...Groovy...

There comes a time in every man's life when he has to ask himself "Should I cut off my hand and replace it with a chainsaw?" And of course the answer is always yes. So if your husband, boyfriend, brother, or son decides to do this, support his decision and begin calling him Ash...

The Evil Dead trilogy is our topic today if you haven't already guessed. This just so happens to be my favorite trilogy of all time. I have to send a shout out to my dad for taking me to Army of Darkness when in came out in theaters, then filling me in that there were 2 movies in the series before Army, AND THEN he allowed me to watch them! You can't beat that with a stick!

Before you go any further, here are a few cautions:

1. This will be long. There is a lot of ground to cover over 3 movies, especially my favorite trilogy of all time.
2. There will be spoilers.
3. Once you read this, you must commit to watch all 3 of these movies. Not 1, or 2, but 3. 3 movies, 3 crates; 0 movies, 0 crates! Seriously though, this is such a unique story and cinema experience, but it only works if you watch all 3. You will miss so much to the development of the main character Ash. All of these are also key in the Evolution of Horror.

The Evil Dead
In 1979, Sam Raimi and Bruce Campbell set out for a small abandoned cabin in Tennessee. Little did they know they would be making horror movie history.

The movie stars Bruce Campbell as Ash, the reluctant hero. Ash and his 4 friends go to a secluded cabin in the Tennessee woods for a weekend get away. Upon arriving they find a tape recorder from the previous owner. The tape contains the previous owner reading ancient scriptures from the storied Book of Dead. Once these texts are read aloud, the Evil Dead are AWAKENED!

The rest of the movie is about these young hooligans getting picked off one by one via demonic possession...then dismemberment.

The acting in this movie was average for it's time. Bruce Campbell plays Ash more as a lover in this movie than a fighter. As a side note it's interesting to see the evolution of Ash, as it were. There will be more on that in a minute. But I wouldn't say he was a stand out in this movie. Everyone acted on the same level.

Thankfully the acting is not what made this movie great. There were a number of contributing factors. Let's start with the story. 5 young adults go to a secluded cab in the woods. To those of us who live horror, this is so played out. But it's when they turn on that tape recorder that the story starts to come into play. Instead of a crazed lunatic killing them, it's ancient evil demons that are possessing them. So it is very refreshing that it's not some dude in a mask with a butcher knife. But really the great thing about the story is how the possessed toy with Ash. They go from crazy demons to their regular selves, trying to trick him into thinking they're ok. Then they go back to being demons and it drives him crazy!

The imagery was great (for it's time). The lighting was dark, the sets were plain and empty, and there was gore. The perfect formula for a great horror movie, before they knew the formula. They were literally creating the formula, that would be repeated over and over again, with this movie and other movies around the time (Halloween, Phantasm). Let's get back to the gore though. There was plenty of blood, but that wasn't the most memorable gore and violence from the movie. All sorts of other fluids spewed and flowed from those demons once they were hacked open. And we can't forget the tree rape scene. I usually can't stand rape scenes, but it was almost like you didn't know what you were watching until it was over. Or what about when Demon Shelly bites off her own hand? Classic! Another aspect of the great imagery was the eerie camera techniques and angles. Obviously the demon POV shot in the woods it mostly what I'm referring to. It was really a pioneering technique that lent to the idea of us seeing through the evil's eyes, much like what Carpenter at the beginning of Halloween.

Another thing that made this movie a horror classic was the atmosphere. The imagery I referenced above really made you feel isolated and hopeless at times. The various sounds added to the creepiness and unease that was felt. The growling during the demon POV as it got closer to the house which politely suggested that I should "join" them; the voices of the possessed; the screams when the possessed people were being stabbed and dismembered. It all just makes your skin crawl.

But really what I love about this movie is when all those things come together to deliver the best sub-genre of horror: 80's independent, cult horror. The other movies I've mentioned also fall into this category, although weren't quite as successful in my opinion. These people were doing everything: writing, directing, producing, acting, special effects, filming, etc. They didn't have these big budgets or these great marketing firms to help them sell the movie. They had to be inventive, resourceful, and adaptable. What they lacked in budget, they had to make up in passion. And it worked...oh ya...and no mother loving CGI!

Evil Dead 2