THE EVIL DEAD (SPECIAL COLLECTOR'S EDITION DVD)
Renaissance Pictures Ltd.
1982

review by Beth Kattelman

Here it is, you gore-horror fans--The Evil Dead Special Edition DVD. This is one of my all-time favorites, and the DVD does the film proud. If you¹re a true horror fan you¹ve probably already seen this movie--several times. If you love horror but have somehow missed this one, get it right away!

The Evil Dead stars a very young Bruce Campbell in his first feature film. Campbell portrays the hapless hero, Ash, who must fight against the evil forces that inhabit a secluded, backwoods cabin. The film has a slow, atmospheric start as Ash, his girlfriend, his sister and another young couple venture to the cabin for a quiet weekend. There they discover an ancient, mysterious manuscript left by the previous owner, a scientist who had been researching demon resurrection. The book turns out to be the Necronomicon (Book of the Dead). Ash and his friends also discover a taped incantation that unleashes the evil forces lurking in the woods. They play the tape and pretty soon, all hell breaks loose--literally. One-by-one Ash¹s friends are possessed by the evil and he is forced to fight against them. The remainder of the film follows Ash¹s struggle to stay alive until morning by whatever means necessary. The only way for Ash to vanquish his "former-friends-turned-murderous-zombies" is to totally dismember them. Along the way, there¹s plenty of blood, gore, goo, slime, knives, chainsaws, rifles, exploding corpses and general mayhem.

The Evil Dead is the first major work from director Sam Raimi and producer Robert Tapert who later went on to create Darkman and the Hercules and Xena television series. Made on a relatively small budget, this film contains some brilliant camerawork, outstanding special effects and some great stop-action animation. There are also humorous moments (a few unintended) and even an homage to The Three Stooges. The music is scored by Joseph LoDuca who also scores the Hercules and Xena series. The film was released unrated to avoid the inevitable X it would have received due to the graphic violence and gore.

The Special Collector's Edition DVD contains great extras. There are two commentary tracks, one by Tapert and Raimi and another by Bruce Campbell. Campbell¹s is one of the best commentary tracks I¹ve ever heard. He shares anecdotes about the making of the film, talks about how special effects were achieved and does so with humor and a dry wit which keeps it interesting and entertaining. The DVD also has a still gallery, the theatrical trailer and some alternate takes and behind-the-scenes footage from the making of the film. The digitally remastered transfer was supervised by Sam Raimi and it is presented in its orginal aspect ratio. The DVD makes this cult classic sound and look great. If you haven¹t seen the film in its digital version you¹re in for a real treat. . . and if you haven¹t seen it at all, get ready for a wild ride. I hope you¹ll agree that this is one of the most fun, best horror films ever.

FEAR FACTOR: This one will give you some jolts!---
BLOOD & GORE GAUGE: Lots of blood, guts, slime and even some oatmeal!---
COOLEST THING ABOUT THE DVD: Bruce Campbell¹s amusing commentary.---
TRIVIA TIDBIT: Joel Coen (RAISING ARIZONA, FARGO) was the Assistant Film Editor on this flick.---
BEST "OW, THAT'S GOTTA HURT" MOMENT: Pencil stabbed into the achilles tendon---
BEST QUOTE: We can't bury Shelly. She's a . . she's a friend of ours.

Official Website:
http://www.eliteentertainment.com

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