Paul Lenkic (paullenkic)

Part "28 Days Later", part "Mad Max", and completely "Escape From New York", Neil Marshall's love letter to post-apocalyptic action flicks wil have some people dancing for joy and others decrying it.

Personally, I bloody loved it. It's obvious that Marshall was heavily influenced by John Carpenter's "Escape From New York". The font for the credits is the same as "Escape". The concept of a walled and isolated part of the country is from "Escape". Rhona Mitra's character has one eye like Snake Plissken. There's an arena-fight with her character and a large opponent. Malcolm McDowell's character might not be The Duke of New York, but he comes close to being the King of Scotland. Heck, even one of the characters is called Carpenter!

Perhaps one has to be a Carpenter fan-boy to appreciate this film.

Ridiculous, over-the-top, offensive and pure bloody genius! This is the funniest action flick since "Commando".

After making the short Horror film Within the Woods in 1978, college buddies Sam Raimi, Bruce Campbell and Rob Tapert were able to raise enough money to finance a feature film they had scripted, called "The Book of the Dead". They began filming in the woods near Morristown, Tennessee in 1979. The initial shoot took over three arduous months, but the film wasn't finished for some considerable time after that. Released in 1982, under the the new title of The Evil Dead, it promised to be "The Ultimate Experience in Grueling Horror", and for the most part lived up to it's tagline!

Five college friends, Scotty (Delrich), his girlfriend Shelly (York), Ash (Campbell), his girlfriend Linda (Baker) and Ash's sister, Cheryl (Sandweiss), are going on a camping trip in the Tennessee woods. Scotty has lined up a cabin for them to use.

That night, in the basement of the cabin, Scotty and Ash discover a strange book and a tape recorder. The book is quite odd. It has what appears to be a face on the front cover, with strange markings and pictures on its pages.

They bring the items up with them and decide to play the tape recording. The voice on the tape is that of a Professor and is a record of the examination of the book. It informs the five friends that the book is the Necronomicon aka The Book of the Dead. Bound in skin and etched in human blood, the Necronomicon was used for ancient burial practices and demon resurrection rites. The tape then goes on with a recitation of sample passages.

Unwittingly, Scotty, Ash and the girls, have unleashed the "Evil Dead", who will not rest until they have feasted on their very souls!

The Evil Dead is one of my favourite Horror films of all time. Scary, gory, funny and an ultimately satisfying film, it is one of the iconic films of the modern Horror genre.

Sam Raimi's direction is nothing short of astounding. His use of the camera and his innovation of camera techniques, while not revolutionary, are part and parcel to the film's atmosphere and success.

Bruce Campbell hams it up big-time in this film, it's not a bad thing, it's the perfect tone for the film. Ash is a bit of a coward and Campbell really cranks up the "patheticness" of the character by general ineptness and blood-curdling screams of fear. Perfect!

And considering the meagre budget, the special effects are very well done. Often overshadowed by the slicker Evil Dead 2, the brilliance of this film cannot be denied. The pencil in the ankle still makes my eyes water!

The Evil Dead is pure brilliance. From Raimi's inventive camerawork to Campbell's classic performance and all the gore in-between, The Evil Dead is a true Horror Classic.

If you haven't seen The Evil Dead, then what are you doing sitting at the computer, when you should be watching "The Ultimate Experience in Grueling Horror"!