In the midst of Evil Dead Rise on the night, the Halloweenies make their way to the cabin once more. This time, however they are talking about the wonders of the woods. In particular, those amazing graphics that put Dead in Evil Dead. The evil of Evil Dead. From the DIY chaos of the original film of 1981 to the literal jaw-dropping chaos by KNB No thing is left untreated.
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I find myself loving my personal pick for the best horror film ever the film from 1981, The Evil Dead, more and more every time I see it. The same goes for the sequels (Evil Dead II and Army of Darkness) and soft reboots from 2013 that I would not view as a pure remake, but would count as one of the greatest horror movie remakes should I choose to do so. I am also noticing something new about this saga of gory, intensely violent and sometimes morbidly funny stories of demon possession with each viewing, too.
Rewatching the first four Evil Dead movies in preparation for the quickly approaching fifth installment, Evil Dead Rise -the film I'm looking forward to the most -- was no exception. So, how about you basic screwheads take a few minutes to go through this list of the cool things that popped out at me while rewatching one of the best horror movie franchises ever? Let's begin at the beginning.
Some might be quick to dismiss The Evil Dead as just another cabin in the forest film, however a closer analysis of the scary film's seminal masterpiece reveals how complex writer and director Sam Raimi's screenplay is. Consider, for instance, the film's clever use of foreshadowing, one of the elements of the story which I am ashamed to admit didn't come to my attention until the latest rewatch. I am awed by the way the film teases Cheryl Williams' (Ellen Sandweiss) future fate after she is able to see the cellar door open and close by itself early in the film, as well as when her younger brother, Ash (Bruce Campbell, in the character that made him a great horror movie character), finds a drawing within the Necronomicon that is reminiscent of the book as it "comes back to life" at the very close of the film.
It is not that I've not really thought about the way blood flows out of a possessed Scotty's (Richard DeManincor, also known as Hal Delrich) stomach wound like a faucet up to now. This was, however, the first time that I actually paid any mind to the incident. I guess I was just fascinated by the picture of blood that bears the look of cherry Kool-Aid instead of corn syrup dyed with color. I think I appreciate the distinctiveness of it more now than ever, even if the blood is more precise in the other parts of the franchise.
Another scene from the visceral final sequence of The Evil Dead that has always captivated me is when arms explosively emerge from Cheryl and Scotty's deadbeat Deadite selves. For years, I just thought that this was another example of the astounding visual talent of Raimi However, it occurred to me this time around that these arms are demons and, specifically, that of the demons who possessed Ash's companions. Have you ever witnessed something as terrifyingly bizarre in a supernatural horror movie featuring demonic possession such as the one in The Exorcist? I don't think so.