The Evil Dead (1981)

You won't be disappointed!

If the ambition is to provide two hours of instantly forgettable, popcorn-munching escapism, it succeeds.

There's no way I can possibly love it entirely but I just think its ridiculously bad, but enjoyable at the same time.

By the time the dramatic fireworks start popping off, each one feels earned.

Anyone who says this movie is good either hasn't actually seen the movie, is lying, or is on some serious drugs. This movie has no characters or plot. Its just a random collection of scenes with no coherency. The visuals also suck, which I wouldn't care about if it had a plot. This movie is listed as a horror, but its not scary in the slightest. The only reason I watched this movie is because my dad forced me to watch it all the way through as a punishment. This movie is so bad. Don't watch it.

The Evil Dead is a pleasure to watch as a horror movie. However, do not expect the acting to be great. Honestly, at times the acting dips from average at best to below average at worst. There are several instances where the acting efforts of an individual feel uncomfortably out of sync with the efforts of others sharing the scene with them. The special effects suffer from similar problems, as well. Often times they appear poorly executed, and other times they appear just plain lazy. There are even moments during the stop motion sequence that appear laughably juvenile. The storytelling itself feels lacking. While I was not provided enough story to satisfy my imagination I was provided enough story to keep my interest peaked. Whether that is a sign of inadequate storytelling, or genius storytelling is subjective. Where I feel The Evil Dead rises to the occasion, and leaves a lasting impression is in the camera work, the atmospheric tension, and the eventual arrival of Ash on the screen. The director maneuvers the camera in a way that makes the viewer aware of a presence while keeping the viewer oblivious to it's whereabouts at the same time. I could see the fear on Ash's face, and I could see his response, but the stimuli was never revealed. While, the atmosphere created through the environment is one of defeat. I was made aware that there was no escape beyond the walls of the cabin, nor was there safety within the walls of the cabin. Yet, I felt comfort within the cabin where I hoped I would see the evil's approach. The highlight for me, as a long time Ash fan, is his arrival. There is a transition from Ashley to Ash, and watching Ash fight against his own inadequacy in order to defeat the evil dead is 100% cinematic entertainment.This movie is not without more than a few problems. However, the entirety of this experience is entertaining, and enjoyable enough to easily overcome the minor deficits that survived.-Bob

The first of the "Evil Dead" trilogy, and the one with the lowest budget and also the only straight up horror flick of the series. The low budget forced Raimi and co to get creative and basically invent some new techniques on the way. But what they ended up creating is not "just good for low budget" it's REALLY good for horror in general! That "tree scene" alone is unforgettable!

In the first Evil Dead movie, Ash was just an average guy. He was cocky and egotistical. He wasn't stupid. He wasn't brave. In fact, he was the Beta male to his friend Scott. Hell, throughout the opening of the movie, people are calling him "Ashley", not the much cooler "Ash" he gets in later movies.A lot of what fans have come to expect from Bruce Campbell and Ash weren't in this movie. Bruce Campbell himself said on Reddit that the problem was that he couldn't act in this movie. But that's not the whole story. This movie didn't have campy humor or a strong hero. This movie was scary. You were thrown into the movie with no sense of humor, just dread.The movie had a $50k budget, which was spent over a few years that the film was thrown together by two friends. Every expense was spared. But it has still had a lasting impact on the modern horror genre.And, while I find most modern horror movies to be forgettable, I find myself coming back to Evil Dead every year around Halloween. It is scary and gory and unique in some way I find fun and endearing.