With such an amazing talent behind the camera, special note must be made of the great talent in front of the camera in the guise of Bruce Campbell. While the following sequels would perhaps document more convincingly Campbell's brilliant talent as a physical performer, it's damn near impossible to think of any camera presence as likable as him. Campbell's Ash takes tons and tons of severe mental and physical abuse throughout this film and the actor's facial expressions as a result of this abuse are downright hilarious. Perhaps it's a sight best seen but there is a big chunk of this that owes its success to Campbell, who made such an impact here (and even more so in the sequel) that he has become a legend in the horror community. You can't find a genre fan that has anything less than flattering praise for Mr. Campbell, and well deserved if I say so myself!
Twenty years after its release, The Evil Dead is more popular now than it has ever been. With an ever increasing plethora of loyal fans and a superb DVD release to boot it's quite overwhelming to see such a sight, especially if your appreciation for it stems from a decade when the film was just another "great flick" on the shelf of your local mom and pop video store (those were the days). It's truly the sign of a masterpiece when a film gets more and more popular as the years go on and judging from the popularity of this one, here is a film (and an experience) that will be with us for countless years to come. |
