A nostalgic look back at one of the most gory horror flicks of the 80’s, The Evil Dead, gets released on home video as a remastered 4K Ultra HD/Blu-ray disc combo. Brighter colors for gore film fans and sound that will knock your socks off. Sliding this disc into your 4K player will give you and your friends a night of evil that keeps going from startling start to a ghastly finish. Bloody Marys should be the choice of libation and you’ll probably need them for this Halloween.
A group of young adults decide to do something different for a weekend so Scott (Hal Delrich/Richard de Manicor) sets up a weekend in the woods. Along with Ash (Bruce Campbell), Cheryl (Ellen Sandweiss), Linda (Betsy Baker) and Shelly (Sarah York/Theresa Tilly) they manage to arrive at the cabin following a bumpy ride and a unstable bridge. Arriving at the decaying cabin the 5 friends settle in for the night. It’s not too long before a sound in the cellar draws Scott and Ash down to see what is causing it. Ash finds an old book that the previous owner had called “Naturan Demanto” or Book of the Dead. Totally disregarding the book the two join the others. When Cheryl hears someone calling from the woods she goes to investigate. So begins a night of daemon voices, eerie sounds, doors creaking, sudden appearances, snarling, and a lot of evil that starts to take lives.
The film at that period of time was rated NC-17 for its ghastly bloody violence and its sequels were later tamed a bit to get R ratings, but with not really too much difference. Here he heightens the horror with daemons from the depths of hell as they scratch and claw their victims turning them into zombies. They are ravenous and want to make their prey become a part of their coven. Writer and director by Sam Raimi spares no ugly props, gory drippings, gushing blood, severed limbs, stabbings and more as he takes you through a horrorfest that once started never seems to take a break. His make-up and special effects artists give their all to the film and make it a nightmare and one of the best for its time. Today’s terror certainly may look more realistic, but still never seems to match Raimi’s style and delivery.
Sam Raimi has been known for some of the better gun play action films like The Quick and the Dead and crime movies like A Simple Plan, but he’s mostly known by teens for the Spider-Man franchise from 2002 to 2007. But for horror fans of the 1980-1990’s it’s his first series that will turn out to be his best franchise with a follow up that includes, Evil Dead II, Army of Darkness and several video games. The franchise began again with a TV Series “Ash vs Evil Dead” where we find Ash played by a much older Bruce Campbell cutting up daemons with his chain saw right arm attachment. You can find a review of the TV trilogy here in Acedmagazine.com.
The film gets a great make-over with the 4K remaster, especially because it enhances the colors and since the film is a nighttime thriller, the color correction definitely makes it a better watch. The sound revamp also makes the film special with its Dolby True HD that, with my sound system, really enhances the creaking doors, eerie sounds and the sudden gasps of the victims.
The following trailer is a Red Band Trailer and you must be 17+ to view it.
Giving his all the young Bruce Campbell, who started his career with The Evil Dead, does a good job of creating his character. But that was then when Hollywood had less magic in the special effects department. As Ash he wants to go on the trip to be with his girlfriend and show her how much he likes her by giving Linda a special necklace. But when everything starts to come apart, he does all he can to survive from her new evil body that wants to eat his flesh. In a way he’s the straight faced comical part of The Evil Dead and he handles it well. It’s not until the 2000’s that he gets back in the saddle as Ash and I have to say, he does make the four seasons of the TV show “Ash vs Evil Dead” work.
FINAL ANALYSIS: A nice walk down “last memory lane on the left”. (3.5 out of 5 stars)
Specifications and additional video information:
Starring: Bruce Campbell, Hal Delrich/Richard de Manicor, Ellen Sandweiss, Betsy Baker, Sarah York/Theresa Tilly
Directed and written by: Same Raimi
Genre: Horror
Running Time: 1 hr. 25 min.
MPAA Rating: Not Rated, (originally NC-17) contains brief nudity, language, gore, violence, brutality
Original Theatrical Release: April 15, 1983
Video Release Date: October 6, 2018
Language: English
Reviewed Format: 4K
Audio: Dolby True HD, 5.1
Video: 2160p Ultra High Definition, HDR, 16×9 Aspect Ratio 1.33:1
Subtitles: English SDH, Spanish
Number of Discs: 2 discs
Distributed by: Lionsgate
Released in: 4K Ultra HD, Ultra Blu-ray, Blu-ray Includes two versions of the film
Writer, critic, film editor John Delia, Sr. has been on all sides of the movie business from publications to film making. He has worked as a film critic with ACED Magazine for more than 20 years and other publications for a total of 40 years. He earned a Bachelor’s degree in communications from the University of Florida. John is a member of the Southeastern Film Critics Association and Critics Association of Central Florida Send John a message at jdelia@acedmagazine.com
