Cabin Pressure!

Foto Frenzy Presents: The Evil Dead  (Renaissance Pictures, 1981)




With a remake of the classic in the offing - let's take a look at the original, which remains another one of my favorites of all time!









I saw this movie after reading Stephen King's review
when it appeared in Twilight Zone magazine. He called
it "the most ferociously original horror movie of the
year." It took a while to get to us - I had my license
when my movie pal Richard and I finally checked this
one out at the Starlite Drive-In - Eldorado, Illinois.
Afterwards we drove out to a very dark and creepy
cemetery that you could only get to by walking across
a foot bridge. We sat there, car running, headlights on...
looking at the gravestones on the other side of the
bridge...and the very dark shadows underneath
that bridge...and we put the car in reverse and
promptly drove back to town! I used to proclaim
The Evil Dead as my very favorite horror film.
And you know what?
It very well might still be.








And there's a digression, sorta!

Five Michigan college students drive down to Tennessee for
a little private partying at a rented cabin.



The party starts with a toast from Ash (Bruce Campbell).

















Strange noises from the basement interrupt the festivities.
Left to right - Ash (Campbell), Linda (Betsy Baker),
Cheryl (Ellen Sandweiss), Scotty (Hal Delrich - really Rich
Delmanicor under a hiding-from-SAG pseudonym), and
Shelley (Sarah York - really Theresa Tilly, also trying to
hide from SAG)


















Down in the basement they find a shotgun, a reel-to-reel tape
player...and a book bound in human flesh...see the face?
















I don't know what possessed them to play that tape...but I know just what possessed them
after they played the tape...The Evil Dead!





"You will die! Like the others before you, one by one,
we will take you."

















"I fear the only way to stop those possessed by the
spirits of the book is through the act of...
...bodily dismemberment..."



Daylight finally comes...but the story isn't over...

If you've never seen this movie - I truly recommend that you check it out. You must remember, however, that we're now thirty years later, and this movie was made for a few thousand dollars by kids in their early 20's who cobbled it together across several years. It's not a big budget Hollywood Blockbuster. It's the "ultimate exercise in grueling terror," or so a credit at the end indicates. And that credit is more right than wrong...

Until next time...you Can Poke Me With A Fork, Cause I Am Outta Here!