Video Nasty #24
The Evil Dead
1981
THE ULTIMATE EXPERIENCE IN GRUELING TERROR!
NTSC Running time: 85:12
Written and Directed by Sam Raimi
Produced by Bruce Campbell, Robert Tapert, and Sam Raimi
Edited by Edna Ruth Paul and Joel Coen
Starring: Bruce Campbell, Ellen Sandweiss, Richard DeManincor (credited as Hal Delrich), Betsy Baker, and Theresa Tilly (credited as Sarah York)
Body Count: 4
Availability: Region 1 BluRay, DVD, and NTSC VHS from Anchor Bay.
BBFC Status
Why it's a Nasty: Comedic amounts of gore, and a very bizarre rape scene.
What was cut: 49 seconds of cuts to gore sequences were required to obtain an X certificate when the film was submitted for classification on October 4, 1982 for the UK theatrical release. (It is important to note that the X-certificate version was the cut released on videocassette that landed on the Nasties list.) When finally submitted for video release on March 15, 1990, an additional 1 minute 6 seconds of cuts to scenes of gore and the trees' attack on Cheryl.
Current UK status: The Evil Dead was finally released uncut March 2, 2001 with an 18 certificate.
UK Availability: Region 2 BluRay and DVD from Sony.
A prosecution of The Evil Dead was attempted, but dismissed by the judge, one Owen Stable QC, who has earned a place in my heart for his awesomeness in the matter of this film. More on this later.
Five young adults head for a remote cabin in the woods for a weekend of drinking and fun. Ash (short for Ashley, played by Bruce Campbell), his sister Cheryl (Ellen Sandweiss), girlfriend Linda (Betsy Baker), Ash's joker pal Scotty (Hal Delrich), and Scotty's girlfriend Shelly (Sarah York) are a likable bunch, though we don't have a whole lot of time to get to know them under normal circumstances. Weird things start happening almost immediately when Scotty loses control of the car and nearly slams them into a truck. They arrive at the cabin (in a beautiful tracking shot, one of the best in the film) and settle in, looking forward to a relaxing, unsupervised vacation.
It is not to be.
The kids find a book bound in human flesh in the basement, along with a tape recorder left behind by the previous occupant. Playing the tape, they unwittingly unleash horrible spirits. Cheryl, who is single and therefore the only one spending time alone, heads into the woods that night to investigate strange voices...wearing only a robe. Once away from the cabin, the trees around her come alive. Vines restrain her, tear open her clothes...and she is finally vaginally penetrated by a large branch. She escapes and returns to the cabin, an unseen something in hot pursuit. But unfortunately for our heroes, they have already been doomed.
One of the most widely respected horror films of all time, The Evil Dead was the feature directing debut of Sam Raimi, who is now a successful mainstream director (the Spider-Man trilogy, A Simple Plan, Oz The Great And Powerful). This independent horror film was shot under the title Book Of The Dead, changed to The Evil Dead by producer Irvin Shapiro, who reportedly thought people wouldn't go to a film that mentioned reading (which is codswallop, but whatever). The film builds slowly, but relentlessly, and is never boring. The blood doesn't really begin to flow until the second half, and steadily becomes more intense until the splatter-filled climax.
Hundreds of pages have already been written about the grueling production of The Evil Dead, and if you're interested I recommend http://www.bookofthedead.ws for online info, and in book form go with Bill Warren's The Evil Dead Companion, a comprehensive look at the creation of the film from idea to franchise. That's right, franchise. Raimi made Evil Dead 2 in 1987, a comedic remake of the first film with gobs more multi-colored gore; and Army Of Darkness in 1992, an action comedy in which Ash battles an army of skeletal deadites in medieval times. While Raimi's love of The Three Stooges shines through more in these later films, it is still present in The Evil Dead, but the comedy aspects of the first film are almost completely overshadowed by the dark, unrelenting violence. Bruce Campbell has to carry much of the film on his own (was indeed the only starring cast member present for the entire shoot, with heavily made-up "fake shemps" filling in for the already-possessed), and has grown to be a respected actor and cult hero based on his trio of performances as Ash. Rumor has it he makes a cameo in the 2013 remake of The Evil Dead in a post-credits scene, which I am anxiously awaiting my chance to screen. (Also of note is the 2011 post-slasher opus The Cabin In The Woods which draws heavily from The Evil Dead, as well as the stories of H.P. Lovecraft. The Cabin In The Woods cannot truly be appreciated without a knowledge of modern horror film in general and The Evil Dead in particular, and is a treat from beginning to end.)
All in all, this is one of the finest horror films to come out of America in the 1980s, and is required viewing for any fan of horror cinema. It is one of the most notorious Nasties, and was subject of an amazing legal decision in the UK. The Evil Dead was submitted to the BBFC for cinema and was awarded an 18 certificate after 49 seconds of film were cut. The films distributor, Palace Pictures, released this version to video simultaneous with its' release in cinemas on February 24, 1983. I would like to remind you that this particular Video Nasty wasn't even uncut and had been approved for public cinema exhibition by the BBFC.
Then the Video Nasty panic descended, with The Evil Dead being among 51 other films named as Nasties in June of the same year. Vocal censorship advocate Mary Whitehouse showed scenes from the film, along with scenes from other Nasties, in the House Of Commons, and Palace Pictures was raided by police. In 1984, a court in Leeds acquitted a video shop, Barker's Video Tape Centre, of obscenity charges, and Palace's lawyers wrote to the DPP requesting they drop all pending charges against the film. The DPP said fuck you and went ahead with more prosecutions against The Evil Dead.
Oops.
Sam Raimi flew to England prepared to defend his film in the Summer of 1984, but was told that his intentions as a filmmaker were not on trial and he went back to America without a chance to state his case. It didn't matter. On November 7, 1984, following a screening for judge and jury, the presiding judge, Owen Stable QC (to my non-British readers, that stands for Queen's Counsel, which means that if the law were martial arts, a QC would be akin to Chuck Norris) reamed the DPP a new one, saying no, fuck you, they were irresponsible in continuing to bring charges against this film after the decision in Leeds, foolish for ignoring the request to cease litigation they received from Palace's solicitors, and forcing them to pay the defense costs incurred from the four-month court battle. Just basically telling them they were clowns who didn't know when they were beat. The Evil Dead was removed from the Nasties list in September of 1985 and the BBFC teamed with the British Video Association to figure out how to best regulate home video.
In the whole of the Nasty saga, this was where justice came closest to prevailing. Picturing the scene of Judge Stable verbally bitchslapping the DPP in open court for their persecution of The Evil Dead brings tears to my eyes. If anyone has audio or (dear lord do I dare to dream it?) video of this, VCR Rebellion would very much like to obtain it. Preferably on cassette. Such an event requires the ultimate in media storage.
The BBFC refused to pass the film for video until 1990, and removed an additional 1m 6sec before they would allow The Evil Dead in British living rooms and dens. Not until 2001 was the film available uncut, when Anchor Bay brought the film to VHS and DVD...and FilmFour brought it to television. Today, The Evil Dead is rightfully available in all its' glory in the UK.
My thanks to the Book Of The Dead website for the wealth of info available (again, that's http://www.bookofthedead.ws), including an archive of newspaper cuttings from the Video Nasty era that I'm still drooling so hard over that I can't read them - I get too excited and can't focus. I'll have to calm down, I'm going to need that knowledge. The Rebellion is fueled by it. And I don't want to run out of fuel. Because my name's Justin. JustinCase.
A prosecution of The Evil Dead was attempted, but dismissed by the judge, one Owen Stable QC, who has earned a place in my heart for his awesomeness in the matter of this film. More on this later.
Five young adults head for a remote cabin in the woods for a weekend of drinking and fun. Ash (short for Ashley, played by Bruce Campbell), his sister Cheryl (Ellen Sandweiss), girlfriend Linda (Betsy Baker), Ash's joker pal Scotty (Hal Delrich), and Scotty's girlfriend Shelly (Sarah York) are a likable bunch, though we don't have a whole lot of time to get to know them under normal circumstances. Weird things start happening almost immediately when Scotty loses control of the car and nearly slams them into a truck. They arrive at the cabin (in a beautiful tracking shot, one of the best in the film) and settle in, looking forward to a relaxing, unsupervised vacation.
It is not to be.
The kids find a book bound in human flesh in the basement, along with a tape recorder left behind by the previous occupant. Playing the tape, they unwittingly unleash horrible spirits. Cheryl, who is single and therefore the only one spending time alone, heads into the woods that night to investigate strange voices...wearing only a robe. Once away from the cabin, the trees around her come alive. Vines restrain her, tear open her clothes...and she is finally vaginally penetrated by a large branch. She escapes and returns to the cabin, an unseen something in hot pursuit. But unfortunately for our heroes, they have already been doomed.
One of the most widely respected horror films of all time, The Evil Dead was the feature directing debut of Sam Raimi, who is now a successful mainstream director (the Spider-Man trilogy, A Simple Plan, Oz The Great And Powerful). This independent horror film was shot under the title Book Of The Dead, changed to The Evil Dead by producer Irvin Shapiro, who reportedly thought people wouldn't go to a film that mentioned reading (which is codswallop, but whatever). The film builds slowly, but relentlessly, and is never boring. The blood doesn't really begin to flow until the second half, and steadily becomes more intense until the splatter-filled climax.
Hundreds of pages have already been written about the grueling production of The Evil Dead, and if you're interested I recommend http://www.bookofthedead.ws for online info, and in book form go with Bill Warren's The Evil Dead Companion, a comprehensive look at the creation of the film from idea to franchise. That's right, franchise. Raimi made Evil Dead 2 in 1987, a comedic remake of the first film with gobs more multi-colored gore; and Army Of Darkness in 1992, an action comedy in which Ash battles an army of skeletal deadites in medieval times. While Raimi's love of The Three Stooges shines through more in these later films, it is still present in The Evil Dead, but the comedy aspects of the first film are almost completely overshadowed by the dark, unrelenting violence. Bruce Campbell has to carry much of the film on his own (was indeed the only starring cast member present for the entire shoot, with heavily made-up "fake shemps" filling in for the already-possessed), and has grown to be a respected actor and cult hero based on his trio of performances as Ash. Rumor has it he makes a cameo in the 2013 remake of The Evil Dead in a post-credits scene, which I am anxiously awaiting my chance to screen. (Also of note is the 2011 post-slasher opus The Cabin In The Woods which draws heavily from The Evil Dead, as well as the stories of H.P. Lovecraft. The Cabin In The Woods cannot truly be appreciated without a knowledge of modern horror film in general and The Evil Dead in particular, and is a treat from beginning to end.)
All in all, this is one of the finest horror films to come out of America in the 1980s, and is required viewing for any fan of horror cinema. It is one of the most notorious Nasties, and was subject of an amazing legal decision in the UK. The Evil Dead was submitted to the BBFC for cinema and was awarded an 18 certificate after 49 seconds of film were cut. The films distributor, Palace Pictures, released this version to video simultaneous with its' release in cinemas on February 24, 1983. I would like to remind you that this particular Video Nasty wasn't even uncut and had been approved for public cinema exhibition by the BBFC.
Then the Video Nasty panic descended, with The Evil Dead being among 51 other films named as Nasties in June of the same year. Vocal censorship advocate Mary Whitehouse showed scenes from the film, along with scenes from other Nasties, in the House Of Commons, and Palace Pictures was raided by police. In 1984, a court in Leeds acquitted a video shop, Barker's Video Tape Centre, of obscenity charges, and Palace's lawyers wrote to the DPP requesting they drop all pending charges against the film. The DPP said fuck you and went ahead with more prosecutions against The Evil Dead.
Oops.
Sam Raimi flew to England prepared to defend his film in the Summer of 1984, but was told that his intentions as a filmmaker were not on trial and he went back to America without a chance to state his case. It didn't matter. On November 7, 1984, following a screening for judge and jury, the presiding judge, Owen Stable QC (to my non-British readers, that stands for Queen's Counsel, which means that if the law were martial arts, a QC would be akin to Chuck Norris) reamed the DPP a new one, saying no, fuck you, they were irresponsible in continuing to bring charges against this film after the decision in Leeds, foolish for ignoring the request to cease litigation they received from Palace's solicitors, and forcing them to pay the defense costs incurred from the four-month court battle. Just basically telling them they were clowns who didn't know when they were beat. The Evil Dead was removed from the Nasties list in September of 1985 and the BBFC teamed with the British Video Association to figure out how to best regulate home video.
In the whole of the Nasty saga, this was where justice came closest to prevailing. Picturing the scene of Judge Stable verbally bitchslapping the DPP in open court for their persecution of The Evil Dead brings tears to my eyes. If anyone has audio or (dear lord do I dare to dream it?) video of this, VCR Rebellion would very much like to obtain it. Preferably on cassette. Such an event requires the ultimate in media storage.
The BBFC refused to pass the film for video until 1990, and removed an additional 1m 6sec before they would allow The Evil Dead in British living rooms and dens. Not until 2001 was the film available uncut, when Anchor Bay brought the film to VHS and DVD...and FilmFour brought it to television. Today, The Evil Dead is rightfully available in all its' glory in the UK.
My thanks to the Book Of The Dead website for the wealth of info available (again, that's http://www.bookofthedead.ws), including an archive of newspaper cuttings from the Video Nasty era that I'm still drooling so hard over that I can't read them - I get too excited and can't focus. I'll have to calm down, I'm going to need that knowledge. The Rebellion is fueled by it. And I don't want to run out of fuel. Because my name's Justin. JustinCase.
