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 Director
: Sam Raimi
Starring
: Bruce Campbell, Ellen Sandweiss, Betsy Baker, Hal Delrich,
Sarah York, Dorothy Tapert, Ted Raimi.
Picture
1.85:1 Anamorphic, DD 5.1 and DTS 6.1, Single Side, Dual-Layer,
Keep Case
Running
Time : 85 mins
The
story:
The
Ultimate Experience in Gruelling Terror
Ever-present,
ever-listening, the Evil Dead lie in wait for the one ancient
incantation that will give them license to possess the living.
Watch in horror as five vacationing college students unwittingly
resurrect these slumbering demons, and are forced into battle
with the supernatural forces that occupy the forests and
dark bowers of man's domain. The innocent must suffer. The
guilty must be punished. One-by-one, the students are possessed
by these demons whose thirst for revenge is insatiable.
As the night wanes, only one man remains...Ash. He must
now defend himself while trying to uncover the horrible
secret of The Evil Dead..
The
summary:
Following
on from the horror classics of the 70's (Texas Chainsaw
Massacre, Dawn of the Dead etc) The Evil Dead heralds the
next chapter in the horror saga - the comedy horror. Sam
Raimi enlisted the help of high school friend Bruce Campbell
and with a budget of $50,000 managed to produce one of the
most effective Zombie films of the genre. The Evil Dead
is my favourite of the trilogy and it's certainly the most
fun to watch. It's by no means an out-and-out comedy like
it's sequels, but Raimi ensures that the script is full
of the black comedy moments that the Return of the Living
Dead films parodied so well. There's also the mandatory
low-budget wooden acting (no doubt influenced by Night of
the Living Dead) , some great make-up on the demons and
gore by the bucketload!
The
story is about 5 college students basically trapped in an
isolated cabin with evil knocking at the window (and tapping
under the floor!). Once the scenario is established the
story really isn't that important, it's just a case of survival.
Raimi employs some great camera shots, particularly the
chase sequences and somehow, he skillfully manages to create
real fear even within the constraints of the tiny budget.
The dialogue is laughable at times and the script appears
to have been given little attention, but in spite of all
it's drawbacks Raimi's unique direction really holds the
whole thing together.
Apart
from the new 1.85:1 widescreen presentation and the DTS
6.1 soundtrack, the rest of the package has come straight
from Elite's rare 1999 release. Indeed even the 1.85:1 transfer
is questionable as the original aspect ratio of the film
appears to be the 1.33:1 one on the Elite disc. Whatever,
considering the age the transfer is acceptable quality although
little seems to have been done cleaning up the grain and
sharpening the overall picture. Sound is average and pretty
low-key throughout. This Anchor Bay release does seem to
lose out in the extras department though, as the 20 minutes
of alternate takes and behind-the-scenes footage from the
Elite version is missing. But it's a small price to pay
as the Elite version has long been out-of-print, so unless
you're willing to fork out on EBay, this uncut Anchor Bay
version is the one to buy.
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Extras:
*
Audio Commentary #1 - Audio Commentary with Director
Sam Raimi and Producer Robert Tapert. As you'd expect, this
is a very matter-of-fact commentary and probably one for
fans only.
*
Audio Commentary #2 - Audio Commentary with Bruce
Campbell. This is by far the more enjoyable commentary as
a relaxed Bruce tells his anecdotes and gives his insight
into one of the classic horrors of all time.
*
Trailer- The theatrical trailer.
*
Picture Gallery - A stills gallery of promotional
material.
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