The Evil Dead
Five students awaken an ancient evil in a remote cabin, unleashing a kinetic nightmare of possession, splatter, and desperate survival.
Overview
A group of friends faces unspeakable horror as they unleash an ancient evil in a remote cabin.
Ember's analysis
- Pacing
- Brisk
- Intensity
- Extreme
- Complexity
- Simple
- Violence
- Graphic
- dread-filled
- visceral
- frantic
- horror movie night
- late night viewing
What critics said
Critics broadly regard Sam Raimi's energetic low-budget debut as an inventive and influential horror milestone that fuses audacious camerawork, graphic gore, and black comedy.
What sets it apart
May contain story progression spoilers
Raimi combines graphic practical gore with unexpected black comedy and Three Stooges-style physical energy.
The five students are trapped in a remote log cabin while the evil takes them one by one.
The discovered Book of the Dead and accompanying audio tape unleash the demons when the incantations are played and read aloud.
The critical reception specifically praises Raimi's audacious, inventive camerawork for generating dread in the woods and cabin.
Films like The Evil Dead, and why
The Texas Chain Saw Massacre
shares supernatural cabin isolation, escalating possession horror, and graphic practical gore
The Exorcist
shares low-budget supernatural terror, demonic evil, and relentless shock effects
Night of the Living Dead
shares splatter horror, undead antagonists, practical effects, and grim black humor
Braindead
shares slapstick-inflected horror, inventive camerawork, and exaggerated gore
Movie Details
- Director
- Sam Raimi
- Release Date
- 1983-01-16
- Runtime
- 85 min
- Rating
- 7.3 / 10 (4742)
Cast
- Bruce Campbell
- Ellen Sandweiss
- Richard DeManincor
- Betsy Baker
- Theresa Tilly
- Philip A. Gillis
- Dorothy Tapert
- Cheryl Klam
- Barbara Carey
- David Horton
Where to watch in United States
- Streaming
- HBO Max Amazon Channel, HBO Max, Sony Pictures Core Amazon Channel
- Rent
- Amazon Video, Apple TV Store, Google Play Movies, YouTube, Fandango At Home
- Buy
- Amazon Video, Apple TV Store, Google Play Movies, YouTube, Fandango At Home
Streaming options come from TMDB and change over time.
Common questions
- What is The Evil Dead about?
- Five students awaken an ancient evil in a remote cabin, unleashing a kinetic nightmare of possession, splatter, and desperate survival.
- What is The Evil Dead like to watch?
- Ember's analysis rates the pacing of The Evil Dead as brisk, its intensity as extreme and its storytelling as simple.
- Is The Evil Dead violent?
- Yes. Ember rates the violence in The Evil Dead as graphic.
- What did critics think of The Evil Dead?
- Critics broadly regard Sam Raimi's energetic low-budget debut as an inventive and influential horror milestone that fuses audacious camerawork, graphic gore, and black comedy.
- Which films are like The Evil Dead?
- Films with a similar feel include The Texas Chain Saw Massacre, The Exorcist, Night of the Living Dead, and Braindead.
- How long is The Evil Dead?
- The Evil Dead runs 85 minutes.
- Where can I watch The Evil Dead?
- In United States, The Evil Dead streams on HBO Max Amazon Channel, HBO Max, Sony Pictures Core Amazon Channel.
