Film Review
The writer Stephen King described
The
Evil Dead as the most ferociously original horror film of the
year. The film's authors promoted it as The Ultimate Experience
in Grueling Horror. To date, the film has grossed $29 million and
spawned two successful sequels (
Evil
Dead II and
Army of Darkness).
No one doubts that the film is a cult classic of the horror genre,
inspiring other directors to offer us similar spectacles of
blood-splattered manic lunacy. But is it really
that scary?
Unlike previous modern horror films (
Night of the Living Dead,
The
Exorcist,
The Texas Chain Saw Massacre,
etc.), whose influence can clearly be felt here,
The Evil Dead has the distinct
whiff of parody about it. The horror content is pushed so far to
the limits of Grand Guignol excess that it ceases to be frightening and
instead appears rather comical. Perhaps this film would be better
classified as black comedy than a true horror film, since it delivers
far more laughs than genuine chills. Or maybe that's because
yours truly has an utterly perverse sense of humour.
The Evil Dead was one of those
ludicrously low budget independent productions that came from nowhere
and took the world by storm, exactly as George Romero's
Night of the Living Dead had done
just over a decade before. The film cost $375,000 to make and was
shot on 16mm film, which was later blown up to 35mm, giving the grainy
texture that imbues the film with its very distinctive dreamlike
atmosphere. There is very little in the way of plot and the
limitations of the inexperienced actors are all too evident. Yet
the end result of this amateurish bit of fun is extraordinarily
effective. Once the problem of finding a distributor
willing to take on the Censors had been
overcome, the film became an instant cult classic, a box office hit
that secured the future of its director, Sam Raimi.
This is not a film that will appeal to all fans of the horror
genre. Whilst the first twenty minutes or so are quite chilling
(thanks to some inspired camerawork that steadily builds the tension),
the film quickly degenerates into an orgy of limb-hacking,
flesh-ripping, blood-spurting excess, and veers towards the kind of
juvenile silliness that most appeals to a slightly inebriated teenage
audience. The shocks keep coming but the film's capacity for
surprise wears a bit thin after the second violent decapitation and
fifth bloody impaling. Still, the climax is pretty
effective, as the walking cadavers decompose before our eyes, spewing
out their viscera and vile bodily fluids which, whilst resembling rice
pudding and strawberry jam, still manages to turn the stomach.
Definitely not a good film to watch whilst your are eating your supper
- not unless you happen to have a large bucket handy.
How to sum up
The Evil Dead
in two words? Disgusting fun.
© James Travers 2009
The above content is owned by filmsdefrance.com and must not be copied.
Film Synopsis
Five young college students decide to spend their vacation in an
isolated cabin in the Tennessee mountains. On reaching the cabin,
they sense a ghostly presence and are surprised when they find a
collection of strange artefacts in the cellar. These include an
ancient book, bound in human skin, and a disturbing collection of
objects decorated with human skulls. There is also a tape
recording, on which a previous occupant of the cabin explains that the
book is a Sumerian Book of the Dead, containing incantations that can
raise demonic forces. One of the five friends, Cheryl, is
immediately freaked out by this, but her attempt to escape is thwarted
by the trees around the cabin, which come to life and attempt to rape
her. Through the malevolent forces that have been released
through the playing of the tape recording, Cheryl is transformed into a
hideous cadaverous monster and begins to attack her friends. What
then ensues is a vision straight from the bowels of Hell, as the
students endure a blood-soaked ordeal that is far worse than any
nightmare they have ever experienced...
© James Travers
The above content is owned by filmsdefrance.com and must not be copied.