During the spooky month of October I continued a somewhat regaular tradition of mine of recommending a horror movie over the course of the full month. I always enjoy these as a small way of talking about horrors I've enjoyed and I've even been told by friends that they've found a hidden gem that's now one of their favourites, like 'Behind the Mask: The Rise of Leslie Vernon' (go watch it, it's great)
Now that October has been and gone I still had a thirst on for talking more about the movies I love, so I've decided to come back to this blog for the first time in years to continue my thoughts on these beloved movies. I love a worst to best list so will try to keep doing these for different franchises. I needed somewhere to start though, and where better than probably my favourite horror franchise of all time: The Evil Dead.
The Evil Dead series has been around since 1981 and whilst the franchise only has 5 movies (and a 3 season TV show) to it's name; it's the most consistant horror franchise around with not a bad or even merely good movie to speak of. Sam Raimi isn't here to whore out his franchise for a cheap payday and has instead waited for the best time and best script to allow for a movie of the year contender to be unleashed onto audiences. For anyone new to this, the series mainly focuses on an isolated group terrorised by demons from hell, unleashed by the words spoken from the Book of the Dead. If you don't like gore, look elsewhere.
I've been a fan all the way back to 7 or 8 years old when my dad introduced me to the goofy brilliance that is Army of Darkness and I've been a fan ever since with each entry in the franchise making it onto my Halloween watchlist each and every year. I've never grown tired of them and never will. And now like a parent picking their favourite child, I'll need to decide which is best and which is worst. Let's begin.
5. Evil Dead Rise (2023)
It feels unfair putting this one so low as it's still not even a year old so hasn't had the time to sink in like all the others have, but I can definitely see this moving up the list as the years go by. Hell, 2023 isn't even over yet I've already seen this 3 times and could easily go a 4th anytime soon.
This one marked a bit of change as most of the Evil Dead movies focus on a group of teenagers in isolation, whereas as this one decides to go for a more emotional hook with a single mother and her family targeted by ancient evil spirits.
Whilst it's not the scariest movie around, it more than makes up for it with it's gore and practical effects. I don't think there was a single CGI effect and I can't tell you how much I love that. Alyssa Sutherland's performance as deadite mother Ellie is absolutely spellbinding and outside of Ash in the previous movies, I think she may be my favourite character from the series. The way she changes from loving mother to horrific demon is brilliant and absolutely disturbing when she starts attacking her own children.
This also features some stomach churning moments such as a character deciding to eat some glass which then nearly pokes through their neck, and you'll never be able to look at your cheese grater the same way again. Really the only negative I can come up with is that it does run out of it's momentum a bit by the end but not enough to spoil the whole experience. Overall one of the better horrors released in 2023 and more proof that the Evil Dead franchise is far from running out of steam. Hopefully we don't have to wait 10 years for the next one.
8/10
4. Army of Darkness (1992)
Army of Darkness was my introduction to this entire franchise as a child and I can't tell you how many times I rewound the VHS tape to watch it all over again. It felt like a B-movie version of Lord of the Rings and I lapped up every second of it as the delapidated cabin in the woods is swapped out for a medievil fortress.
This is pretty much the goofiest the franchise would ever become as horror is pretty much out the window and this is really just a straight up action/fantasy/comedy. So many franchises would not survive such a drastic change in style but it's really all held together by the performance of Bruce Campbell who takes his near over the top portrayal of Ash in Evil Dead 2 and turns it up to 11 with so many hilarious one liners and quotable moments you won't be able to forget.
The only thing really holding this whole thing back is a lack of good gore but it makes up for it with one hell of a unique experience you owe to yourself to checkout.
8/10
3. Evil Dead (2013)
A big part of me really wanted to put this further to the top but the next two entries and just too good and too iconic. I remembering hearing of a planned Evil Dead remake and severly balking at the idea of it considering how many sub-par remakes were around at the time. I wasn't convinced until I finally went to see it in the cinema and was shocked at just how good it was.
This wasn't some lazy cash grab to be made off of a legacy franchise; this was a passion project of a fan that was even overseen by the godfathers behind the previous instalments: Sam Raimi and Bruce Campbell. In something that was very against the times, the director, Fede Alvarez, opted to do away completely with CGI and use only practical effects, making the bloodsoaked cabin feel all the more visceral in it's presentation.
It was also a stroke of genius to have the characters out at the cabin to help one of their friends go cold turkey as it does away with the stereotypical party teens into something more believable. And when the former drug user tries to convince everyone of the danger in the woods, of course they don't believe her as she's bound to hallucinate with what she's going through.
This is just balls to the wall violence and gore from beginning to end with not a boring moment to be had, all the way up to the fantastic final ten minutes of pure adrenaline. If you've been sleeping on this one, you need to make up for lost time and check it out ASAP.
9/10
Trying to pick between the first two movies is like trying to pick between Alien and Aliens. It really just comes down to your genre preference. Like the 2013 remake this is just absolute balls to the wall mayhem and madness for 85 minutes, and given it came out in the very early 80s, I'm not surprised that it was banned in certain places and considered one of the first video nasties. Even watching it in a packed out cinema in 2023 it still manages to shock those who've never checked it out before.
Barely any money was given to this at the time and every single penny was put to outstanding use with some of the gnarliest gore scenes ever put to film, including a cringe-inducing pencil to the ankle, and some of the best blood splatter effects out there. This is the first time we're introduced to our hero Ash and while he's not yet the quippy hero we all love, he still stands out here as the final stand against the demons of hell.
Still an all time classic that holds up well today and is almost the best cabin in the woods style horror ever made if not for....
9/10
1. Evil Dead II (1987)
The king of the castle and not only the best Evil Dead movie, but my favourite horror movie of all time. Hell it might even be my all time favourite movie, horror or non-horror. This is the perfect balance of the Evil Dead formula with some epic one liners and hilarious moments (everything with the severed hand is golden) whilst still managing to hit a few good scares and keeps a feeling of dread throughout up until the bonkers ending.
This is the movie that made Bruce Campbell famous with a legendary performance as Ash that somehow manages the feat of being an absolute goofball and a badass at the same time. Whilst it's a little lighter on the gore compared to the original (but not by much) it ramps up the mayhem by one hell of a notch as you barely have time to breath with the first deadite showing up barely 5 minutes in.
This is just perfection for me and everything I want out of a horror. I've watched this at least once a year for the past 20 odd years and will continue to do so. An all timer.
10/10
Well there's my first list in quite a while. I'm feeling very rusty but I'm hoping I'll get the hang of it soon enough, especially with my plan to cover a HUGE franchise next. Thanks for reading.
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