Director Sam Raimi's first film has achieved legendary status since its 1982 release, and for good reason. Though perhaps not as widely seen as its two sequels, EVIL DEAD 2 and ARMY OF DARKNESS, THE EVIL DEAD is arguably the best of the three. It is the story of five college-age friends who travel to a cabin in rural Tennessee where the stumble upon the Book of the Dead, an ancient tome bound in human flesh and inked in blood. After unwittingly awakening the unspeakable terror told of in the book, each of the friends is transformed into the evil dead, one by one, except for Ash (Bruce Campbell). So, Ash is left with no other way to survive than to dismember the living corpses of his sister, girlfriend, and two of his friends. Shot on a shoestring budget, the film boasts some impressive camera work and extremely over-the-top gore effects as well as a sense of humor much more subtle than the tongue-in-cheek aesthetic of the two sequels.

Theatrical Release: October 15, 1981.

Director Sam Raimi's first feature film.

Joel Coen served as assistant editor.

Excerpt: "We can't bury Shelly, she's our friend."
(Ash, to Scott, after watching him hack off the limbs of his possessed girlfriend and then suggest that they bury the remaining parts)

UMD Features:

Bruce Campbell: American Actor, Producer, THE EVIL DEAD
Ellen Sandweiss: American Actress, THE EVIL DEAD
Betsy Baker: American Actress, THE EVIL DEAD
Theresa Tilly: Actress, THE EVIL DEAD
Hal Delrich: Actor, THE EVIL DEAD

Sam Raimi: Director, EVIL DEAD

Rob Tapert: Producer

Sam Raimi: Director, EVIL DEAD

"...Raimi maintains suspense and a nightmarish mood..."
"...[A] tongue-in-cheek cult favourite..."
"[H]ighly effective as a tense horror -- its scares balanced by plenty of tongue-in-cheek humour."