It used to be that the “B movie”, particularly “B” Horror movies, were a sort of minor leagues for emerging filmmakers. It was an area of film where a director could, on a modest budget, cut his teeth on making a feature. Honing his craft, taking chances, and establishing an artistic voice while at the same time, making a film that would have a chance of making back a little money. After all, there never was any niche market for low budget Drama or Comedy - not the way there is for low budget Horror at any rate. The latter part of the 20th century has some very good examples of directors whose low-budget Horror debut features established a real career. John Carpenter, Tobe Hooper, and Wes Craven leap most readily to mind. Another of these directors was Sam Raimi; and his feature debut was 1981’s classic camp-fest THE EVIL DEAD.
Head below the fold!
In THE EVIL DEAD, 5 friends make their way to an isolated cabin in the woods for a quiet weekend getaway. They find and explore the cabin’s cellar and find some unusual and creepy objects. They bring them upstairs and that night, unwittingly unleash an ancient and deadly curse which torments them until morning. The events that follow are some of the most original, and blood-drenched set pieces seen in film up to this point - inspiring both emerging and established filmmakers to this very day.
Sam Raimi and his team (especially producer/star Bruce Campbell) make great use of their limited resources to make a scary, funny film. It clearly was an arduous shoot. The cabin feels like a real abandoned cabin (it was). The woods feel remote and cold (it was freezing during the shoot). The make up effects look desiccated and painful (they were; the actors could barely see). The team persevered, however, and made a film that, for all of its shortcomings, has an energy and passion that is infectious. It is not difficult to see why Sam Raimi found major studios and larger budgets calling shortly thereafter.
It doesn’t work that way very often any more. Low budget Horror films rarely make it into theaters and streaming services have taken away the ’browse’ aspect that the video stores provided - crucial to the viability of the direct-to-video market. Also, the advent of DV, AVID, and ProTools have made the trappings of filmmaking that used to be the most prohibitive (both in skill required and expense) easy enough for just about anybody to give it a whirl. Though it is good that this is giving a chance to aspiring directors who might not try it otherwise, it is also making it too easy to make a move that, well… sucks. Now, for every James Wan who emerges, there are hundreds of lesser directors clogging the space. This has driven audiences away from low-budget Horror in droves. It might be quite a while before the next Sam Raimi makes himself known.
So let’s appreciate what came before and show a little patience with the newer crop of B-moviemakers. After all, you never know when a gem will shine through to scare the pants off of us. A gem like THE EVIL DEAD.
THE EVIL DEAD fun facts - This was one of the first films in the UK to be labeled as a “Video Nasty”. The song “Nasty” by The Damned is said to have been inspired by it.
The film is still banned theatrically in Germany.
Joel Coen, who with his brother Ethan is now an Oscar-winning filmmaker himself, was an editor on this film. It was his first professional job.
Linda (singing) - We’re going to get you! We’re going to get you! Not another peep. Time to go to sleep!
Cheryl - “Soon all of you will be like me! Then who will lock YOU up in a cellar?”
Shelly - “Look at her eyes. Look at her eyes! For God‘s sake, what happened to her eyes?”