One by One, We Will Take You

I totally get why "The Evil Dead" (1981) may not be every horror fans kind of flick. The demon tree violation of Cheryl alone might be enough to turn off some horror fans. Linda's demon giggle is appropriately obnoxious and grating. There are technical issues such as when Ashley is smashing Linda outside with the plankboard and you can see her makeup and wig change scene to scene. The amount of blood that splashes Ashley is outrageous with even a basement pipe bursting with a cavalcade of red just splattering him. And this happens over and over so I get it. This was made by hungry, very talented college kids with a passion that is so obvious. The number of gaffes and botches are there and glaring but the imagination and creativity in how he shot the demons, the way they die, various angles in and out of the cabin; Sam Raimi visually displays a lot of that mad genius despite the opposition of growing and development as a young filmmaker. Shelly in the basement popping her demon head out of the space eyeing Ashley and Scott, the clever use of a projector in the basement, how a head is taken off with a shovel, blood drenching a camera lens while Scott massacres Cheryl with an ax, doors opening and coverage in rooms from a variety of tilts and askew frames. Sam Raimi really experimented with how action and his demon possessed victims look in front of his camera. Not to mention the POV of the demon before it possesses a victim...the use of 2X4 and dingy, with Raimi and Campbell getting innovative, brought to life along with vocal ominous tones and that swirling mist that loves to occupy the grounds. The makeup and eye lenses sure work for me, though. And the outrageous blood already mentioned makes me laugh. I enjoy the energy of the direction, the eye gouging scene of Scott with blood goop, the incredible stop motion deterioration of the victims once Ashley hurls the Necronomicon in the fire, and the brutal damage demon possessed victims can do with finger nails. But this is basically a student film, rough around all its edges, ambitious and icky, not concerned with those who might be squeamish. It is the perfect video store rental property. I'm quite sure it was often and empty box on many store shelves in the 80s. And Friday night, as I chose tonight, is the right choice for time to watch it.