We're Gonna Get You: The Legacy of The Evil Dead

It was at some point during the mid 1980s that I first became aware of a film that would eventually become synonymous with horror in my estimation. My dad, a perennial fright fan and instructor on my road to the dark side, found it on the racks one day at the local mom and pop video store (remember those?) and brought it home. I wasn't allowed to watch it at the time, but I can still remember listening in my bed to my mom's screams of terror emanating from our basement living room as my parents watched it that night. Needless to say, there was no greater enticement possible. I knew right from the start that it was something I simply had to see.

My dad had a knack for picking out the best horror flicks back then, in those days of lurid VHS box covers and giant cardboard cases. He prided himself on finding this gem of a film, still rather obscure at the time. He was so blown away by it that he tried in vain whenever he could to properly convey its horrific intensity to friends and family. And I listened, trying to imagine a horror movie that could be so utterly harrowing. My experience up to that point, after all, was pretty much confined to Frankenstein and Dracula.

And so, when at last I came of age, one of the first R-rated movies I made sure to rent at the video store was Sam Raimi's classic. Well OK, I wasn't exactly of age yet, but let's just say I was old enough that the guy behind the counter at the store didn't care anymore (Hey, Video Reflections in Bensonhurst went out of business about a decade ago, I doubt anyone's going to get into trouble over this one.) I giddily and anxiously watched the movie with my very best friend, at last able to partake in the cornucopia of horror I had heard so much about.

At the time, I imagined The Evil Dead as being the most gut-wrenching, unthinkably terrifying horror movie imaginable. And I'd have to say that, at the time, my expectations turned out to be right on the nose. It was, in my teenaged opinion, exactly what the back of the box boasted--the ultimate experience in grueling horror. The gore was beyond anything I had ever seen before. Every moment seemed to be electrified with the stuff of pure, undistilled nightmares. In short, it was a teenage boy's idea of a perfect movie.

For some years thereafter, The Evil Dead became a sort of litmus test for me; I would use it to test out my friends, to see if they could get through it. It became a badge of honor for those around me to survive a viewing of the film. I would show it to my girlfriends within the first few weeks of dating, just to see if they were cool enough to handle it. And I never got tired of it.

Fast-forward all these years later, and even though I may not watch it as religiously as I used to, there is still a very special place in my horror-lovin' heart reserved for it. While I may no longer call it a "perfect movie" per se, and there are many horror films which the movie critic inside me recognizes as being far superior, nevertheless it still retains an undeniable amount of raw power which makes it a joy to watch every time I take it down from the shelf. In fact, I did so most recently with Captain Cruella, and was reminded all over again why it had captured my imagination in the first place.

The reason I chose to rewatch it for the first time in years is that I'm privileged enough to be hosting a screening of the film at Saugerties, New York's Sugartown Vintage Boutique this weekend as part of the 2nd Annual Village Invasion Zombie Crawl. Needless to say, the opportunity to introduce this movie after worshiping it for so very long is the latest in a long line of wonderful experiences which The Vault of Horror has made possible for me.


What is it about this film that reaches into the souls of so many horror fans, possessing them much like the Deadites themselves? You will find the movie included on almost anyone's list of favorites, and its influence cannot possibly be underestimated. In a word, the film is seminal, and I would even go so far as to say that it has joined that elite group of movies which literally embody the concept of horror in cinema. And despite the fact that so many of us have watched it so many times that it often teeters on the brink of being passe or played out, it is only because we can't stop going back to it.

The Evil Dead was an integral part of my horror coming-of-age, helping to define the genre for me from a young age. It has been with me ever since, a dear old friend covered in gristle and viscera. I hope to see some of you next weekend as I get to watch it once again. And if you can't make it, just take it down from that shelf one more time and watch it for yourself. I know it's got to be there somewhere...

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The Lucky 13 Returns! Week Five: Hanukkah

Mel Brooks gave us Jews in Space, but this week in The Vault of Horror--as well as Brutal as Hell--we're giving you Jews in horror! That's right, it's Hanukkah, the Festival of Lights! And this time around in The Lucky 13 series, we're casting our oil lamps on Jewish horror directors. Specifically, I've chosen to write about my very favorite horror film by a Jewish director, and my dear colleague Ms. BJ-C of The Vault's sister blog Day of the Woman has taken an even broader approach, spotlighting three of her very favorite horror directors among the Chosen People.

So put down that dreidel, stop giving your poor mother so much shpilkes with all your meshugass, grab a bissel cake and read on...

B-Sol on The Exorcist

It may seem a tad silly selecting this film, since it could very easily top the list of most people's favorite horror movies, period--let alone horror movies from Jewish directors alone. Nevertheless, since The Exorcist went mysteriously absent from the original Lucky 13 series (Not even in the Devil & Demons category?? Come on, people!), this is my chance to right that heinous wrong.

What can possibly be said about this classic to extol its greatness that hasn't already been said? It was nominated for the Oscar for Best Picture, and remains the highest-grossing horror movie ever made. And although it has its detractors--as all great films do--there can be little doubt that The Exorcist is one of the all-time triumphs of American cinema, a crown jewel from an era that gave us so many.

With stellar performances from Ellen Burstyn, Max Von Sydow, Linda Blair and especially Jason Miller in particular as the beleaguered Father Damian Karras, this is a film of great depth and weight, finished in a way in which few horror films are finished, with the deft touch of a master auteur. It's unfortunate that Friedkin never quite equaled the heights he achieved with The Exorcist, his masterpiece, but it nevertheless remains as what it has been for much of the past four decades--not just a great horror film, but the great horror film.

BJ-C of Day of the Woman on David Cronenberg, Eli Roth & Sam Raimi

Cronenberg:
Okay, so I'm sort of splitting hairs on this one, considering Cronenberg has denounced his Jewish faith and identifies himself as an atheist. Regardless, he was raised in a Jewish household and that's good enough for me. Cronenberg is easily the king of venereal horror films. No one can make a film as gruesomely intelligent as Cronenberg. His films often times explored the fear factors humans possess when it comes to infection and bodily transformations. For me, someone with an uncontrollable fear of being diagnosed with leprosy, he hits the nail on the head every. single. time. A small little tidbit is that Cronenberg was considered to be the director for Return of the Jedi, and I can honestly say that the world wouldn't have been able to handle that much awesome in one film, and the results would have been the equivalent to dividing by zero... So I guess it's a good thing he didn't pick up that job. But Cronenberg will forever be the king of body horror.

Eli Roth:
Oh, Eli Roth, you sexy sexy bear Jew, you. As much as the world is fully aware of how much of a douchebag you are in real life, I can't take away the fact that you directed some of the most highly thought-of horror films of the last decade. Personally, I disliked Hostel, but I'd be a fool if I denied the fact that his films have developed an almost cult-like following. Roth definitely has a fiery passion for the genre and for that, he has my respect. As for his actions on Twitter towards other horror journalists... he's on the fence ;)

Sam Raimi:
Alright, Sam Raimi is the God of my world. He gave me our savior, Bruce Campbell, and his Necronomicon Ex Mortis serves as my Holy Word. There is absolutely nothing that this man touches that didn't turn to perfection. I'm including Spider-Man 3. There, I said it.

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Join us next wee for an edition of the Lucky 13 that will be very near and dear to my heart... as we commemorate Frank Sinatra's birthday weekend with a look at our favorite musical horror films! Ring-a-ding-ding, baby!

Week 1: Halloween
Week 2: Man vs. Nature
Week 3: Veteran's Day
Week 4: Thanksgiving

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GROOVY

For anyone out there in blogland having a rough night, here's something that's bound to bring a smile... 'Night, all--evil dreams! ;-)

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RETRO REVIEW: The Evil Dead

Well Greetings to you Vault Dwellers, it's BJ-C here from this here blog's babysister blog Day of the Woman. Yesterday B-Sol cranked out one of the most... well... graphic installments of my Woman of the Week feature on his dearly beloved Linnea Quigley. So, I figured it would only be fair that my installment of his Retro Review contained MY dearly beloved....one Mr. Bruce (don't call me Ash) Campbell. As the second volume of the trilogy is by far my favorite, it was of course the absolutely mind-blowing original that brought me to not only a love of the Chin Wonder, but showed me that a low budget does NOT mean a low grade film.

The central idea of the Evil Dead sees five vacationing college students (GO SPARTANS!) who rent out an isolated (and might I add incredibly shady) cabin in the middle of the Tennessee woods. There, they uncover research carried out by the cabin’s former occupants into the "Book of the Dead", aka the Naturon Demonto (It wasn't the Necronomicon Ex-Mortis until the sequels). This book is not only gruesomely bound in human flesh and written in blood; but also possesses the power to raise evil spirits that then possess the living, thus creating The Evil Dead. However, the existence of the book itself isn't what brings the demons about, it is the recitation of the passages. As the kids inspect the house and drift to the basement of the cabin, Ash and the gang find (and stupidly play) a tape recording of demonic incantations from the book, unwittingly resurrecting the slumbering demons that thirst for takeover.

The obvious place to bring praise is to the performance of Bruce Campbell as the iconic Ashley J. Williams. The character of Ash has been now iconisized as the chainsaw armed, wit-talking, demon battling, blood inducing, heart-throbbing, sawed-off shotgun wielding, S-Mart working, bad ass. However in the first installment of the Evil Dead, we see Ash as sort of a wimp. Raimi allowed him to have this god awful fluff hair-do, and make some not-so-bad ass choices. Most of the film we see Ash running around from the unseen demons (aka rushing camera) and being drenched in blood that never stains his shirts. What makes Ash such a fabulous character though, is the fact he actually has emotion. Could you imagine how difficult it must have been for him to watch not only his sister, but his girlfriend, and two best friends turn into these demonic creatures? I would have just offed myself right then and there. However Ash uses not only his wits, but his passions to keep himself alive and to destroy the Evil Dead....and to be dead sexy.

The first Evil Dead film, is more of a showcase of the women than it is of Bruce Campbell. The most famous scenes from The Evil Dead all include the women. The raping trees, the pencil in the ankle, Linda's ridiculous laugh, the biting off the arm, THE CELLAR, the JOIN US, all of it, LADIES OF THE EVIL DEAD. This movie is so infamous because of their performances. The thing I love most about these ladies, is the fact that this film was put together so informally. Betsy Baker (Linda) really DID meet Sam, Rob, and Bruce in a Detroit area restaurant. Ellen Sandweiss (Cheryl) had been friends with Sam, Bruce, and countless others since they were in the 10th grade. She appeared in Sam & Bruce's Super8 Films so she had previously worked with them before. Sarah York/Theresa Tilly (Shelly) was spotted at on 0ff-off-off-off broadway venue of suburban Detroit. When you really look at it, these girls were basically "nobodies" before this film.

This is also the film that introduced us to what I like to call the "Raimi" style of filming. He brought us his distinctive camera shot where the camera follows a moving object (such as an arrow or a projectile weapon) at high speeds creating a first-person point of view from the object itself. The most apparent use of this technique is the "demons" of the film. Whenever a person is about to be possessed the camera seems to chase after the character and in some instances, knocks down doors and really does chase you down. He also does a rapid dolly zoom to bring a far-off object suddenly into the center of the shot or to pull back from the main focal object to show what is happening around the perimeter. IE: a lot of the raping tree scene. He's also got a ton of montage sequences with overlapping close-up shots to establish a set of similar actions over elapsing time. IE: when you see what the kids are doing around the house it jumps around to the same time frame just in a different room of the house.

However what I find to be most magical about the film is the makeup and special effects. It seems that in this day and age, we're all way too CGI happy. Blood doesn't look real, floating people look green-screened, and makeup has lost its touch of reality in order to look extravagant. The effects and ESPECIALLY the makeup in The Evil Dead is some of the best I have ever seen. I will tell you right here and now that Cheryl Williams is by far the SCARIEST demon/monster/what have you, I have EVER seen. It doesn't matter that she's bickering about being let out of the cellar, she's extremely frightening and definitely haunted my nightmares when I was younger. I've never seen a finer use of corn syrup and latex in my entire life.

To put it simply, The Evil Dead is fabulous. It completely embodies everything a cult classic film should posess. It's creepy, it's funny, it's over the top, and yet it holds a place near and dear to our hearts.

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Drag Me to Hell Took Me to Heaven

Thank you Sam Raimi, for saving us from sequels, remakes and adolescent garbage. Welcome back, sir. Hail to the king, baby.

In an age when so much unimaginative crap is being pumped out there for horror fans to deal with, Mr. Raimi has returned to the horror genre for the first time since the Evil Dead trilogy, and given us a truly fresh, original piece of horror cinema that is bound to become one of the all-time favorites of a great many fans--including this one.


Many reviewers are hesitant to come off so enthusiastically, but I'm going to simply come out and state that I have nothing negative whatsoever to say about Raimi's Drag Me to Hell. It is a rollicking, non-stop rollercoaster of terrifying fun from beginning to end, and I plan on revisiting it often. I have not thoroughly enjoyed the hell out of a horror flick this much in a long time. The unabashedly geeky glee that this film has inspired in me is truly formidable.

For one thing, Raimi has proven that provided you hold off on too much blood, you can pretty much get away with anything and still squeak under the PG-13 radar. This movie contains so much that is truly revolting (in a good way) and disturbing that it amazes me the MPAA did not slap it with an R--we're talking vomiting maggots, corpses spewing embalming fluid, rulers shoved down people's throats, eyelids stapled shut, and that's only what I can think of off the top of my head. If you think Raimi's gone soft with the rating, think again my friend.

Alison Lohman is wonderful as the heroine of the film, almost coming across as a more evocative and effective version of Kirsten Dunst's Mary-Jane Watson from Raimi's Spider-Man trilogy. Her signature scene in the graveyard--don't even get me started. Pure, iconic Raimi, and the girl pulls it off beautifully.

If I could compare this flick to anything Raimi's done in the past, I'd say it most resembled Evil Dead II, meshing gut-wrenching horror and genuinely funny gallows humor in equal measure. I'll be honest--I didn't expect this to be as much of a comedy as it was, but I was very pleasantly surprised. Because as with all the great horror comedies, it is as frightening as it is funny. Much of the splatstick is pure Evil Dead, and there is a seance scene in particular which will have fans of Raimi's classic horror trilogy squealing with glee. Talk about throwing a bone to the diehard fans! Fantastic.

Much of Raimi's signature camera work and splatstick sensibility is in full effect, if a bit more polished than in his earlier work. Also, the strings-driven score of the picture will give fans Evil Dead flashbacks as well. But make no mistake--this is no slavish nostalgia piece. Drag Me to Hell is a voraciously original and inventive piece of filmmaking, which can be enjoyed even by those who wouldn't know their Ash from their elbow.

The sense of horror-driven fun that pervades this film is infectious. This is the kind of film-going experience we fans long to achieve, but so rarely ever seem to. Raimi hits joyously on every brand of terror--the easy jump scares, the deep genuine dread, and of course, the gratuitous gross-outs. It's all here in a veritable cornucopia of shocker goodness.

My friends, Drag Me to Hell embodies what makes being a fan of horror cinema such a joy. See it immediately, and often.

And for a completely different yet equally enthusiastic look at Raimi's latest, proceed directly to Day of the Woman, forthwith!

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Will Spider-Man Be Doing Battle with a Vampire?

If you're a comic book geek like myself, then it's more than likely that Spider-Man 3 left all kinds of bad taste in your mouth. Chances are you're hoping for something to turn the franchise around in the inevitable fourth flick, and break the dreaded "three-movie curse" that seems to dog superhero series. In that case, an interview posted today on CHUD, courtesy of FearNET, might be just what the mortician ordered.

We all know that Sam Raimi is an old-school (read: pre-Venom) Spidey fan, and has a particular affinity for the villains of the '60s and '70s. Well, earlier this year he sparked some interest by declaring his love of the classic '70s baddie known as Morbius, the Living Vampire. Since then, there has been much speculation that Marvel's own undead heavy would be showing up in the next movie.

Doing press for Drag Me to Hell, Raimi was questioned on the topic by FearNET, and the response is interesting, if not particularly enlightening. The Evil Dead director sarcastically feigns ignorance of the rumors, then goes on to kind of sidestep the question and launch into a whole diatribe on why he loves vampires so much. That, plus his whole "deer in the headlights" look indicates to me that there might be a solid chance we'll see Spidey tangling with a nosferatu come 2011. I mean, why would Raimi go on and on about the appeal of vampires, anyway? If that's not a good sign, I don't know what is.

To check out video of the interview, and the awkward response, head over to CHUD. I'll be keeping my fingers crossed that Sony can right the course of the once-mighty Webhead franchise. Morbius would be quite sweet, indeed. But to tell you the truth, anything would be better than watching Topher Grace defile the reputation of the greatest comic book villain of the past 25 years...

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On a completely unrelated note, I'd just like to point out for all you classic horror fans out there that Hank Azaria does an awe-inspiring imitation of Boris Karloff in the new Night at the Museum sequel. He plays an ancient Egyptian villain in the vein of Imhotep, and the homage was enough to turn my frown upside-down after being coerced into going to see the family flick in the first place.

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Raimi, You Sly Devil...

The House on Haunted Hill (1959) . . . Drag Me to Hell (2009)

Nicely done, sir. Nicely done.

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Groovy! Sam Raimi to Start Work on Evil Dead IV

Yes, the nuggets of Comic-Con goodness just keep rolling in.

It's all in the super-preliminary stages right now, but Sam Raimi made some very interesting comments last night at the panel for his upcoming project, Drag Me to Hell, with regards to the future of his most beloved franchise. And if you think I'm talking about Spider-Man, then you're reading the wrong blog, pally.

According to the Geeks of Doom, Raimi stated that he planned to begin work on the script for a fourth Evil Dead film next week, along with his brother Ivan (who collaborated on the previous three pictures.) He also said he'd love to work with Bruce Campbell again, which sounds like he hasn't officially got him on board yet. But, come on now, how could you do an Evil Dead movie without him? I mean, it's not like he hasn't appeared in every single movie Raimi has ever made, anyway.

That said, Raimi is also involved with Spider-Man 4, although it's not known yet if he will direct. Should that happen, Evil Dead IV will no doubt slip down the list of priorities. Also, where does this leave the announced Evil Dead remake that Raimi is producing?

I'd be tempted to think the director was simply waxing nostalgic, but his comment about starting work next week seems awfully specific and premeditated. Let's hope he really is returning to his roots. Then we can start praying for Peter Jackson to get to work on Dead Alive II...

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Juno Goes to Hell

Horror fans know her best as the screen's most twisted "Little Red Riding Hood" in 2005's Hard Candy, and now the Oscar-nominated Ellen Page will be returning to the genre along with a director doing the very same thing.
Variety has reported that Page, recently nominated for her star-making performance in the indy sleeper hit Juno, will be starring in Sam Raimi's Drag Me to Hell, playing the part of a young woman afflicted with a supernatural curse. This is Raimi's first horror pic since Army of Darkness (1992), the last installment in the Evil Dead trilogy. Page also played Kitty Pryde in X-Men: The Last Stand.
Filming on the new project, to be produced by Raimi's Ghost House Pictures, will begin next month.

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Raimi Returns to His Roots

After helming three mega-huge Spider-Man movies in a row, Sam Raimi will officially be going back to the genre that first put him on the map. That's right, Variety reported yesterday that Mr. Raimi's next project will be a low-budget flick called Drag Me to Hell (IMdb still lists Jeffrey Lynch as the director), to be financed via his Ghost House production company.
Sam and his brother Ivan penned the screenplay shortly after collaborating on 1993's Army of Darkness, the last of the famed Evil Dead trilogy that made Raimi a god to horror fans. Drag Me to Hell is reported to be a "morality tale about the unwitting recipient of a supernatural curse."
Raimi has produced several horror films in recent years through Ghost House, including The Grudge, Boogeyman, The Messengers and 30 Days of Night. Ghost House will also be producing a remake of Raimi's seminal 1981 masterpiece, The Evil Dead.

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The Evil Dead Get the Anchor Bay Treatment

Anchor Bay Entertainment, which has gained a reputation for putting out spiffy deluxe editions of modern horror classics, has announced a special 3-disc set, The Evil Dead: Ultimate Edition--to be released December 18.
Sam Raimi's 1981 groundbreaker has been released on DVD a couple times before, but never in this elaborate a form. Reportedly, disc 1 will contain a widescreen version (which I find hard to understand, since I thought the movie wasn't even filmed in widescreen.) Disc 2 contains the full-screen version. Disc 3 boasts such special features as a making-of documentary, deleted scenes, and a special featurette on the "Ladies of the Evil Dead"--a.k.a. the film's three female leads, who now make a living working the convetion circuit.
As for me, I'll stick with my limited-edition clamshell box VHS release (one of only 35,000, dammit!) But for those interested, the new set (cover art above, courtesy of dvdactive) will retail for $34.97.

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