Released during a fantastic time for horror films, 'The Evil Dead' crept in under the radar and while it may not have invented the 'cabin-in-the-woods' trope, it certainly popularized it and many other horror cliches to come. As well, the film was endorsed by Stephen King himself, who rightly praised its originality (for the time of course), and though it was mocked for a while, it's found its rightful place in horror filmmaking history.THE STORY 'The Evil Dead' can never claim to have a robust and complex story, but that's not necessarily a problem. The basic premise - a group of somewhat drunken young adults stay at a cabin and accidentally unleash hellish forces that kill them one by one - is quite simple, but it's how Sam Raimi and company take this premise and go with it that is truly admirable. The concept of the Deadites, and the way Possession works, which seems to be a mixture of a contagion-style contact spread and Exorcist-style demonic possession - is quite imaginative and original. Possibly never before and rarely after have creatures in horror been so cleverly designed. The contagion-like spread through touching adds a sense of realism that makes the otherwordly hellish nature of the possession all the more horrifying. The fact that the Deadites mock and taunt their victims before killing them makes them not just spooky creatures, but frightening villains to contend with. Even if the basic premise is very simple, the flourishes with the Deadite concept is original and frightening enough to justify it. Out of 5 possible points for this category, 'The Evil Dead' gets 4 points.THE TECHNICALS 'The Evil Dead' was made for a budget of only $350 000, and was from all accounts an arduous and difficult shoot. Thankfully, the labour paid off for the most part. Not only were the concepts original and creative, but the filmmaking shows off a lot of talent. Dutch angles are usually a source of frustration, since they're often use to unsubtly point out things that are supposed to be bad, and are as a result quite cheesy. 'The Evil Dead' is a clinic on how to use dutch angles effectively, as they are used in scenes of tension and uncertainty. Rarely, if ever, are they used when a Deadite is on the screen. They are used when a character, especially Ash, is frightened and panicking. This way, what would be a static scene of a character losing his mind is now enhanced and compelling because the camerawork draws the audience in. As well, the use of stop motion animation at the end is unexpected, but very effective. The makeup is also often fantastic. Though the film is indeed gory, it's used to heighten the fear. An 'Evil Dead' that shies away from gore is not proper 'Evil Dead'. Very creative cinematography is employed here by Sam Raimi and Tim Philo, who make the most of a cramped location and pull off some great shots. The legendary demonic POV shots still hold up today, and 'The Evil Dead' stands as a testament to low-budget creativity in part due to this. Easily the strongest technical aspect of 'The Evil Dead' is the sound production. The film is filled with demonic voices and unfamiliar noises throughout nearly every scene, and the slightest sound is enough to freak out the viewer. Though the film's score is, in my opinion, fairly standard and not worth much mention, the sound design is fantastic and deserves recognition. Occasionally, the film's continuity stumbles a bit, as seen with that horrible Deadite Cheryl double doll that looks very little like Deadite Cheryl, or the changing hairstyles of the cast. As well, as much as I've come to enjoy the stop motion finale, it must be acknowledged that it is rather off-putting how inauthentic it looks at times. For the most part, though, the technicals of 'The Evil Dead' are great. I'll give it 4 points here too.Overall, 'The Evil Dead' is a great horror film, an absolute classic worthy of any horror fan's attention. It's not for the squeamish or easily offended, but there's enough creativity and conviction on show to distinguish it as one of the best of its era. Highly recommended.

This is B movie comedy horror at best. Absolutely nothing scary. Bad acting mixed in with horrible story. I get how its a cult classic, most cult films are terrible and that this was. How this has such a high rating for a supposed horror film I don't know, again must be because of cult status. Almost unwatchable, reminds me of Critters or some other cheap B horror. This is a film that basically mocks horror. With the exception of the decent special effects for a low budget film in 80s this is pure garbage and should be remembered as such. The remake of this film deserves a better original, that was actually a true horror film.

To start off with I love weird stupid films and shows, I personally love the Scary Movie franchise (Yes the later ones were not as good as the first two), I love the idea of just sitting down, switching my brain off and enjoying idiotic things for an hour and a half. But I like many people have limits and this film destroyed them, before watching this film I thought the worst kind of film was a boring film that you don't even react to, but no this film changed that.So this film is about a group of people going to a cabin in the woods for a holiday and when they get there weird and satanic stuff happens, nothing other than that really happens. The characters are very forgettable and bland and this includes the main character who is the worst of the bunch, but where this film is at its worst is with what it shows and makes you listen to.One of these things occurs about 25 minutes into the film, when I first watched this I stopped it and made sure I saw what I actually saw and then carried on, the thing that happens is one of the dumbest things I think I have ever seen (Remember I love the first two Scary Movie films) and it just makes you rack your brains at its existence. Then near the end everything gets so much worse as the sounds used are very grating and just painful to listen to.A pro of this film is the special effects which for the low budget of this film (Wikipedia puts it between 400,000 and 500,000) is just incredible as they are so creative and puts other horror directors with bigger budgets to shame. Other than that the plot is like the characters and is very boring and forgettable and the film is regarded as a Horror and it is not scary at all compared to other films from that era like 'The Thing' and 'Friday the 13th' this could just be because of budget but 'Friday the 13th' did not have a much higher budget (Wikipedia puts it at 550,000), this film also has been regarded by fans as a comedy and it is not funny in the slightest. It may have been different if I saw it when it came out but I do not know, it could just be my taste in films (Although I would say I like quite a broad range of films). Oh well I have no idea and if you like this film then that is great that it can appeal to others and bring you/them happiness and remember that this has been my opinion and you really do not need to get upset or angry with it but hey, do what you like. Have a good one :)

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.