Synopsis: Five friends go up to a cabin in the woods, where they find unspeakable evil lurking in the forest. They find a tome called the Necronomicon and the taped translation of the text. Once the tape is played, the evil is released. One by one, the teens are possessed. With only one remaining, it is up to him to survive the night and battle the evil dead!
Review: I must first apologize to Anchor Bay for not having this review up way sooner than now, this release basically got lost in the mix due to certain circumstances. Evil Dead was one of the first horror films to ever really make an impact on me that would lead to my obsession of all things horror. This film had everything I could of wanted to see and then some. You get a great combination of incantations, demon killing, gore, some cheesy effects, tree rape, gallons of blood and of course Bruce Campbell.
There is so much to like about this film and any true film fan can see why Evil Dead influenced so many people to be film makers and have stuff to do with film making. One thing that I can say that was very unique to see at the time I was first exposed to this film was the camera angles they used throughout, you get some of the most unique angles that have ever been put into the film as well as the POV shot of the evil spirit inhabiting the cabin and the woods.
Now this film also did something that most other horror films of it's time did not do and that was have an element of dark humor added to the mix which of course paved the way for a slew of other films to copy that formula. The one part of the humor that I liked more than anything is the fact that Ash (Bruce Campbell) constantly keeps getting covered in blood one scene after another. Aside from the humor there is some very creepy and terrifying spots as well, one that I can point out that always stayed with me was when Linda (Betsey Baker) gets possessed and she keeps letting out this creepy laugh and just taunting Ash and also the most cringe worthy part is when Linda gets a pencil stabbed into her ankle.
Now at first I was a little bit worried that this release was only going to be in the widescreen format and not in it's original 1.33:1 aspect ratio, but I was quickly relieved when I found out it came in both formats. The picture quality is the best that this film has been shown in and is a step up from the Ultimate Edition that Anchor Bay previously released. Now if you do get a chance to get the set with the special features disc then get it but if you already own the Ultimate Edition it is necessary because you get the same features on that set that you would get on the bonus DVD with the blu-ray minus a feature called Book of the Dead: The Other Pages.
One thing though I must add that I liked about all the releases of this film so far is that on the trailers for Evil Dead they mention the Sunset Drive-In which I used to go to all throughout my life and actually still exists! Overall this is the best I think you will ever see Evil Dead look on any home format!
-Daniel "Damnation" Lee
Director: Sam Raimi
Genre: Horror/Dark Comedy
Blu-Ray/DVD Release Year: 2010
Theatrical Release Year: 1981
Time Length: 85 mins.
Company: Anchor Bay Entertainment
Website:
www.anchorbayent.com
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