The Evil Dead (1981): A retrospective look
A movie that re-defined the horror genre
The year was 1981, the horror genre was booming, and the small independent film company founded by Sam Raimi called Renaissance Pictures released a little-known film to some local acclaim. The movie was “The Evil Dead”, and it would change everything for everybody involved.
To this day, “The Evil Dead” remains one of the most profoundly influential films in the history of modern horror cinema. From its breakneck pacing, off-kilter camera angles, and over-the-top gore special effects; to its innovative use of camera techniques such as Dutch angles, wormholes, optical illusions and zoom shots — all of which have since become staples of modern horror cinema.
“The Evil Dead” not only redefined what could be accomplished within the confines of a micro-budget film but also made director Sam Raimi famous in the process. The lead actor Bruce Campbell became a fan favourite overnight and even today he is remembered for his performance as Ash in the Evil Dead movies and TV show that followed.
The movie synopsis on IMDB is as follows:
Five college students take time off to spend a peaceful vacation in a remote cabin. A book and audio tape is discovered, and its evil is found to be powerful once the incantations are read out loud. The friends find themselves helpless to stop the evil as it takes them one by one, with only one survivor left with the evil dead and desperately tries to fight to live until morning.
Very few films manage to make the leap from the small screen to the silver screen. But even fewer manage to make that leap without the safety net of a major film studio to rely on. That was the situation that writer/director Sam Raimi found himself in during the early 1980s when he first began work on what would eventually become the cult classic horror film, “The Evil Dead”. A project that Raimi had been developing since his days at Michigan State University, “The Evil Dead” was initially meant to be a short film. With no idea where he would find the time or money to expand it into a full-length film, Raimi made the decision to film the project quickly and inexpensively, using the small camera crew that he would use to shoot his student films.
The original “The Evil Dead” film was shot on Kodak 16mm film stock in 30 days during the spring and summer of 1979 at a cost of around $350,000, a figure that was largely obtained from a combination of Raimi’s savings and the investments made by his parents and friends. Even by the standards of low budget, independent film making, “The Evil Dead” was an incredibly cheap and quick film to make.
Sam Raimi and his crew were operating with such a low budget that they had to use the cheapest film stock and camera equipment that they could find. In order to keep costs as low as possible while also maintaining complete creative control over his film, Raimi decided to shoot “The Evil Dead” in just five weeks, allowing himself just one hour per day to shoot the film. Raimi and Campbell’s friends and family made up practically the whole film crew. The budget was also kept low by using wide angle lenses and a number of creative camera angles.
With no major studio behind it, “The Evil Dead” had an extremely limited release and, despite the critical praise it received, failed to make the kind of money that would allow Raimi to continue making films. Luckily, the film found a new life in the home video market, and Raimi would go on to direct the two sequels, “Evil Dead II” in 1987 and “Army of Darkness” in 1992, as well as the spinoff TV series, “Ash vs. Evil Dead”. These films would go on to cement Raimi’s name as one of the most important directors in the history of modern horror cinema and, in many ways, redefine the genre. And while there are many films that deserve to be remembered, “The Evil Dead” is the movie that deserves to be remembered most.
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