The Evil Dead (1982): ***

Directed by Sam Raimi

In preparation to go see Spider-Man, I watched Sam Raimi's first real-release movie, The Evil Dead. Okay, so it had nothing to do with seeing Spider-Man. My neighbor got me the DVD of The Evil Dead (the one with the DVD case that actually looks like the Necronomicon).

Anyway. It's a pretty good horror flick. And it's actually a horror flick, not a horror flick parody like Raimi's other two Evil Dead movies. As such, the characters aren't quite as interesting (although you get to learn that Bruce Campbell's Ash character's full name is Ashley), and it doesn't have quite the pop and zing of Evil Dead 2.

But for a grueling set of horror pieces it does work well, especially considering the tiny, tiny budget. The "Violated by the Trees" segment is particularly disturbing and grueling, as is the "Hacked to Bits" sequence.

I thought, since this was the first time watching the original after having seen the sequels many, many times over, that there would be more of a direct link between the first two movies. But Evil Dead 2 is actually just a comedy remake of this film, not an actual sequel (especially considering the last shot in this film, it's hard to think that there could be a direct sequel. Starring Ash, at least). In fact, Evil Dead 2 doesn't even really mention this movie at all, and you'd think that if Ash survived this one, he'd be a lot more careful about going out to a cabin in the woods and playing a tape recorder. So as a continuity it doesn't really work. Think of Evil Dead 2 as more of a "spiritual" sequel to this movie and you do okay.

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