“Why have you disturbed our sleep, awakened us from our ancient slumber? You will die, like the others before you! One by one, we will take you.”

Considering its shocking content, its low budget guerilla production, its impromptu innovations, and its undertones of pitch black comedy, Sam Raimi’s The Evil Dead can’t help but call to mind The Texas Chainsaw Massacre, the landmark debut feature of fellow horror icon Tobe Hooper. It’s not on quite the same level, but taking into account the successful careers that followed for its director and its star and its impact upon the genre, it should be considered essential viewing for horror buffs.

Dubbed “the most ferociously original horror movie of the year” by none other than Stephen King, the story behind Raimi’s iconic film is possibly more interesting than the film itself. It’s certainly more inspiring. Friends since childhood, Raimi and future cult icon Bruce Campbell had grown up making short Super 8 films in a variety of genres. After taking a liking to the horror trends of the ‘70s, they made a proof-of-concept short film (Within the Woods) for $1600 that they used to secure funding for a feature, originally titled The Book of the Dead. They managed to convince friends, family and local investors to cough up nearly $100k to get them up and running. (Later, post production costs would force Raimi and Campbell to take out high-interest bank loans to get the film ready for theater screenings. Campbell even put up his family’s vacation home as collateral—talk about commitment!)

And so, with pockets full of cash, a couple of gumptious young dudes hit the road and drove out into the foreboding Tennessee wilderness for a grueling location shoot (including frostbite and knocked-out teeth), dragging along with them their college buddy Rob Tapert and four cast members (Ellen Sandweiss, Richard DeManincor, Betsy Baker, and Theresa Tilly) to fill in around Campbell. Living out in the woods without modern amenities, Raimi and co. shot a dozen weeks’ worth of footage before the main cast departed and the crew was left to realize what they could with their remaining funds. Years were spent piecing together what they had managed to capture on film, during which time editor Edna Ruth Paul enlisted the help of young aspiring filmmaker Joel Coen, who became fast friends with Raimi and went on to make quite a name for himself along with his brother Ethan. (The story is much longer and more interesting than my brief summary would indicate. I’ve linked to an article by Bob Cram below, but various DVD commentaries and Bruce Campbell’s autobiography, If Chins Could Kill, would be more informative.)

The premise is dirt simple: five teens plan to vacation in an old log cabin out in the woods, a setting with a prima facie creepiness that’s underscored by every new discovery: the dilapidated structure, the taxidermied animals, the thick coating of dust, the possessed porch swing, the broken clock, the lockable cellar door. Forgoing anything resembling character development, we jump right into the thick of things when Ash (Campbell) discovers an old recording left by the previous resident describing his research into the occult—including the Book of the Dead and his wife’s demonic possession.

I know now that my wife has become host to a Kandarian demon. I fear that the only way to stop those possessed by the spirits of the book is through the act of… bodily dismemberment.

In short order the recited incantations from the recording have awakened evil spirits and Cheryl (Sandweiss) has been pinned down and raped by demon-possessed roots and vines.¹ Her friends don’t believe her story until she undergoes a gruesome transformation—her eyes glaze over, her cheeks begin to rot, her voice turns gravelly… oh, and she begins to levitate—and stabs Linda (Baker) with a pencil. They lock her in the basement, but the disturbed spirits are just getting started. Broken windows, upended bookshelves, ceremonial daggers, fire, shovels, axes, chainsaws, and firearms all feature in the grisly chaos that ensues; not to mention thumbs, which deliver a nasty double eye-gouge. It’s so disgusting and excessive that it joined the ranks of the “video nasties.”

The Evil Dead earnestly attempts to be scary in places, and is occasionally successful, if too frequently undercut by a flimsy script, ineffective acting, and nonsensical character decisions. But where it falls short in fulfilling the ambitions of its genre, it succeeds in subverting them, and even transforming them to some degree. The jubilant splashes of goopy gore, the make-up effects, the climactic stop-motion animation,² the unsettling spirit-point-of-view swoops of the camera, the eerie soundscapes, the theoretically incongruous addition of slapstick—these give the film a unique texture; perceptibly homemade and marked by on-the-spot creativity, but done with awareness, enthusiasm, and skill. The way that Raimi uses his camera to build suspense and fear of the unknown is astounding (we only “see” the demons when they animate another living being; but we frequently see things from their erratically careening, disembodied point of view). And while at certain points you can see that Raimi is a future master destined for great things; at others the unpolished griminess of the picture is almost raw enough to make you think you’re watching a spiritually-compromising snuff film. But then each moment of real horror is counterbalanced by silly antics or practical filmmaking ingenuity that will make you grin with delight. It’s indebted to any number of forebears, and yet in its off-the-wall combinations of reference points it feels like it is ushering in a new style all its own which would serve as the bedrock for Raimi’s sequels and his career in general.

1. This scene is far and away the most effectively realized in the whole film, and thus the most affecting. It’s vicious and truly horrifying, and might be considered disconsonant with the overall tone.

2. The make-up and stop-motion animation were both handled by artist Tom Sullivan, who would provide similar services for both of Raimi’s sequels. Much credit is due Mr. Sullivan for his work here.

Sources:
Cram, Bob. “Let’s Talk About ‘The Evil Dead’”. Screenage Wasteland. 7 October 2021.