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The Evil Dead
 
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The Evil Dead (1983)

Starring: Betsy Baker, Bruce Campbell Rating: Unrated Format: DVD
4.5 out of 5 stars See all reviews (577 customer reviews)

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Editorial Reviews

Amazon.com essential video
In the fall of 1979, Sam Raimi and his merry band headed into the woods of rural Tennessee to make a movie. They emerged with a roller coaster of a film packed with shocks, gore, and wild humor, a film that remains a benchmark for the genre. Ash (cult favorite Bruce Campbell) and four friends arrive at a backwoods cabin for a vacation, where they find a tape recorder containing incantations from an ancient book of the dead. When they play the tape, evil forces are unleashed, and one by one the friends are possessed. Wouldn't you know it, the only way to kill a "deadite" is by total bodily dismemberment, and soon the blood starts to fly. Raimi injects tremendous energy into this simple plot, using the claustrophobic set, disorienting camera angles, and even the graininess of the film stock itself to create an atmosphere of dread, punctuated by a relentless series of jump-out-of-your-seat shocks. The Evil Dead lacks the more highly developed sense of the absurd that distinguish later entries in the series--Evil Dead 2 and Army of Darkness--but it is still much more than a gore movie. It marks the appearance of one of the most original and visually exciting directors of his generation, and it stands as a monument to the triumph of imagination over budget. --Simon Leake

Product Description
Director Sam Raimi's first film has achieved legendary status since its 1982 release, and for good reason. Though perhaps not as widely seen as its two sequels, EVIL DEAD 2 and ARMY OF DARKNESS, THE EVIL DEAD is arguably the best of the three. It is the story of five college-age friends who travel to a cabin in rural Tennessee where the stumble upon the Book of the Dead, an ancient tome bound in human flesh and inked in blood. After unwittingly awakening the unspeakable terror told of in the book, each of the friends is transformed into the evil dead, one by one, except for Ash (Bruce Campbell). So, Ash is left with no other way to survive than to dismember the living corpses of his sister, girlfriend, and two of his friends. Shot on a shoestring budget, the film boasts some impressive camera work and extremely over-the-top gore effects as well as a sense of humor much more subtle than the tongue-in-cheek aesthetic of the two sequels.

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Customer Reviews

577 Reviews
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4 star:
 (114)
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Average Customer Review
4.5 out of 5 stars (577 customer reviews)
 
 
 
 
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Most Helpful Customer Reviews

 
30 of 33 people found the following review helpful:
5.0 out of 5 stars Not Yet a Fan of This Cult Flick? "Join Us!", November 14, 2004
By Michael R Gates (Nampa, ID United States) - See all my reviews
(TOP 1000 REVIEWER)    (REAL NAME)      
This review is from: Evil Dead (Special Edition) (DVD)
Even though it's been more than 20 years since its original release, 1982's THE EVIL DEAD is still an impressive marvel of low-budget filmmaking. It does have its palpable flaws, but this first feature-length directorial effort from SPIDERMAN's (2002) Sam Raimi, produced on a shoestring budget of circa $350,000, offers clever special FX, interesting make-up work, relentless shocks, and brilliant direction and camera work. And of considerable note to genre fans, it highlights Raimi's knack for pushing violence and gore to such an extreme that it becomes comic or farcical, a characteristic that is enhanced by the slapstick talents of actor Bruce Campbell (who would himself become a cult hero due to his work in this and other Raimi films).

The story involves a group of college students who, during a weekend getaway, find a Sumerian Book of the Dead in an old wilderness cabin they've rented. When they unwittingly unleash evil spirits and demons while reading incantations from the book, that's when the real havoc--and the real fun for the audience--begins. As each of the kids, one by one, are possessed by the demons they've loosed, body parts and bodily fluids go a-flying until only one young man is left to face down the Evil Dead. A simple plot with a simple set up, but Raimi and Campbell effectively milk it for all the scares and all the laughs they can get.

There are several editions of THE EVIL DEAD available on DVD, most of which come from the wonderful folks at Anchor Bay. Most are of great quality and offer beautifully restored digital transfers of this cult classic. The best discs also include feature commentaries from Raimi and Campbell.
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19 of 21 people found the following review helpful:
5.0 out of 5 stars A classic horror film. A must for collectors!, July 23, 2000
By aaron wittenberg (portland, or) - See all my reviews
This review is from: Evil Dead (Special Edition) (DVD)
I spent some time trying to find this edition. You can find the Anchor Bay copy all over, but it is VERY lacking in features.

This DVD cost me as much as the collectors edition of The Thing, but it is SO worth it.

The bonus features include roughly 20 minutes of RAW behind the scenes footage. You can see the markings on the film go past the projector, no music, very basic. But it's very interesting to watch. In fact, many of the actors comments are left in.

Also, they include dozens and dozens of pictures. Some are just ok, others are pretty interesting. The theatrical trailer is a little different too. I've never seen that one before.

First, my biggest complaint is there is no wide screen version. Maybe wide screen versions didn't exist in 1982, I have no idea.

You can select two types of commentary. Sam Raimi and Robert Tapert, or Bruce Campbell. Let me just say that I was very, very disappointed with Sam and Robert. They might as well have not even bothered. During the ENTIRE movie, you could just about fit BOTH of their feedback on a single sheet of paper. Worthless. At times they would go over 5 minutes with no comments. Doesn't that totally defeat the purpose? Both men are very quiet. I wish Elite would have just scrapped them altogether. I am very glad I didn't buy it for their commentary.

Bruce, on the other hand, gave EXCELLENT commentary. Just about every single scene he gives detail. He shows you mistakes, tells you how scenes were filmed, how far apart they were, and so much more information. In fact, I learned more about Evil Dead from his commentary than from ALL the fan sites combined. He did an outstanding job telling us how they filmed it.

On with the DVD, I can't imagine someone reading these reviews who hasn't seen it. My guess is that most readers will just want to know what the DVD has to offer. If you want selection, get the Elite version. The Anchor Bay version has virtually nothing on it.

The special effects look a little more fake on DVD, but I think just about everyone knows they were very low budget. Still, the blood and guts hit home. This is an excellent late night, weekend or whatever horror flick. Not for the weak, even with the low budget special effects.

As most readers will know, Evil Dead set a standard for its extreme use of blood and guts, bodily dismemberment, acts of killing, and demonic disfigurement.

The Elite version costs more than the Anchor Bay version, but if you are a TRUE Evil Dead fan, get the Elite copy. It is far superior. You will be VERY glad you did.

Did you know they shot in at least 3 different locations? Hal and Sarah (actors) were not their real names? Betsy Bakers character had several stand ins? That there was no cellar in the actual cabin? That many of the back to back scenes were actually filmed 6 month (or years) apart? Well, you'll find out.

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250 of 321 people found the following review helpful:
1.0 out of 5 stars 5 stars for the movie; 0 for the Anchor Bay DVD., July 13, 2002
By Stephen Olinsky (Val Therese, Ontario, Canada) - See all my reviews
(REAL NAME)   
I have something to warn all purchasers of "The Evil Dead: Book Of The Dead" DVD from Anchor Bay Entertainment:

THIS MOVIE WAS SHOT IN THE RATIO OF 1.33:1, WHICH IS FULL-FRAME TO FIT YOUR SCREEN. ANCHOR BAY SLAPPED 1.85:1 RATIO BARS OVER (I repeat, OVER) THE FULL-FRAME FILM!! IF YOU DON'T BELIEVE ME, WATCH THE ELITE ENTERTAINMENT DVD VERSION OF EVIL DEAD. YOU WON'T BELIEVE HOW BIG TIME COMPANIES WILL FOOL THE PUBLIC BY PRESENTING FULL-FRAME FILMS IN "WIDESCREEN" COVERING UP THE PICTURE!!

BUYER BEWARE!!

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Most Recent Customer Reviews

4.0 out of 5 stars Silly, but hugely entertaining
The movie itself isn't THAT great really.......the acting is bad, the characters are STUPID beyond comprehension and the gore is VERY fake. BUT, is it entertaining? Read more
Published 22 days ago by Steven

4.0 out of 5 stars Book of the Dead edition packaging
This review is primarily for the Book of the Dead packaging, but I will delve briefly into various presentations of the film. Read more
Published 1 month ago by Ryan Lewis

2.0 out of 5 stars Nowhere near as good as the second one..dont bother
VERY slow and boring, poor special effects, ..Bruce Campbell is great, but...the movie blows overall. Go and buy the SECOND in the series: Army of Darkness.... Read more
Published 1 month ago by Shuree D. Munden-Wagstaff

3.0 out of 5 stars A Mix of the Pedestrian and the Distinction
The Evil Dead, being the very first in the Evil Dead series, naturally, seems a bit less distinctive than it's wild sequal Evil Dead 2 (Lauging doors? Read more
Published 1 month ago by Untitled

5.0 out of 5 stars Simply perfect
One of the greatest horror films of all time just gets better as you watch it. This movie is loved by all. It is a classic.
Published 3 months ago by Hayat A. Abdekrahman

5.0 out of 5 stars The Greatest Horror Movie since the Exorcist
The Evil Dead by Far is the 2nd most scariest Movie ever made portraying
Human's being possesed by Demon's. Of course We all know the Exorcist
is #1. Read more
Published 3 months ago by Christopher M. Junkovic

3.0 out of 5 stars Raimi gets reel
This movie felt more like an excuse for Sam Raimi to try out film and makeup techniques, rather that try and make a cohesive horror film. Read more
Published 4 months ago by Lord Schitsdain

4.0 out of 5 stars Splatter Classic that set a standard for the genre.
One of the first two dozen DVDs that I purchased was Sam Raimi's "The Evil Dead"(1983),which was one of my favorite films during my Junior High/Early High School life... Read more
Published 4 months ago by James Simpson

5.0 out of 5 stars Gory Fun!
I've watched this one so many times I've stopped counting. I think this one falls in the lines of either you loved it or couldn't stand it. Read more
Published 5 months ago by Scream Queen

5.0 out of 5 stars Excellent horror movie a keeper for the DVD collection
Now this is a great horror movie, I have watched this many times since it first came out and the shocks, gore, and suspense is still there no matter how much I watch this movie... Read more
Published 5 months ago by D. Steigman

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