The Evil Dead still stands today as an unparalleled masterclass in lo-fi horror. Cobbled together on a shoestring budget by Sam Raimi, Robert Tapert and a few close friends, it’s a movie that’s managed to stand the test of time, despite effects that might seem a mite shonky by today’s standards. Still, there’s a reason it was once considered a video nasty; indeed, Evil Dead is the original video nasty and sparked a wave of controversy upon its release, as difficult as that might be to believe when watching the film today.
Setting the template for an entire generation of horror movies, Evil Dead has since become the archetypical horror movie narrative. A group of teens head out to a remote log cabin in the woods only to find a flesh-bound Book of the Dead in the basement. You know trouble’s brewing when you find an archaic book made out of human skin, but undeterred, they examine its pages regardless and proceed to play an old tape, which quotes a macabre incantation, which then causes chaos to ensue as evil spirits are summoned forth.
Evil Dead’s characters are perhaps deliberately stupid, so you already know that they’re going to meet a sticky end from the very beginning. Just how sticky is perhaps unexpectedly gloopy and unsettling, requiring a strong constitution and iron stomach to cope with the sheer nastiness of some of the gory, ooze-filled moments. Our personal squeamish look-away-now or view-through-the-fingers moment? The old pencil stab in the ankle. Horrible…
Of course, there’s far more viscera and splatter where that came from and Evil Dead is a riotous cacophony of projectile vomit, dismembered body parts and squirm-inducing hideousness as the ill-fated group are possessed by the spirits one at a time. What follows is a series of gut-wrenching, edge-of-the-seat sequences, which see Raimi really going to town with his direction, managing to achieve some great camera tricks on such a slim budget. Cameras fly and smash through windows and tear across the leafy forest floor, as you view the malevolent spirits tearing through the cabin and turning thing upside down.
Not wasting any time to get things started, Evil Dead is a relentless horror flick that never lets up for a minute, reeling breathlessly from the notoriously controversial tree-raping scene to more instances of disturbing gore. It might have been a low budget flick, but it’s all up there on the screen in Evil Dead’s effects, which while somewhat dated, still stand up fantastically well as the movie approaches its 30th anniversary.
It might be less humorous and more of an out-and-out horror genre movie than its increasingly tongue-in-cheek sequels and Bruce Campbell plays Ash straight, as someone less unhinged and more vulnerable than the chainsaw limbed one-liner spouting badass the character eventually becomes. But Evil Dead is nonetheless one of the finest examples of indie horror ever created, and it’s a barrel-load of fun to watch if you’ve the stomach to revel in the vast amount of blood and guts, which lets face it, is exactly what you want from this kind of film. Evil Dead delivers in spades and is utterly essential.
The Evil Dead Blu-ray is the ultimate replacement for that scratchy, worn old VHS copy you’ve been holding onto for years (although we bought the rubbery DVD Book of the Dead version years ago) with a 1080p 1.85:1 enhanced HD presentation, which highlights the film’s imperfections, but then what did you expect? The film might look a little rough around the edges, as a symptom of its low budget origins, but this HD transfer makes the film look fantastic considering it was shot with a 16mm camera, with a decent level of grain to retain the film’s rich texture. Blacks too are nice and deep, while flesh tones and details are perfectly realised, making this undoubtedly the best The Evil Dead has ever looked.
Evil Dead’s 5.1 DTS-HD soundtrack is nice and satisfying, doing a stellar job in setting the hairs on the back of your neck on end, particularly when the possessed demons screech and scream. Dialogue and music is crisp and clear, with the lossless soundtrack delivering on almost all fronts. Some aspects of the audio don’t quite cut it, but they’re incredibly minor and hardly worth mentioning. Overall, this is a good, hefty soundtrack that makes the most of the blood-curdling shrieks, creaking floorboards and other chilling noises to provide an excellent audio track that’ll tingle the spine.
This Blu-ray version of The Evil Dead comes with well over 2 hours of fresh supplemental material, which includes an interesting all-new audio commentary from writer and director Sam Raimi, his producing buddy Robert Tapert and the almighty Bruce Campbell. There’s also rich insight into the movie’s production, effects and make-up in several documentaries, including the in-depth ‘Untold Saga of The Evil Dead’ doc, which is immensely engaging and covers almost every facet of the movie during its generous 53-minute running time. There’s plenty more where that came from too, with the cast reuniting to reminisce about shooting the film and almost an hour of rough alternate takes and deleted footage, which is well worth delving into. Again, this is definitive stuff and there’s more than enough here for even the most ardent Evil Dead fan.
The Evil Dead is not only a seminal cult horror classic; it’s now also an utterly essential Blu-ray packed with extras, boasting a superb 1080p transfer and excellent 5.1 audio. It’s testament to the enduring appeal of the film, its free-wheeling mania and gooey effects that The Evil Dead is still as fun today as it was almost 30 years ago. If you’re any kind of self-respecting horror fan, you’ll snap this up immediately. Brilliant film, great Blu-ray, highly recommended.
Extras:
*All-New Commentary by Writer/Director Sam Raimi, Bruce Campbell and Robert Tapert
*Exclusive Picture-in-Picture track: Join us! The Undying Legacy of The Evil Dead
*One By One We Will Take You documentary – The Untold Saga of The Evil Dead
*Treasures from the Cutting Room Floor
*At the Drive-In
*Discovering Evil Dead
*Ellen and Drama Teacher
*On-Stage Interview
*Make-Up Test
Film: 9/10
Disc: 9/10
