Horror is a malleable film genre—one reason so many filmmakers have got their start with witches, vampires, murders and your everyday supernatural terrors. Horror can lend itself to comedy, drama, violence, whatever you need… And a low budget can actually be a strength, taking us to an often closed, remote environments with low lighting, tilted camera angles and questionable acting skills.
The Evil Dead (1981), shot on 16mm film stock with a rented camera, launched the successful careers of director Sam Rami and actor Bruce Campbell. Though initially banned in some jurisdictions, the film, with its incredible, regular explosions of blood and gore, is so over-the top that a viewer may either leave the room in disgust or jackknife in fits of laughter.
Too violent to be a dark comedy, and too much fun to be truly suspenseful, The Evil Dead employs a kind of sophomoric energy that discards traditional narrative, engaging dialogue, and restrained acting. Everything is maxed out—and that’s the point. It’s the gonzo tempo which keeps you engaged.
As for the plot, Ash Williams (Bruce Campbell), his girlfriend and three pals hike into the woods to a remote cabin for a night away. There they find an ancient book, the Necronomicon, whose text reawakens the dead when it’s read aloud—which of course happens—thereby releasing a maelstrom of projectile vomiting, sacks of dripping guts, and sundry body parts. The friends must battle the evil dead or they themselves shall succumb.
The Italian horror genre giallo has been defined as a blending “the suspense of thriller fiction, the gruesome violence of slasher horror, and elements of eroticism.” From that definition, eliminate eroticism (although there is a famous scene involving tree branches) and replace it with a frat house sensibility to disrupt commonplace expectations. That’s why the film works—often you can’t believe what you’re seeing, and you never have time to get oriented before the next shower of blood washes the walls.
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