Rating: 
Summary: You will die like the others before you!
Review: 1983's "Evil Dead" is a dark and gritty horror film that scared audiences with its grisly gore and frightening concept. Not bad for a movie that cost just $375,000! While setting the stage for the events to come in "Evil Dead 2" and "Army of Darkness," this movie marks the debut of Bruce Campbell, whose character Ash evolved into the genre's own cult hero.
Five college students rent an old cabin located deep in the Tennessee woods. In the cellar, Ash and his friend Scotty (Hal Delrich) discover two interesting objects: an archaeologist's tape recorder and the Necronomicon (Book of the Dead). Bound in human flesh and inked in blood, the Necronomicon contains Sumerian burial rites and bizarre incantations. If read, the Book's pages resurrect unseen demons that lie dormant in the forest. Upon playing the tape, the students accidentally unleash the dark forces of evil; one by one Scotty, Cheryl (Ellen Sandweiss), Shelly (Theresa Tilly) and Ash's own girlfriend Linda (Betsy Baker) all become deranged, bloodthirsty zombies. Armed with an axe and a double-barrelled shotgun, Ash is left alone to fight for his survival. The only way the evil could be destroyed is through bodily dismemberment! Audiences will be shocked at "Evil Dead's" onscreen gore; corpses will be chopped apart, wide-eyed zombies will fester beyond recognition, and rivers of blood will gush from the basement pipes!
Sam Raimi's direction can be clearly indicated by the fast, low-level camera motion used throughout the film. Such an element represents the unseen shadows that can crash through windows and knock down trees. If you have seen "Army of Darkness" first, you might be surprised as to how Ash's character behaves. Instead of a chainsaw-wielding, gun-toting bad boy, Ash is simply a sensitive, caring person who happens to be caught in a terrifying situation. He's overcome with grief as he can't stomach the thought of killing Linda, the woman he loves. Quite interesting! Horror movie fans will be quite pleased at what "Evil Dead" offers. I must warn you, though, it ISN'T for the faint of heart! Indeed, this movie is nothing short of 85 minutes of heartstopping terror!
Rating:
Summary: An Army Of Primitive Screwheads Unleashed
Review: Before director Sam Raimi brought Darkman and comic book superhero Spider-Man to the big screen, he wrote and directed a low budget horror zombie film, called The Evil Dead. While short on money, the movie still benefits from Raimi's wildly inventive imagination and the first of many memorable performances by the brilliant B actor Bruce Campbell.Five college friends decide to get away together and spend time at a cabin in the woods. When "Ash" Williams (Campbell) and his cohorts arrive, they discover a mysterious tape, and decide to find out what's on it. Once the tape is played though, it unleashes evil forces from the ancient "Book Of The Dead", that will slowly turn them into "Deadites". As it turns out, the only way to defeat these walking creatures, is by dismembering them. The Evil Dead had a bugdet of only $375,000, and yet, while it shows throughout, Raimi's creative energy compensates for any problems due to the lack of funds. Filled with fun, excitement, and gore-a-plenty, the film never lets up once it gets going. Sure, the acting is over the top, but that's part of the fun. I can't say enough about Campbell either. He is just great here. The Evil Dead has had its share of reissues on DVD. The extras stay pretty much the same. The 2002 Anchor Bay Edition includes two commentary tracks. The first from Raimi and Producer Robert Tapert is fun, but as you might expect, these men end up being upstaged by star Bruce Campbell, and his funny recollections for the second audio commentary. I'm laughing as I type this--just thinking about it. There's 18 minutes worth of home movie style footage of behind the scenes and outtakes on the set. Theatrical trailers, TV spots, a poster and stills gallery, and talent bios round out the disc's bonus material. Replacing the liner notes written by Campbell for the '99 DVD, is the 24 page booklet featuring an interview with "The Ladies of Evil Dead", Betsy Baker, Ellen Sandweiss, and Sarah York. Like Joe Dante's The Howling, and the more sophisticated Halloween, from John Carpenter, The Evil Dead proves that money doesn't really matter, in film, if you have imagination and sheer will to make it work. Recommended, along with its sequels, Evil Dead II and the topper Army Of Darkness
Rating:
Summary: "Were...gonna...get you!"
Review: Evil Dead is the first, and in my opinion, the best in the Evil Dead series. While Dead By Dawn and Army of Darkness are very good movies, they were played more for the laughs and for showcasing Bruce Campbell's incredible acting skills than for the horror aspect. That's what makes this one stand out above them. Evil Dead is a horror movie, through and through.
It starts out with a group of twenty-somethings on their way up to a cabin they rented recently. When they get to the cabin, Scott goes up to the cabin, where there is a porch swing banging incessantly against the cabin wall, though there is no noticable wind. After he gets the key and unlocks the door, it suddenly stops. This is a portent of things to come. They start exploring the cabin, and soon they find the cellar, which has a room where they find a reel-to-reel audio player and a curious looking book. Of course, they play the tape and read from the book. That's when all hell breaks loose, if you'll pardon the pun. One of the gals, Cheryl, goes out in the woods when she hears a noise, where she is raped by the forest. This is one of the most memorable scenes in horror movie history. The demons that were released when they read from the Morturom Demonto possess her, and the rest of them lock her in the cellar. It's not long before the rest of the group also gets possessed, all except Ash. He eventually kills all the possessed people, and day finally breaks. As he makes his way out the door and is on his way back home, the demons come rushing through the forest, through the cabin, and the last scene we see is Ash as he is confronted by them. There are so many things I like about this movie. The action is pretty much non stop. All the action takes place in one night. We never get to see the demons, which was probably a cost issue, but it made them all the more terrifying. The acting by all the actors was excellent, especially Campbell. The special effects and the makeup for the possessed people were also excellent. And of course the story. If you haven't seen it, go rent it now. It's one of the best horror movies ever made. If you have seen it, do yourself a favor and watch it again.
Rating:
Summary: A classic !
Review: This is without a doubt one of the best horror films ever made. Some people don't like it because of it's primitive style and bad acting but those people are missing the entire point. Raimi didn't make this film to win an Oscar. In this film lie some of the most creative and gory sequences of all time(pencils being stabbed through ankles and Campbell hacking up zombies with axes are two great examples). And unlike it's two comedic sequels, The Evil Dead is a serious horror movie.Five stars. Buy it!
Rating:
Summary: The gut wrenching horror classic
Review: Sam Raimi's crafted one of the finest horror films of all time with the original Evil Dead, which became a landmark film for the horror genre. First off you can tell the film is low budget, but that didn't stop Raimi from crafting a wild, shocking, well rounded movie that created an entire cult legacy. In case you don't know the story by now, five college students go on vacation at an abandoned cabin, only to find the Necronomicon and inadvertantly release some very evil spirits that takes over each person one by one until only our reluctant hero Ash (Bruce Campbell) is left. What follows is a wildly entertaining horror thrillride that pulls out as many stops as Raimi can handle behind the helm with the claustrophobic, eerie atmosphere of the cabin and the surrounding, living forest, and some greatly disorienting and dizzying camera angles. The makeup effects team used the small budget as best they could to create some great blood and gore effects (I still can't get the image of one of the girls knawing her hand off), and Bruce Campbell is equally great in his defining role, although he would not be the slapstick ridden hapless hero of the later films Evil Dead 2 and Army of Darkness. All in all, if you want to watch a real horror movie thats budget didn't strap its' imagination, then there isn't a better time then now to get this new special edition of Evil Dead. Plus, the Book of the Dead casing is fantasticly designed.
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Summary: i love it!!!! i like gore movie
Review: i seen this movie few time if u are gore fan go see this one and it is awesome movie!!!!!! in second evil dead it was funny and lot of gore!!! i love evil dead movie!!!
Rating:
Summary: Every horror fan's dream come true.
Review: Let's face it, when it comes to pure carnage, Evil Dead takes the crown. This is probably the most violent, most blood soaked movie I have ever witnessed in my life -- Isn't it just wonderful? 5 college students head to a secluded cabin for a weekend retreat. They discover a tape recorder of a professor talking about demons taking over his wife, which also awakens the spirits in the cabin and strange stuff starts going down. Ash, the main character's sister starts going loony and turns into a zombie. And of course, one by one, each of Ash's friends are also possessed by the Evil, until only Ash is left and must discover how to destroy the evil and make it out alive. Evil Dead is nonstop "red" action. You will be on the edge of your seat after the first 15 minutes of this flick. Sam Raimi's directing style is very intense and gives this movie it's beef. I suggest this movie to ANY horror fan. Parts 2 and 3 got just plain silly, but the original will always be a classic in my book.
Rating: 
Summary: Die Hards Only
Review: The Book of the Dead may be the most extras-laden, fleshiest edition of the original, classic Evil Dead film available in the US. However, like all US DVD releases, it has a problem- the aspect ratio is wrong. Get a multi region player and buy the UK 4 disc set.
Rating: 
Summary: The Edition to Get
Review: There are about 6,000,000 editions of each Evil Dead film to get. The Book of the Dead may be the most tricked out, fleshiest edition of the film, but only diehards should get that version of the original film, and only in addition to this one. The fact is, for all its flair, the Book of the Dead is in the wrong aspect ration, making it unwatchable. If only buy one edition of Evil Dead, buy this one, which has ample extras and most importantly, the correct aspect ratio.
Rating:
Summary: The Best low budget horror film ever made.
Review: Low budget horror does not get much better than "The Evil Dead". In fact no other low budget horror film even looks like "The Evil Dead" thanks to Sam Raimi (The director of "Spider-Man" for the ladies and gentlemen of you out there who do not know this.) So if you want to see how a big director starts from the real bottom end of film making and works his way up then you need to watch this film at all costs. Besides he was just a young kid when he made it (using a school's 16mm film camera)..... and so were his friends who acted in it.... and they ended up making a film which coined the term "video nasty'! The movie was filmed in 1979 and released in 1982 where it hit the video market just at the right time. It was one of the very first cult classics promoted by the advent of video tape. `The Evil Dead' IS one of the nastiest films ever made. It contains extreme violence, blood, torture, beheadings, dismemberments, mutilations, gore, violence towards women, chain saws - all in FULL VIEW of the camera. No holds where bared in the making of this film but some countries may show this movie in a censored form which entails the removal of about six minutes from the film (This is uncut and the UK recently released it uncut). The story is original, fast paced, scary and extremely enjoyable. Many fans watch it over and over and over again. Many of today's new film making talent watch this film over and over again and it is obvious to see why. The camera work is used unusually, skillfully and surprisingly (so rare these days). The editing is dramatic and the low budget special effects must be given credit for the end results which beat the pants out of some of things that hit the shelves these days. In short, the film making aspect is really what "The Evil Dead" is all about. Here the director is really giving you a bang for what bucks he had. The premise is a simple one to explain. Five young kids go to a cabin in the woods for a short vacation. In the house they find a tape recording which manages to invoke an incantation which wakes up the evil in the woods. It comes after them - turning some of them into the undead, demons, zombies and flesh eating ghouls. Cue lots of household items being used as weapons, an initially sissy anti-hero (Bruce Campbell) who becomes the GOD of million adoring horror fans (you'll see why when you watch it and certainly the sequel is even better still!!) and low budget special effects galore. Copied by a hundred thousand other horror films, exploited by a million uncensored bootleg copies - `The Evil Dead' is still the low budget horror king. And that is a hard act to beat!
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