The Evil dead (D)

Description: The Evil dead emerges as the ultimate in low-budget gore and shock effects. Story premise has five youngsters holed up in a remote cabin where they discover a Book of the Dead. An archaeologists tape recording reveals it having been found among the Khandarian ruins of a Sumerian civilization. Playing the taped incantations unwittingly summons up dormant demons living in the nearby forest, which possesses the youngsters in succession until there is only Ash (Bruce Campbell) left to fight for his survival. While injecting considerable black humour, neophyte Detroit-based writer-director Sam Raimi maintains suspense and a nightmarish mood in between showy outbursts of special effects gore and graphic violence which are staples of modern horror pictures. Powerful camerawork suggests the lurking presence of the huge-scale demons in the forest. Filmed in 1980 at Tennessee and Michigan locations for under $400,000, this is a grainy blowup from 16mm film.