Macabre...ish Horror Review: The Evil Dead


 


The Evil Dead, 1981/ 85 min.

 

 

Five MIchigan State University students, Ash (Bruce Campbell), his girlfriend Linda (Betsy Baker) and sister, Cheryl (Ellen Sandweiss). Plus their friend, Scott (Richard Delmanicor)and his girlfriend, Shelly (Sarah York).

 

They all head out of town on vacation to a budget cabin in the woods. The closer they get to it, the more scary things begin happening, the car malfunctioning, almost dying driving across the world’s ricketiest bridge. And they arrive to a terribly dilapidated cabin. And try to make the best of it.

 

Almost immediately, weird stuff starts happening, when something making Cheryl carving that cursed book into her sketchpad. Then the cellar door opens. Ash follows Scott into the scariest, biggest cellar every and find a book bound in human skin and inked in human blood, a reel to reel recorder, shot gun and shells.

 

They listen to the recordings of a researcher, who used to live there with his wife. When incantations from the book are played, it really gets interesting when some dormant spirit is awakened. And when Cheryl feels someone or something watching her from her window, she cinches up her robe and marches right outside into the woods to confront it!  And is quickly attacked by plant life and apparently sexually assaulted. She escapes and is chased back to the cabin by a ghost. She trips and falls all the way back just to find the door locked.

 

Oh but it’s not over. This night is about to suck and suck hard. They find the bridge they crossed early has been torn apart. Back at the cabin, the first to turn is Cheryl and the spirit in her issues them a warning. After stabbing Linda in the ankle with a pencil, she’s forced into the cellar by Scott.

 

The next to turn into a deadite is Shelly, as a demon crashes through her window, possessing her. She attacks Scotts face and in the fight, bites off her own hand and Scott realizes she’s not dying as she keeps attacking, even though her head is on fire. So he chops her up. Then Linda...

 

It’s just an insane horror show until all that’s left is Ash.

 

This movie is crazy. Gruesome. Violent and relentless once it gets going. Expect nudity, gore, total madness and demons. Eighties gore at it’s finest and most disgusting. Enjoy!

Mastodon