evil dead

evildead
Originally uploaded by ehiggin.

Ah, where to begin? How can I begin to describe this legacy in my life? I suppose I'll just start at the beginning.

I grew up in Morristown, Tennessee. For many years of my young pre-adolescent/post-adolescent life, I had heard of a film that was made in Morristown called Evil Dead. Of course, I wasn't curious enough to watch it. I'd seen the VHS case in the video store every time I skimmed over the horror section. I always hated that section. Gross VHS covers of ghouls, vampires, and other various twisted images. And, Evil Dead was no different. I turned my nose up at the thought of actually watching this schlock.

That was a long time ago.

When I hit college, and began getting interested (no, fascinated) with 80's horror, I remembered the Morristown, TN movie. So, one night I rented the VHS of Evil Dead with my friend Tim. My life, really, was changed.

"Evan, as your loyal blog reader, I'm wondering...how can a chintzy, low-budget, VHS 80's horror movie change your life?" Where, loyal blog reader, do I even begin?

First, I'll start with the film itself. Instantly, the fact that it was filmed in Morristown, TN, my alma matter, was the first big plus. Later, I was to find that it was filmed off the very road I lived on. "Really, Evan?" Absolutely. Literally one minute from where I lived. That's where it was filmed!

But, I'm getting ahead of myself. First, the film itself. It opens up with a band of miscreant college students riding in a car, as many 80's horror films do. The acting is bad, the writing is bad, and the cinematography is brilliant. It was like a spoof of an 80's slasher film. But, oh no, this was the real deal! These college "partiers" have rented a cabin up in the woods somewhere. They discover, I think in the basement, a "book of the dead" (original film title) with cantations, and some such nonsense. Unwittingly, they bring forth the evil in the woods, thus turning them into zombies, etc.

There are parts of this film where I had to stop the tape and rewind it. It wasn't because I was scared. It's because I was literally laughing so hard, tears were streaming down my face, and I missed chunks of the movie. ("chunks of the movie"...how true. It's quite gory.) I can safely say that almost nothing in my life, much less a movie, has ever made me laugh that hard. I don't even like most comedies, unless it's Will Ferrell. But, this one did it for me. Evil Dead is the funniest movie I have ever seen in my entire life. This film transcends the actual film genre into a new realm of genius. I won't go into the details of why, but you get the idea. The sequences of bloodshed are so over-the-top, yet so sincere. The filmmakers were obviously trying so hard to make something over-the-top scary, but instead, they made it over-the-top bloody, absurd, and beyond all reason. But, the creativity and candor of it really make it worthwhile.

Reason 2 that I love this film so much is because of the lead actor. I noticed him when I first watched Evil Dead. His acting bad, yes. His screen presence...something endearing, and so hilarious came through. He sort of ends up being the hero of the film. (or, at least, the only one who survives.) As I watched the end credits (after a brilliant final scene, I must add), I saw that his name was Bruce Campbell. He couldn't have been more than 22, or 23. Oh, I was so naive, loyal reader.

After that initial magical Evil Dead experience, I learned that this film had a cult following. And when I say cult following, I don't mean 30 people in a van wearing homemade Evil Dead patches in Nebraska. Nope, I'm talking about real cult following. They have conventions. Fan clubs. Web sites. Everything. The whole nine yards. There are people obsessed with this little film made in my neck of the woods.

And Bruce Campbell? He has become the hero, cult icon, of this film. He shows up at the conventions, oh, yes. He signs autographs. He caters to fans for hours and hours. In fact, he's made a living for the past 20 years doing it. And, he still does. He has even written a couple of books. I own If Chins Could Kill, and it's one of my favorite books. He recently came out with a new book called, "Making Love the Bruce Campbell Way." Yikes. Bruce also still acts and directs. He directed several episodes of Xena: Warrior Princess. (yeah, I know.) And, he has appeared in several films and tv shows. I won't bore you by listing them. My friend Benj, who is the king of movie extras, was an extra in a scene with Bruce Campbell! And, he even spoke to the man, the legend, himself!

Evil Dead has spawned two sequels. Evil Dead 2 (duh) and Army of Darkness. You may be wondering, who directed Evil Dead? A young man named Sam Raimi. He is now one of the most prominent directors in Hollywood. He directed The Quick and the Dead, For Love of the Game, and both Spiderman films. He has also produced a whole slew of tv shows and feature films. There is also speculation that there will be new Evil Dead sequels.

Here are some sites for hardcore fans. Even if you're not hardcore, these sites are still interesting:

Bruce Campbell Online - the official web site

Deadites - official Evil Dead fan site

Ladies of Evil Dead - official site of the women stars of Evil Dead (no, really.)