"Oh, you bastards! Why are you torturing me like this? WHY!?!?!" - Ash
The Evil Dead
Special Collector's Edition
Elite Entertainment
Year of Release - 1982
DVD Release - Elite Entertainment - 1999
Region 0 (USA) - NTSC - Unrated
Running Time - 85:38
Director: Sam Raimi
Starring: Bruce Campbell, Ellen Sandweiss, Hal Delrich, Betsy Baker, Sarah York.
Music: Joe LoDuca
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!
SYNOPSIS
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 researcher 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!
VIDEO
Elite Entertainment presents The Evil Dead in it's native 1.33:1 ratio - aka Fullscreen. This is preferable to Anchor Bay's 1.85:1 Matted Widescreen. Even though the 1.85:1 was the original Theatrical Presentation, you lose the top and bottom picture. There are a few scenes which highlight why the Fullscreen version is better, but I will explain them in the Anchor Bay review.
Shot on 16mm film, the picture presented on the DVD is outstanding. Sure, there are a few instances of film artefacts, but they are barely noticeable. There are a few scenes that are a little grainy, but they are infrequent and can be somewhat forgiven.
AUDIO
There are 4 Audio tracks available. The first is in Dolby Surround 2.0, the second is in Dolby Digital 5.1, the other two are the Audio Commentaries.
The music and dialogue are clear and the sound effects give your surround sound a bit to play with.
EXTRAS
Audio Commentary - Sam Raimi (Director) & Rob Tapert (Producer)
This is a very amusing and enlightening Commentary. Sam Raimi and Rob Tapert make fun of themselves and Bruce Campbell, but are still serious enough to provide a lot of insight into the making of The Evil Dead. The only way to improve this commentary would be to have Bruce Cambell in the same recording booth.
Audio Commentary - Bruce Campbell (Actor)
Quite frankly, one of the funniest and most entertaining Commentaries, ever. Full of information and self-depracating humour, Bruce Campbell can do no wrong as he not only makes fun of himself (especially his hair and shoes), but he makes fun of Sam and Rob in return. The only way to improve this commentary would be to have Sam & Rob in the same recording booth.
Oh, by the way, the commentary for Evil Dead II has Sam, Rob & Bruce in the same recording booth...
Theatrical Trailer
This 02:04 trailer is of reasonable audio and video quality.
Still Gallery
I can't say that I'm a huge fan of Still Galleries. There great to have, but I don't like to spend my time hitting the "Next" button on my remote just to see photos.
Bits and Pieces
An assorted collection of raw footage selected by Sam Raimi for the DVD. With a running time of 18:28, it isn't the most entertaining of features, but it is of interest.
OVERALL
The Evil Dead is one of my favourite Horror films of all time. It is one of the icons of the modern Horror genre. It is a scary, gory, funny and an ultimately satisfying film.
Sam Raimi's dierection 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 Cambell 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 "pathetic-ness" of the character by general ineptness and blood-curdling screams of fear. Perfect!
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"!
The Film: 
The Disk: 1/2
"Dark Lord" Paul Lenkic
"Accept the Lord of Darkness as your saviour!" - The Undertaker
© 2002