looses most of the horror elements and sticks with comedy, and by the third (Army of Darkness) the horror elements are basically completely gone. Although the second one I find to be slightly superior to the first if you ask me. It is just a classic and is one of my favorite films ever. All three are perfect tens.

Here is just a sample of Evil Dead II:

[kiddo]

I can't wait to watch these films. I am quite sure it\s going to be a lot of fun, going into these morbid dishes. Thoughts will of course come, when I eventually get myself to confront the zombies? or what was it? Souls from the darkness of hell? Shit, I'll go to bed now. Too little amount of hot, black coffe for my brain (only three cups today).

[mixed]

A wonderful film. A masterpice on so many levels. Not really because its very original, well acted or scripted. Its just so evident and rich in the love that went into it. They had lots of fun making it on a rather small budget. Its just brilliant for that and what it did for horror cinema and the people attached to it. Eg the cult legend Bruce Campbell and Sam Raimi. This is really a film that I am truly glad was made. It makes me happy that it was made and I dont think my life, yes, my life, would be quite the same without this. Thats very bold I know but its just so meaningful to me.

[criterionmaster]

Made this thread about the whole series.

[The Anti-Snob]

Not only was the Evil Dead series great in its own rite, but it also paved the way for later horror comedies; by this I don't mean so-bad-it's-good fare like Sleepaway Camp or the "master" of this type of film, Manos: the Hands of Fate. Rather, I mean movies that can be enjoyed simultaneously as legitimate horror or action movies as well as comedies, like Shaun of the Dead.

-Dan

[devconn88]

The greatest horror trilogy ever made

[captainofbeef]

Better than NOTLD, Dawn of the Dead and Day of the Dead? I don't think so. But the films are masterful.

[devconn88]

still need to see Day of the Dead

[captainofbeef]

Ah, I see.

[devconn88]

i was saying because there are no flaws at all in the Evil Dead series, Of the Dead Series has a land of the dead so it's close to perfect but not perfect

[criterionmaster]

devconn88 said:

i was saying because there are no flaws at all in the Evil Dead series, Of the Dead Series has a land of the dead so it's close to perfect but not perfect

Well, when people mention "The Dead Trilogy" they normally just mean the first three films, since they got that name long before Land…. A lot of people don't call it part of the "Trilogy" or series, so by saying "Dead Trilogy" they usually only mean the first three. And trust me, when you see Day of the Dead, it will hopefully be your favorite. It is my favorite of the whole series, and either number one, or two, on my favorite horror films ever list.

(Tries to think of other good horror trilogies... needs help)

[captainofbeef]

I do not think there is another horror trilogy that is half decent. The best I can think of is Nightmare on Elm Street with an amazing first film, a hideous second film, and a decent third film. But since there are like 5 movies more in the series, it doesn't really count as a trilogy in my opinion.