The Evil Dead
By: Adam K.

If you like gore, inventive cinematography, cheap acting, little plot, and enough goofs to make a moviegoer entertained for hours, then you'll love The Evil Dead.  One of the most remarkable horror films of all time, this cult classic was made for $50,000 over the course of three years, and on the surface it shows.  There are many continuity errors, editing mistakes, camera equipment visible, and many shots of stand-ins ("fake Shemps") instead of the main actors.  But if you're a first time viewer, you'll be too engrossed in the inventive camera angles and amazing makeup to notice.  Director Sam Raimi took a small camera crew and some of his friends to shoot this film with a shoestring budget, and thus had to use creative techniques to keep the audience occupied.  So he pioneered the now-famous "running through the woods" camera shots.  It's hard to explain here, but go see the film and you'll realize how many other movies ripped it off.  But beware if you like subtlety, because Sam and his gang explode heads, torsos, and almost every other part of the human anatomy in search of the perfect gore.  Once someone is possessed by the "Deadites," it turns out only total body dismemberment will stop them.  Oh well.  When the movie business was focused on cookie-cutter sequels or formula pictures, the film came along to bring back good old-fashioned chills and creativity.  So as long as people like Sam Raimi are willing to make incredibly visionary movies on a shoestring budget, the horror genre will be alive and well.  Three-and-a-half stars out of five.