|
|
MauritiusToday.com - Shopping Mall - The Evil Dead
|
List Price: $19.97
Our Price: $13.49
Your Save: $ 6.48 ( 32% )
Availability: Usually ships in 24 hours
Manufacturer: Starz / Anchor Bay
Starring: Betsy Baker, Bruce Campbell, Barbara Carey, Richard DeManincor, Philip A. Gillis
|
Average Customer Rating:  
|
|
|
|
|
Aspect Ratio: 1.85:1
Audience Rating: Unrated
Binding: DVD
EAN: 0013131190397
Format: Anamorphic
Label: Starz / Anchor Bay
Manufacturer: Starz / Anchor Bay
Number Of Items: 1
Publisher: Starz / Anchor Bay
Region Code: 1
Release Date: 2002-03-05
Running Time: 85
Studio: Starz / Anchor Bay
Theatrical Release Date: 1983-04-15
|
|
|
|
|
|
Editorial Reviews:
|
Studio: Starz/sphe Release Date: 03/05/2002 Starring: Bruce Campbell Rating: Nr
|
|
|
|
Spotlight customer reviews:
|
Customer Rating: 
Summary: It is like hearing a joke but not getting the punchline
Comment: Major disclaimer: I dislike horror as a genre pretty much from top to bottom. I am a major movie buff. I've seen quite literally thousands of films, have run film societies, and own a staggering pile of DVDs. But I don't like horror. I love nearly every other genre, from film noir to Astaire/Rogers musicals to screwball comedies to Italian Westerns to every imaginable form of Sci-fi, but I simply detest Horror. Doesn't matter who makes them, films by people like Wes Craven, Sam Raimi, and Eli Roth, not to mention lesser lights, just bore me to tears.
THE EVIL DEAD was not only as boring to me as other horror films, the sheer amateurish quality (albeit gifted amateurs) added an additional layer of torture. There was simply nothing in this film -- not a single second -- that I found in any way, shape, form, or manner to be even remotely entertaining.
OK, maybe I'm missing something. Perhaps the way I'm wired I'm constitutionally incapable of "getting" whatever there is to get in a horror movie. So, in a way, this review might end up saying more about me than the movie. Or perhaps it says more about most people who watch and enjoy this than it does about me. When I watch this, absolutely nothing steps forward to refute my conviction that this is complete and utter crap.
I will add that Bruce Campbell's commentary is great. I actually watched this and the two sequels to the film because I was reading Campbell's account of his career as an actor, IF CHINS COULD KILL: CONFESSIONS OF A B ACTOR. I love the book; hate the EVIL DEAD movies. Obviously the two subsequent films engage in a great deal of self-parody. I found both his account of making the film in the book and his commentary on making the film on the DVD to be infinitely more entertaining than the film itself.
In short, if you, unlike me, like horror films, especially no-budget horror film, you might like this. In fact, you will apparently love it, like most of the reviewers here. But if you don't like horror, you will, like me, probably view this movie as a different kind of horror film, in which the horror consists of your having to watch it. I'd rather watch a mime troupe than ever watch this again.
Customer Rating:
Summary: 3 stars out of 4
Comment: The Bottom Line:
Despite being made for almost nothing by people who were hardly professionals, The Evil Dead is an extraordinarily effective and suprisingly well-made horror movie that is capable of scaring just about anyone.
Customer Rating:
Summary: The Woods Are Full Of Psychotic Hillbillies, Cannibalistic Mutants, and Now Demons
Comment: "The Evil Dead" is an innovative, ground-breaking horror classic that has developed a cult following. Director Sam Raimi ("Darkman" and "Spiderman") was highly influenced by other well established horror megahits such as "The Exorcist," "The Texas Chainsaw Massacre," and "Night of the Living Dead." A young Bruce Campbell ("Maniac Cop," "The Woods," and "Bubba Ho-Tep") is college student Ash; him and his friends rent a secluded cabin in the mountains. ("The Evil Dead" was filmed mostly in the backwoods of Morristown, near my home of Knoxville, Tennessee.) Demonic forces inhabit these woods. After discovering the Book of the Dead, the friends begin turning into demon possessed zombies. There is levitation and green vomit spewing as in the "Exorcist." They have learned that only bodily dismemberment can destroy a demon. Numerous sharp farm implements hang from the cabin's ceiling. Ash uses a chainsaw to slice up one of his friends. Hence, the similarity to "The Texas Chainsaw Massacre."
Fans of Lucio Fulci ("Zombie," "The House by the Cemetery, and "The Beyond") will enjoy "The Evil Dead." It has a tremendous amount of disgusting gore. Some of it is too over the top for my taste. It is this excessive gore that kept it from gaining the popularity that was achieved by "Halloween" - another low-budget horror classic. Also, there is too much dark humor for me. Some dialogue came across as silly. However, it helped ease the tension created by some of the graphic scenes of demonic violence. Furthermore, the acting and directing was amateurish, almost to the point that it lent the film a homemade feel.
"Evil Dead" is highly recommended for fans of zombie films, especially those which involve demons such as Lamberto Bava's "Demons" and "Demons 2." The DVD from Anchor Bay is excellent. It has interesting features that include outtakes and deleted scenes and great commentary from star Bruce Campbell. It is very educational to learn how this movie was finally released after five years of production and at a miniscule cost of $375,000.
Note of Interest: As stated earlier, Lamberto Bava's film "Demons" is similar to "The Evil Dead." His father, Mario Bava, was considered the Italian Maestro of the Macabre. In his film "Baron Blood," the hideous baron is released from his tomb when a parchment was read. This scene is similar to the one in "The Evil Dead" when the five friends listen to the tape recording of a professor reading from the Book of the Dead, which resulted in the demons being released from the ground outside the cabin.
Customer Rating:
Summary: Evil Dead
Comment: As far as teenage horror movies go this is pretty decent stuff. It is easy to see the tongue in cheek humor as well. I can see why it is a cult favorite. Part of a trilogy I think they got better as actor Bruce Campbell and Director Sam Raimi felt comfortable with this theme and took it further and further. By the time they got to "Army of Darkness" it became mostly comedy with some horror. AOD is my favorite of the three because of the outrageous bits and great special effects. This is a great collection for fans of horror/comedy movies. If you enjoyed this catch "Scary Movie".
CA Luster
Customer Rating:
Summary: Back in the Day, Ashley was a Man and HE Couldn't Sing Either.
Comment: But we fans of "Evil Dead" certainly don't care. It's not his singing skills we're interested in. What we want to know is this; can the man still decapitate with the swing of a shovel? Well, of course he can! As long as you own this or "Evil Dead II" you'll get to watch him do it over and over as often as you want. For me, this is the scene that defines what "Evil Dead" is all about in a nutshell:
-Creative camera work.
-Spirited if not talented actors.
-Audacious, imaginative gore.
-Spook-house fun.
With one swing of a shovel, Ashley (Ash/Bruce Campbell) defines the mood of this film. But maybe I should start at the beginning and slice this film up into little pieces. Only then will I truly bring honor to Sam Raimi's seminal film of the horror genre.
-5 WHEELS HEAD FOR THE RICKETY OLD CABIN.
This film moves at a blindingly fast pace. If you ever get bored watching "Evil Dead" regardless of what you think of it, then I don't want to be you. About 3 minutes into the film, we get POV (point of view) shots through the woods watching our 2 couples, Ash and Linda (Bruce and Betsy Baker), Scott and Shelly (Richard DeManincor and Theresa Tilly) along with Ash's sister, Cheryl (Ellen Sandweiss); the fifth wheel I eluded to, driving up to the isolated and run down cabin. It doesn't take long for all hell to break loose after a recording found in the cellar is played with magic words in it. The words in German are: "Sam and Rob, Das ist Hikers Dan dee Roadsa" translated to mean "Sam and Rob are the Hikers on the road". Of course, this references Raimi and executive producer Robert Tapert who were portraying local yokels on the road leading to the cabin. Regardless of Raimi's goofy devices, fifth wheels are usually where all the trouble begins and those magic words aren't ones to ignore the rules. This thinnest of plots becomes one of the great scaffolds of horror ever put to film.
-WHEN SETTING THE STANDARD IS NO STANDARD AT ALL.
If there was a gorier, sloppier more audaciously violent film prior to "Evil Dead" I want to know what it is (because I want it!). I believe this film set the standards for eliminating standards in a horror movie. Even by today's "standards", "Evil Dead" can still hold its own for balls-out gore and grossness while still being a load of fun. Though the demonic makeup is a bit goofy by today's measurements, I still admire the vision of the work. At the very worst you see seams, wrinkles and flaws. At the very best, it is still very creepy and grotesque. The only standard this film didn't stretch was in the nudity department (as there really isn't any). However, when getting raped by a tree is ok, well... ...enough said.
-SCARY? OH YEA!
As horror films age, they tend to lose their visceral impact. Even horror classics fail to scare people most of the time with few exceptions. After nearly 30 years this film still holds up very well to its modern rivals. Though more over-the-top than anything that preceded, "Evil Dead" could still disturb the uninitiated. For me, few things are scarier than demonic possession. A demon is invisible, moves indiscriminately, is deceptive by nature and is in a hurry to get your soul. So, anyway it can get you dead is fair game. This movie plays on all those angles to the hilt. The big surprise with "Evil Dead" was the physical state possession left people in. This took "The Exorcist" to a different level. The funny and great thing is most of the actors are better at being possessed than human. Of course, Raimi's POV camera shots might be the scariest innovation employed in this film. Regardless, it all adds up to a nearly timeless horror experience.
-HI I'M BRUCE CAMPBELL. YOU MIGHT REMEMBER ME FROM "DOG SOLDIERS".
Yea, I'm kidding. That was a characters name in "Dog Soldiers"; clearly a case of a director paying his respects to a horror icon. Needless to say, Bruce is the undisputed king of camp and B-movie horror. He's even had his "A-movie" cameos (Spider Man films etc.). But this is where it all started for him. In retrospect, he was an awful actor in "Evil Dead", yet he brought a sense of slapstick to horror that was both fun and refreshing. He'll never win an Oscar (for what it's worth) but he has had a long and storied career since his initial portrayal of Ash. Amazingly, the other actors in "Evil Dead" may have actually done a better job than Bruce, but they lacked his persona. They have all become legendary for this film but have never translated that into successful film careers for a bunch of different reasons. To learn more about this, particularly the women, a little book is included with this version of "Evil Dead" titled "The Ladies of the Evil Dead". Boy, that's clever marketing,
-WHICH VERSION IS THE BEST?
I have no freaking clue! The "Evil Dead" series may be the most reproduced and exploited horror series ever. If you can find a series of titles more reproduced in more varied levels of quality (excluding Star Wars), then I'd like to know what it is. Given this, I don't know if one version is more complete than another. I have the one with the green outlined letters with Bruce Campbell's kisser poking through and the girl reaching up. This version has the little book in it. It's good enough for me.
-PUTTING MY SOUL ON THE LINE
As low as the budget is, as clunky as the acting gets, as thin as the plot is, "Evil Dead" is a landmark horror movie. Horror films that came before could be viewed as sluggish. Much of what came after could be viewed as derivative. Regardless of these iconic traits, "Evil Dead" is just flat out entertaining. Who cares where it came from or where it's going. Forget my fan-boy rambling and just sit down on Halloween night and watch "Evil Dead", "Evil Dead II", and "Army of Darkness". If you enjoy audacious, in-your-face, balls-out horror done on the cheap, then this will do it for you.
Story.......3 stars
Gore........5 stars
Acting......3.5 stars
Creativity..5 stars
Fun factor..6 stars
Average....4.5 Stars
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
