Rating: 
Summary: Evil...Evil...Evil
Review: This movie is superb. The scary atmosphere created here is excellent. Horror movie directors should learn from this masterpiece. PS. Anchor Bay version is good, but Elite version is better.Recommend highly.
Rating:
Summary: Classic Horror Movie
Review: Evil Dead is the best series of Horror movies ever. Not one other movie has scared me as bad as the first Evil Dead. Sam Raimi (director) really knew how to lay down the blood and gore, and also puts in some very wierd camera angles that put more scare factor into it. Best in the series.
Rating:
Summary: "Her eyes... for God's sake, WHAT HAPPENED TO HER EYES!?"
Review: Man, I don't care what nobody says, Sam Raimi's 'Evil Dead' is one of the greatest horror films ever made. No, I'm serious. This is one of the most original and appealing films to come along in all of modern cinema, by far. Will everyone enjoy it? Probably not, but only because not everyone will understand why it's such a masterwork. Some will only look at it superficially as a ridiculous, gratuitously violent horror movie. But, if you are a true lover of film, an' I don't mean stiff-necked over-analytical critic of film, I mean a TRUE LOVER of motion pictures, an' the fun an' magic of sitting down an' losing yourself in a nice slice of pure entertainment, then you SHOULD really love, or at the very least appreciate this. These young film students that pieced this monstrosity (an' I mean that in a good way) together back in the late '70s clearly had the biggest an' brightest imaginations an' a true love for the magic of the movies. Is it cheesy? Sure. Is it violent? Hell yeah, it is, probably the most violent of the whole trilogy. But, is it a ball to watch? By all means. The establishing shot alone heavily influenced a lotta lesser horror movies in the '80s. Is' a long tracking shot across a dirty, swampy lake, an' through the backwoods toward the main road as our unknowing group of college kids drive toward an isolated cabin in the country where they plan to spend a weekend. When they arrive, once they've done a quick run-through of the broken-down shack, they discover some strange findings in the cellar; a shotgun, a few medeival-looking knives, and, most importantly, a tape recorder and a rubbery-looking old book, that turns out to be what the whole movie revolves around. As the friends sit up at night an' listen to the unknown doctor on the tape recorder reciting some strange demonic chants, as they flip through the chilling book whose pages are covered in strange lettering an' drawings of devils an' spirits... okay, I know what you're wondering; are these kids really stupid an' careless enough to unlock some otherwordly spirit an' awaken the dead to wreak havoc on the five of them. who are hopelessly stuck in the middle of nowhere? Well, to put it bluntly, YES. What follows is one of the most relentlessly bloody an' violent films I believe I've ever seen. It's like the filmmakers went to painstaking lengths to find out where the most awful an' horrific spot would be to stab people (The acchiles tendon, as Bruce Campbell's commentary points out). I mean, there is some really raw an' shrill moments of gore that actually put even the 'Evil Dead' sequels to shame, including a truly sick an' disturbing sequence involving one'a the girls an' some lively trees, with some very, uhhh, BUSY branches. To make a long story short, one by one each of the kids end up bein' possessed by the demons an' turned into bloodthirsty zombies, except for Bruce Campbell's character, Ash, who'll end up being the lone warrior in the sequels. I had this movie in its original special edition for a while, but when this limited edition "Book of the Dead" came out, there was no way around it, I hadda have it. The rubbery binding of "human flesh", the unreadable lettering an' demonic drawings of ancient myths an' devilish spirits, ohhhh man, any fan'a this movie'll eat this up. There's no real making-of featurette, but there is a retrospective with all the producers, as well as some old behind-the-scenes footage on the set, including outtakes. This footage looks like it was dug outta some crates that it'd been in for the past twenty years or so. I was also surprised to see TV spots, not only because it was such a low-budget movie, but also because of the limited release it received, cause'a the graphic nature an' the fact that it was unrated. The two commentaries are fun to listen to, mostly 'cause these guys're so snide an' sarcastic about their movie, especially Bruce Campbell ("I'll be quiet, cause, uhh, we wanna hear this dialogue"). To be honest with you, these aren't the kind of movies that are a whole lotta fun to watch by yourself, so here's what you do, or at least here's what I do: First I getta bunch'a my homeboys to come over some night, then I throw a few fine females into the mix too, preferrably some trill ones so maybe they'd enjoy the flick too, I try an' plan it around some dark an' rainy weather, then I break out the liquor, sit back, an' jus' enjoy the weird satanic chants, demonic zombies, and the gallons an' gallons'a blood that's shed. Thas' all there is to it, y'all.
Rating: 
Summary: Stupid
Review: It is stupid, not scary . The only horrible
thing is the acting. A complete waste of time.
Rating: 
Summary: Classic Bruce
Review: This movie is wonderful. Very scary (considering it was made in '83) and very gory. But the gory is VERY VERY cheesy. So much to the point where its not scary or disgusting. You see two people decompose but its not that nasty because it looks just like clay. The movie leaves lots of ground to be paradied (Evil Dead II). A tree voilates a girl by raping her; give me a break. This movie is very graphic but its not too much. My grandmother could watch this and still feel ok. But that doesnt stop it from being a horror classic. Bruce Campbell is awesome as Ash. He makes this movie worth the $5 rental fee.
Note - The movie is rated NC-17 but seriously its not that gory. I mean lots of blood and yea you see this girls tendon ripped out but i mean it looks SO FAKE! Its really a joke i guess. Dont let the rating discourage you from buying this because its really not bad.
Rating:
Summary: Sam Raimi's "The Evil Dead"
Review: This movie is probably one of the most well known and obsessed over horror films of the century. The actor Bruce Campbell is practically a living legend to most horror crazed movie buffs. Personally I think he is a great actor but does a lot better in comedy roles like in "Amy of Darkness." I've always liked all Sam Raimi's films but honestly never took the time to watch "The Evil Dead" until a few weeks ago. I started the "Evil Dead" trilogy backwards with "Army of Darkness" and flat out loved it. Pure fun and action for any movie fan. Next I saw "Evil Dead II: Dead by Dawn" and really laughed by a** off. I thought "Well if the last two were so great the Original has to be the best!" Well, I was sort of right... I began watching "The Evil Dead" and thought it was running pretty well. Very stylish camera angles, good music by Joe Lo Duca and a great setting. The movie was fine for me until it came to the infamous tree branch scene. I was literally shocked to see how far the scene was taken and really lost allot of respect for the film. Don't get me wrong, I love movies with blood and explosions but that scene just steps too far and ruins the whole thing for me. The scene is duplicated in "Evil Dead II" in a much better and settling way. That is really the only problem I have with this film. I am not easily rattled by movies but that scene really surprised me. Other than that, the movie is great and once the horror really starts, it never stops. This movie is Not exactly jump out of your chair scary but more like ultra gory horror that makes your jaw drop. It is easy to see why this film is hailed so much by total horror freaks and buffs. To sum things up, this is not your average horror film. It offers more style and edge than you usually see in horror movies. Bruce Campbell is great in his role as Ash and later gets to really show off and be funny with "Evil Dead II" & "Army of Darkness." For all you horror crazed, violence addicted psychos out there this is the movie for you. Still, if you are interested in becoming a filmmaker, like me, you may like this just to see how a bunch of college filmmakers can really pull something off. Just be weary of those woods...
Rating:
Summary: A wake up call to Horror enthusiasts everywhere!
Review: "The Book of the Dead" should find it's way into every home in America 'nuff said. Why do I make such a bold statement? Is it because "The Evil Dead" is perhaps the largest cult phenomena movie ever made with the possible exeption of "The Rocky Horror Picture Show?" Is it because of all the versians of this movie ever released (15+) this is by far the greatest in terms of quality and bonus features? Because the widescreen anamorphic picure and newly remastered soundtrack are superior over any previous attempts? Or is it simply because the packaging is so friggin' COOL!?!?! Whatever the reason, this debut for the talented director Sam Raimi and the high spirited dynamic screen presence that is Bruce Campbell is simply a wonder to behold. Now, just to clarify something once and for all, "The Evil Dead" is NOT for all tastes, and features some extremely gory shots that may leave you a bit uneasy after eating a cup of yogurt or other soft substance of pus-like consistancy. And you may want to send the kids out of the room during the scene when the woman is attacked... by trees(you'll see). But it is what it is,whether it be a great movie of classic stature, a gorgeous new widescreen transfer, glorious remastered sound, hefty extras, or the greatest packaging ever made for a DVD, this is just a must own in EVERY way!!!
Rating:
Summary: Someone must speak about these so called "classic movies"
Review: I heard a lot about some film called "Evil Dead".Words like "terrifying","masterpiece" and
"classic",were tossed around;some people even went as far as to claim "if you haven't seen this
film you can't call your self a real film fan!".Well now,i figured im long overdue to watch this
"masterpiece" because I want to be a "real film fan". All I could do was laugh at this garbage.I fell asleep at about
the part where Ash was trying to revive his friend that had just ran out into the woods alone in
the dead of night.How anyone can take this movie seriously is beyond me?
The characters in this movie were just too stupid for me to care,and the storyline is basically a
bad Tales From the Crypt episode.And I ask you this,why do young girls have the urge to go out
in the middle of the night,through the woods,alone,to follow some strange evil voice?
Production wise "Evil Dead" just may be the ultimate cheese movie.The creatures,or the "evil
dead" looked like someone who stuck his face in a bag of baking flour and applied some green
lipstick.Who in the world found this movie scary?!?! I really feel sorry for whomever did.
Acting,who needs it? is this movie's motto.The performances are about as convincing as Chris
rock being cast as Napoleon.I understand they couldn't possibly afford talent on their shoe string
budget,but thats just it.People are so impressed with the budget of this movie,but why????? They
obviously didn't perform any miracles with their budget,this movie looks horrible!
Lets see here,the expenses of this movie,one run down shack,a bag of flour and one green
lipstick.I heard this movie was shot for 85k,in my opinion they got ripped off.
Rating:
Summary: A good package for fans of the series, despite the price.
Review: Having seen (and owned) "Evil Dead" in many different forms, it is nice to finally get an all-inclusive version. Anchor Bay is notorious for lousy video transfers (the VHS version of Halloween), but this one is surprisingly good. This neat little "Book of the Dead" is a great collectible, assuming you have the cash for it. Rather than give a plot synopsis (if you are reading this, chances are you've seen the movie many times), I will say that this is the only real "Horror" movie in the Evil Dead Trilogy. While "Evil Dead 2: Dead By Dawn" and the later "Army of Darkness" were more comedy than horror, the first installment is a strait-forward horror outing. What sets it apart from other 80's horror movies is Sam Raimi's stylish direction and Tom Sullivan's extremely gross special effects. "Evil Dead" is perhaps the goriest of all the 1980's horror flicks, with blood, guts, and body parts flying everywhere. But it is done in such a way as to make it a stylish horror movie, not a snuff film like a lot of early 80's "Video Nasties". Anchor Bay gave us quite a package with this edition, so fans of the series can rejoice. Included are no less than 2 documentaries, one by Bruce Campbell himself called "Fanalysis", which give an insight into the world of fandom as seen at conventions. Campbell makes a piece similar to that is "Trekkies", showing all types, and all degrees, of fans. The "Evil.Dead" fans, by the looks of things, are the most civilized out of the bunch. The second documentary is called "Discovering Evil Dead", which has interviews with two early proprietors of home video who discovered "Evil Dead", and were responsible for getting it released to the general public. Also included are the outtakes, bios, trailers, and other supplements. The quality of the movie itself it nice, even though I have heard people complain about the "matted" widescreen. The only other prints I have to compare it to are the Thorn EMI release from the early 80's, and Anchor Bay's abysmal re-release that I bought in 1998. The image is clear, but a bit grainy in parts. This is to be expected in a print as old as this, and especially in low-budget movies, also like this. I have always loved "Evil Dead", and am happy that I now own it on DVD My biggest complaint is the price tag, which is steep no matter how you look at it. This costs as much as some DVD box sets, and considering the extras, this is still only 1 DVD with a fancy book included. If you are a diehard fan of the series, and want to own a "Deluxe, Limited Edition" print of this movie, than this is definitely the thing for you. If you are indifferent to the extras and just want a good quality print with perhaps a few supplements, than the other editions are a better bet.
Rating:
Summary: The best Evil Dead edition ever.
Review: This movie is surely the best ever made, in my opinion. It's scary, gore... This movie will never be forgotten, because it's different from everything. Even its sequels don't get near it. Yes, I'm talking about The Evil Dead.... In this DVD, there are many extras, the best ones. There are exclusive extras, such as a documentary by Bruce Campbell (the actor who plays Ash, the main character in the trilogy), called Fanalysis. It's not an Evil Dead-only documentary, it tells things about fans, who they are, how far can they go. So the documentary shows many fans (from Star Wars, Star Trek, Xena...) in conventions... There's a participation of Sam Raimi's brother, Ted Raimi in this documentary also. The best documentary in my opinion is "Discovering the Evil Dead", because it tells the history about the movie, it tells things about how the censorship was, how it was released... You MUST see this documentary!
There are Commentaries (well, they are the same from the Elite Entertainment edition DVD) of Bruce Campbell and another one with Rob Tapert (the producer) and Sam Raimi (the director). There are some rare behind-the-scenes footage (same from Elite Entertainment DVD), many pictures (not only from Elite Entertainment DVD), TV trailers, the trailer, bios of Bruce Campbell, Rob Tapert, Sam Raimi. It's a widescreen version (Evil Dead was never released in Widescreen format, until this DVD), it's closed-captioned. And there are much more extras. Wait, this is the DVD, I didn't say anything about the awesome package yet. Well, I would buy this edition even without the DVD, because the book is really worthy. It's almost the same Necronomicon (Book Of The Dead) that appears in the movie. There are some pages of the book in the movie which doesn't appear in the DVD Necronomicon. And there's also some difference between them, because in the movie, you can't read what is written in the pages, but in the DVD Necronomicon, you can! And it's not hard! The book has the same drawings from the movie, and there's a GREAT booklet in the book, also... There are really no words to describe it. PLUS, a few years from now, it will be really hard to find, so it will be really expensive. But don't worry about it. You won't even think about selling yours.
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