World Famous Comics: The Evil Dead (Ultimate Edition)
The Evil Dead (Ultimate Edition)
Starring: Bruce Campbell Directed By: Sam Raimi Average Rating: Aspect Ratio: 1.85:1 Audience Rating: NC-17 Binding: DVD Format: Color, NTSC, Widescreen, Full Screen Label: Anchor Bay Entertainment Number of Items: 3 Region Code: 1 Release Date: December 18, 2007 Running Time: 85 minutes Theatrical Release Date: April 15, 1983
Product Description: More than 25 years ago, a low-budget movie its young producers called The Ultimate Experience In Grueling Terror roared across movie screens and changed the velocity of fear forever. Today, its ferocious ingenuity, relentless shocks and gore-gushing havoc remain an absolute standard of modern horror. Now celebrate the original Sam Raimi masterpiece like never before with two versions of the movie, six new featurettes that revisit the film s cast, crew, biggest fans and undying legacy, plus a jaw-dropping torrent of never-beforeseen production footage, outtakes and deleted scenes, reconstructed and restored for the first time ever. This is truly The Ultimate Edition of THE EVIL DEAD.
Amazon.com essential video: In the fall of 1979, Sam Raimi and his merry band headed into the woods of rural Tennessee to make a movie. They emerged with a roller coaster of a film packed with shocks, gore, and wild humor, a film that remains a benchmark for the genre. Ash (cult favorite Bruce Campbell) and four friends arrive at a backwoods cabin for a vacation, where they find a tape recorder containing incantations from an ancient book of the dead. When they play the tape, evil forces are unleashed, and one by one the friends are possessed. Wouldn't you know it, the only way to kill a "deadite" is by total bodily dismemberment, and soon the blood starts to fly. Raimi injects tremendous energy into this simple plot, using the claustrophobic set, disorienting camera angles, and even the graininess of the film stock itself to create an atmosphere of dread, punctuated by a relentless series of jump-out-of-your-seat shocks. The Evil Dead lacks the more highly developed sense of the absurd that distinguish later entries in the series--Evil Dead 2 and Army of Darkness--but it is still much more than a gore movie. It marks the appearance of one of the most original and visually exciting directors of his generation, and it stands as a monument to the triumph of imagination over budget. --Simon Leake
Silly, but hugely entertaining The movie itself isn't THAT great really.......the acting is bad, the characters are STUPID beyond comprehension and the gore is VERY fake. BUT, is it entertaining? HELLS YEAH! You can't help but enjoy all the demonic screaming and violence in this, in fact, it's so over the top it even makes you laugh, but that's not a bad thing, you WANT to laugh! because it's so much fun. Cult status and "classic horror" label aside, does it have any ACTUAL REAL good qualities apart from being a silly and entertaining gore fest? yeah it does. There is some impressive camera work in some of the shots, and the location and sets do provide a feeling of "evil" in the movie. It's by no means scary, but the saturated walls of the cabin, the blacked out windows, the isolation, the dirty evil feel of the lighting and demon make up does give the movie some eerie atmosphere. The special effects are beyond outdated [though they weren't back when it was originally released], the demon make up still looks pretty cool though, it's all very ugly and evil looking. It is very violent, but it's too fake for it to leave any sort of "shocking" impression.
If i had seen the movie for the first time, i'd probably go with a 3/5.........but it has been a movie i've grown up with and i do enjoy it as a piece of horror nostalgia, so i'll push it up to a 4/5.
Book of the Dead edition packaging This review is primarily for the Book of the Dead packaging, but I will delve briefly into various presentations of the film.
I originally bought the Book of the Dead version when it was first released by Anchor Bay. The obvious luster of this packaging struck me with excitement as soon as I saw it. At the time I had the Elite version, which I immediately sold to fund the new purchase.
This packaging is awesome. The binding is latex and looks and feels great. The pages inside are thick and contain artwork inspired by the film, as well as a book of liner notes. The dvd itself is in a thin plastic sleve with a soft back for the data side.
Everyone who sees the book on my DVD shelf immediately picks it up and checks it out.
Having said all that, over the years the book is finally starting to show some degeneration. The binding along the top and the sides of the latex have started to tear. The face and back look great, though I'm concerned that the tears will destroy the entire cover.
Considering the book is 9 years old (2002 - 2009) it's had a good life, and should be great for at least a few more. I don't handle it frequently, it simply sits on the shelf with the other DVDs.
In regards to other editions, the newest "Ultimate Edition" is the best way to go. The packaging is beautiful, with the different covers that have been released previously as separate editions. The special features are great, and it includes the matted as well as the full frame editions.
Personally I have both the Book of the Dead, and the Ultimate editions. The Book of the Dead edition is just too cool to let go.
**Look closely at the cryptic text inside the book**
Nowhere near as good as the second one..dont bother VERY slow and boring, poor special effects, ..Bruce Campbell is great, but...the movie blows overall. Go and buy the SECOND in the series: Army of Darkness....THAT movie is HYSTERICAL and GREAT..you will understand why there is such a huge cult following for THAT movie!
A Mix of the Pedestrian and the Distinction The Evil Dead, being the very first in the Evil Dead series, naturally, seems a bit less distinctive than it's wild sequal Evil Dead 2 (Lauging doors?), though Evil Dead was never a run of the mill movie to begin with. Evil Dead isn't funny like later Evil Dead films, but then again, that was the whole point of it, and Evil Dead manages manages to be tense, a bit frightening, with little subtle humor, unlike movies such as Dead Alive and Army of Darkness. Evil Dead, while not a masterpiece, is a distinctive good time with zombies.
The film succeeds well with it's own twisted style and tone the most. The story is pretty pedestrian, and Ash isn't that bad@$$ antihero he turns into in later movies. Thankfully, that style makes the movie better than average. The zombies are totally wacked out. Case in point. When the zombie is trapped underground, her bloodcurdling screams are maniacial and hilariously morbid. The ending is mystical too, full of tension and very cool stop motion. And only in a movie like this, would there be such a thing as a tree that rapes women. Indeed, this style of direction proves that film-making is important.
Evil Dead is a good movie, but another one of those movies that is good but not worth owning, watching again and again, or speding time learning more about the film with special features. Hey, take that with a grain of salt.
C+
Simply perfect One of the greatest horror films of all time just gets better as you watch it. This movie is loved by all. It is a classic.
Anything Goes Trivia
Megaton Man
Trevor
