Classic Movie Review: The Evil Dead (1981)

What better way to celebrate the Australian release of the Evil Dead remake this week by revisiting the movie that spawned the franchise. The original Evil Dead was written and directed by Sam Raimi (the Spider-Man movies, Oz: The Great and Powerful) because he thought he could make a drive-in horror movie better than those that had been around in the 70s.

The Evil Dead follows five friends, Ash (Bruce Campbell), Cheryl (Ellen Sandweiss), Scotty (Hal Delrich), Linda (Betsy Baker) and Shelly (Sarah York), as they go to spend a weekend in a cabin. On the first night, the cellar door blows open and Scotty and Ash go down to investigate. In the cellar, they find a number of occult items, a tape recorder and a copy of the Necronomicon (the book of the dead). The recording is of a man who reads a demonic incantation that unleashes evil demons.

Cheryl, Ash's sister, is disturbed by this and after hearing voices outside her window, she goes out to investigate. Once outside she is held down by the trees and raped by them (heavy stuff). She returns and tries to convince Ash to take her back to town. After they return, because the bridge has been destroyed, Cheryl becomes possessed by demons. They manage to wrestle her into the cellar and chain up the door, but not before she stabs Linda in the ankle with a pencil. Cheryl then tells everyone that the demons will possess them one by one.

Scott's girlfriend, Shelly, is soon possessed by a demon and he cuts her up into little pieces. Ash and Scotty then bury the body and Scott says that he is going to try and find another way out from the woods. Ash is left alone with Linda and Cheryl. Linda soon becomes possessed due to the cut in her leg, but just sits there with a demonic laugh.

Scotty returns, all cut up, and tells Ash that the woods won't let them leave. Scott then seems to die, leaving Ash distraught before Linda attacks him. Ash eventually kills Linda and buries her, only for Linda to claw back out of the grave to be decapitated by Ash.

Ash returns to the cabin to find that Cheryl has escaped. He is then attacked by both Cheryl and a newly resurrected Scotty. Ash finally kills both of them by throwing the Necronomicon into the fire.

This movie is a horror classic. To watch it now, 30 years later, it has aged. The make-up is pretty sloppy and the special effects are quite bad. But to know the background of the film just makes it better. It was shot on a tiny budget and with a crew and actors who had never worked before.

Much like how Rebel Without A Cause started the cult of James Dean, this film spawned the cult of Bruce Campbell. He is such an amazing actor in this film, but his haircut at the beginning is questionable.

But despite all this, it is a super enjoyable film. The horror is amazing and it scares the shit out of me. Because of the low budget, the idea that these people are possessed is genuine. The scenes where where Cheryl is hidden in the cellar and she's calling out made me scared to look under my bed.

Verdict: The Evil Dead is a cornerstone of the horror genre. It may seem like it is filled with cliches, but this film created them. I am looking forward to the remake, especially with the advancements in movie magic and a bigger budget. Just a warning, watch out for rapey trees.

Oz: The Great and Powerful

Since Judy Garland first explored the land of Oz in 1939, there have been many sequels and various different interpretations of the original. Sometimes ranging from the straightforward (Return to Oz, it is very dark though) to the wacky (Zardoz, Tin Man, The Wiz, the list is endless). Most of these films and  stage performances take place after the events of the original film, in which Dorothy or some other young girl is swept off to the land of Oz.

But Sam Raimi (of Spiderman and Evil Dead fame) has created a story which I have always wondered about. It is that of the titular wizard. Oscar Diggs (James Franco), or Oz, as is his stage name, is working for a traveling circus in Kansas with his assistant Frank (Zach Braff). One stormy afternoon after a show, Oz is confronted by the circus' strongman and escapes via a hot air balloon. However, this balloon proceeds straight into a tornado that transports him to the land of Oz (like there's any other way to get there).

Once there he meets Theodora (Mila Kunis), a witch who lives in the Emerald City with her sister, Evanora (Rachel Weisz). They inform him of the prophecy laid down by the previous ruler, that a wizard would come to claim the throne and defeat the Wicked Witch. Evanora convinces Oz to go and defeat the Wicked Witch and also tells Theodora that Oz has left her for Glinda (Michelle Williams), who we find out is the Good Witch. 

Once Oz discovers that Glinda is a good witch, whose father was murdered by Evanora, she convinces him to help defeat the real threat to the land. Meanwhile, Evanora has given Theodora an enchanted apple that will take away the pain of Oz leaving her. This also transforms her into the Wicked Witch of the West that we all know and love.

Oz must create an army that he will lead to the Emerald City. He does this with the help of his friends Finley (Zach Braff again), a not so scary flying monkey, and China Girl (Joey King), whose story arc is amazingly touching. He also has help from the people of Oz, namely farmers, tinkers and everyone's favourite Munchkins (who are only permitted half a song). They all then march on the Emerald City for the final confrontation with the evil sisters.

It is worth mentioning that the first 15-20 minutes of the film is black and white and is not widescreen. This is a great callback to the original film and, like that one, once the land of Oz is reached, colour and widescreen are restored. There are a number of other references to the original film, such as a cowardly lion and many scarecrows. I was waiting for the trifecta of a Tin Man, but alas there was none.

Also, like in the original film, many of the character's introduced to us in Oz have counterparts in Kansas. Finley is Oz's assistant Frank and China Girl is a wheelchair bound girl who comes to watch Oz's magic show.

One terrifying aspect of this film is the monkeys, as no trip to Oz is complete without them. If you were scared by the flying monkeys of the original, or even the nightmare inducing wheelers from Return to Oz (really horrifying stuff), there is no respite in this movie. Here, they are baboons with giant bat wings and are just plain terrifying.

Verdict: A proper return to Oz, with all the elements of the original film (minus the singing).

This post originally appeared on Mosca Media.