The Evil Dead is a pleasure to watch as a horror movie. However, do not expect the acting to be great. Honestly, at times the acting dips from average at best to below average at worst. There are several instances where the acting efforts of an individual feel uncomfortably out of sync with the efforts of others sharing the scene with them. The special effects suffer from similar problems, as well. Often times they appear poorly executed, and other times they appear just plain lazy. There are even moments during the stop motion sequence that appear laughably juvenile. The storytelling itself feels lacking. While I was not provided enough story to satisfy my imagination I was provided enough story to keep my interest peaked. Whether that is a sign of inadequate storytelling, or genius storytelling is subjective. Where I feel The Evil Dead rises to the occasion, and leaves a lasting impression is in the camera work, the atmospheric tension, and the eventual arrival of Ash on the screen. The director maneuvers the camera in a way that makes the viewer aware of a presence while keeping the viewer oblivious to it's whereabouts at the same time. I could see the fear on Ash's face, and I could see his response, but the stimuli was never revealed. While, the atmosphere created through the environment is one of defeat. I was made aware that there was no escape beyond the walls of the cabin, nor was there safety within the walls of the cabin. Yet, I felt comfort within the cabin where I hoped I would see the evil's approach. The highlight for me, as a long time Ash fan, is his arrival. There is a transition from Ashley to Ash, and watching Ash fight against his own inadequacy in order to defeat the evil dead is 100% cinematic entertainment.This movie is not without more than a few problems. However, the entirety of this experience is entertaining, and enjoyable enough to easily overcome the minor deficits that survived.-Bob

'The Evil Dead (1981)' had a very low budget and it certainly shows. Yet, despite this, it looks and feels very convincing. Some dialogue is hokey, the acting can be hammy and wooden at times and a couple of scenes made me laugh due to their slightly campy nature, but the overall experience is charmingly entertaining. There's this mix of genuine horror and trash-induced bemusement, with some moments causing full-on unease and others provoking unintended chuckles, but this actually all adds to the off-kilter vibe of the picture. It's admirable that a group of people went into the woods and made a film, despite all the issues that befell them, and that adds to its ornate allure. You can almost feel the passion coming off the screen, and this (ironically) gives it a soul so much warmer than any studio ever could. It's well-made (especially for the shoe-string budget), gory, iconic and can be pretty tense and suspenseful, too. There's something to be said for the fact that, for the most part, it pulls you into its world and doesn't let you out until its credits roll. Even when it lapses slightly, the laughter it causes adds to the experience as opposed to detracting from it, and the occasional paint-peeling just proves that the film was made by a rag-tag team of friends. And if they can do it, so can you. 7/10

The Evil Dead (1981) is a classic horror film, one of the most famous ones in history. This film really earns it's title of being one of the best. It does not rely upon big special effects or a very large budget to make it effective. it is a very effective horror film without these things, which is what too many scary movies rely on heavily. Everything starts out with a group of young adults in a car heading out to a secluded cabin in the woods, as you can guess, things get pretty bad from there on. I loved the classic, creepy atmosphere all throughout the film, it contributed to the overall dark feel. The cast does a good job here, I really enjoyed their performances. Bruce Campbell in particular stands out, very enthusiastic performance. The makeup was oh so well done, i loved the scary evil look the people had to them when they became possessed by the demonic spirit. Not only was the look great, but oh my god I loved the demons voice, sounded perfect. Eerie and creepy as hell, very effective as far as the voice goes. Overall, this really is a fabulous horror film and I recommend it. 9/10.

When I first ever watched this, I was just left kind of bewildered and queasy-headed because the endless barrage of over the top screaming and chaotic action was a bit overwhelming, it was quite the "gruelling" experience indeed.. But on subsequent viewings years later I really grew to love this movie and appreciate its place in cinematic horror history as an important landmark of which the influence has been quite profound and it's among my favourites now. It just has a lot of what I personally tend to go for in a good fun horror movie; it's fast and doesn't stop once it really gets going, it's has loads or rich eerie little touches and is brimming with the most fantastic classically scary atmosphere, I mean being set in a secluded cabin in the desolate woods in the middle of nowhere on a dark and stormy night, it's got one of the best kinds of atmospheres that a horror fan could wish for, and that cabin and those woods were a perfect setting as well as a pitch-perfect setup for when the really crazy demonic s**t starts to go down. All of that stuff is incredibly well established and built up before it actually starts to happen. It has characters that you actually feel for a little, Eileen Sandweiss' rising hysterics as Shelly who somehow can sense that they've unleashed something terrible upon themselves by hearing the incantation is very effective until she's the first to get possessed, and Bruce Campbell was so young and wet around the ears, the Ash in this is a bit of a wimp until he starts trying to fight back after he gets put through he wringer, and boy does he ever! It also has a lot of over the top splatter gore especially at the end when everything's all crooked and he gets hosed down by the blood pipe and the projector turns red and explodes, all the gore is used really well. You can tell it's a low budget picture but it just works such wonders with the mood and camera-work that the grunginess and bare-bones aspect of it just adds to the overall feel, and like with a lot of the cult horror classics from back in the day, the quality and charm shines through the dingy cracks and it all works out so amazingly well despite itself. Again once it starts rolling and they're all completely f****d after hearing the tape recorder's forbidden words of certain doom, it becomes a real ride into madness and terror, but it also always has a good sense of fun about it too somehow, people die and get dismembered but it never comes off as too much of a sickening horror movie, with the possible exception of THAT scene! In the exuberance of its more lively moments there's a certain subtle knowing goofiness there. But it's still way more of a serious horror movie than the second and third movies, and I personally think it's better than them for that. The possessed are so cool, I love how automatically demented and vicious they are, far from being mere angry unquiet spirits, these vile entities really do seem like utterly insane toxic dead souls from some unimaginable nether-hell who's only care is spreading death and destruction! My favourite malicious corpse is Linda, her giggling and clown-like facial distortions are so creepy and in comparison to the other demon zombies which are mostly mindlessly violent she/it is more a jovial sort who is so happy to be among the corporeal once again after an eternity of ancient slumber, although when push comes to shove she's just as bloodthirsty! I love the explosive use of stop motion effects work used in the climax as the demons dissolve into green putrescence as the dreaded book burns. It does look crude and even kind of s**tty, but is still more importantly an awesome blast at the same time, not unlike the movie as a whole really! This movie is to this day such a glorious horror romp and it still has the same raw visceral and spooky macabre magic that deservedly made it into a beloved classic, one that is positively to die for! X