FilmNC-17Demonic & Possession Witchcraft & Occult Cosmic & Lovecraftian

The Evil Dead1981

Name: The Evil Dead
Genre: Demonic & Possession, Witchcraft & Occult, Cosmic & Lovecraftian, Splatter & Gore
Released: 1981-10-15
Rating: 7.4

“The ultimate experience in gruelling terror.”

Directed by Sam Raimi

7.4

Crypt Score

Blended from 4 sources

IMDb 7.3Rotten Tomatoes 85%Metacritic 71TMDB 7.3

✍ Review

On the charts

#2·Top Horror Movies of 1981 #7·Top Cosmic & Lovecraftian Films #8·Top Demonic & Possession Films #11·Top Splatter & Gore Films #13·Top Horror Movies of the 1980s #14·Top Witchcraft & Occult Films

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Year

1981

Runtime

85 min

Box Office

Budget

$350,000

Revenue (worldwide)

$29,612,367

Domestic

$2,400,000

🏆 5 wins & 1 nomination total

The premise

In 1979, a group of college students find a Sumerian Book of the Dead in an old wilderness cabin they've rented for a weekend getaway.

Horror Vault's take

Five college friends hoping for a peaceful weekend retreat in a remote woodland cabin stumble upon an ancient Sumerian text and a recordings that should never have been played. What follows is a night of escalating, merciless terror as the surrounding darkness begins to claim them one by one. Sam Raimi's low-budget debut is a landmark of visceral, no-holds-barred horror that trades on sheer relentless dread rather than subtlety. Anchored by Bruce Campbell's breakout performance, it remains one of the most influential horror films ever made.

Content: Graphic Violence, Gore, Body Horror, Sexual Violence