“The Evil Dead” has appeared in my Netflix suggestions a couple times, but it sounds like any other 80’s horror.  I decided to take a chance and find out exactly what it had to offer. I was glad that I did.

What I didn’t realize, was that not only was this a true 80’s classic, but it was a movie that set the bar and influenced many of the horror movies that I love today. The fact that I’ve called myself a true horror movie fan before watching this movie makes me slightly ashamed.

In “The Evil Dead,” it’s really a simple story line.  Five friends travel to a cabin in the woods. They discover “The Book of Evil,” and unknowingly release evil upon the cabin the woods and themselves. The evil then taunts and eventually even takes over some of the teens.  It’s tag-lined as “the ultimate experience in grueling horror.”

It’s definitely one of the movies you’re yelling at the screen,  wondering how the characters could be so naïve and yet still trying to fix or alter their terrible decisions.

I wouldn’t necessarily say that the possessed teens were scary as much as they were downright creepy.  They taunted the character of Ashley, Ash, played by Bruce Campbell. Campbell himself, sometimes referred to as a “B-movie god,” gives a great performance in the film.

What I found quite comical was the way in which Campbell’s character reacts. Up until the last 20 minutes or so, he carries this attitude as if somehow his friends and him will make it out alive.

The last 15 minutes go into an overload, metropolis of gore.  An oozing, melting, gurgling and spraying mess is only putting it lightly.

The ending is sudden and yet simple.  It satisfies the common horror movie lover. For me, evil always triumphs or leaves room for a sequel, trilogy and so forth. If you can‘t get enough of this one, there‘s a sequel and a few spin-offs.  Plus, it’s even rumored to be in pre-production for a 2013 remake.  “The Evil Dead” is one movie that any true horror genre lover can’t miss.

Since it’s release, It’s been referenced in dozens of movies, techniques copied, and ideas reapplied. If you don’t believe me, check out “The Evil Dead” page on imbd.com, and look for the movie connections page.

Movies like this one set the way for many in the genre like “Cabin Fever,” where five friends go to a cabin in the woods for the weekend, unknowingly develop a flesh eating virus, but all hope to make it out okay. Notice any parallels?