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The Evil Dead, a review by Jon

The Evil Dead
4 out of 5



A group of friends go for a break in a cabin in the woods, but little do they know it is surrounded by a demonic force waiting for an opportunity to lay siege.

This is independent film-making at its best, a true classic of the genre made for pennies. Could easily be dismissed as junk, but it has such heart, humour and real talent, it’s impossible to ignore. If you haven’t seen it, you should really look it up, even if you’ve seen the sequel/remake, Evil Dead II. That is the better film in many respects, but this is scarier and darker. Turn the lights off and the sound up, and strap up your jaw before it falls too far!

The Evil Dead is an important film for many reasons, not least because it was one of the first video hits. Released in cinemas and on video at the same time, it proved the home market was viable beyond porn. And here we are today.

It was also one of the original video nasties, but unfairly. Of course, none of those notorious titles deserve to be on such a list as we are adults and can decide for ourselves, but some are mean spirited so the average viewer is easily put off and left in ignorance. The Evil Dead hasn’t got many evil thoughts though. It’s a very graphic comic book. Ok, one of the girls gets raped by a tree, but who are we to judge?

The story is a horror staple; the lonely cabin in the woods. But as it was released in 1981 when I was 6, I can’t work out if it created the cliché or honoured it. Either way it is pretty much definitive. Like religion in The Omen, I’m a sucker for hidden worlds of demons. Where are the rules? Do demons have rules? Who knows! Much of the atmosphere is down to the very well prepared Book of the Dead prop and the tape recordings which are capable of sending a shiver down your neck. Though not as much as the cellar…

Raimi directs the hell out of this film, which is one of the things that sets it apart, even today. His enthusiasm that seems to throw everything at the screen is only matched and tempered by his talent. He really knows how to manipulate the audience. His editing and sound design is excellent, with inventive and ambitious shots. There are sound effects you wouldn’t expect, perhaps not even needed, but add to the atmosphere and the films unique identity. I particularly liked the point of view shots as the characters were being attacked. Then there’s the gore! Plenty of body parts flying around and blood everywhere and here it really shows its roots. Especially near the end with the vomit inducing time-lapsed decomposing.

The cast for the most part are pretty standard. You aren’t going to attract the best actors to something like this, but they’re good enough and good sports for all the make-up. But a key element to the whole success might just be Bruce Campbell. The man is a legend!

The Anchor Bay DVD has DTS sound put to excellent use and some worthy features, some hidden as eggs. The cover shot is from the Region 2 limited edition, made to look like the Book Of The Dead.


(From October Marathon: Horror! on October 29th, 2008)

Road to Zanzibar, a review by addicted2dvd

Road to Zanzibar: Bob Hope: The Tribute Collection (1941/United States) Universal Studios Home Video (United States) Director: Victor Schertzinger Writing: Frank Butler (Screenwriter), Don Hartman (Screenwriter), Don Hartman (Story By), Sy Bartlett (Story By) Length: 92 min. Video: Full Frame 1.33:1 Audio: English: Dolby Digital: Mono, Spanish: Dolby Digital: Mono Subtitles: English, French

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Stars:
Bing Crosby as Chuck
Bob Hope as Fearless
Dorothy Lamour as Donna Latour
Una Merkel as Julia
Eric Blore as Charles Kimble

Plot:Extras:

• Scene Access
• Feature Trailers
• Featurettes
• Gallery
• Production Notes
• DVD-ROM Content

I have now watched three of the "Road To" movies (This one, Singapore & Bali). While not my favorite so far this one was definitely fun. I enjoyed the story and the locale was great as well. I just remember getting more laughs out of Singapore then I did this one. But still the cast was great. Definitely worth checking out.



(From November Movie Marathon: Classic Comedy Greats on November 8th, 2017)

Farscape Marathon, a review by DJ Doena

Synopsis: John Crichton is a scientist and an astronaut and he wants to prove that one can use Earth's gravitational pull to accelerate a spaceship. But something goes wrong and his tiny ship "Farscape-1" is sucked into a wormhole and John gets stranded ... somewhere. He's thrown directly into a fight between a Peacekeeper command carrier and a prisoner transport ship: Moya, a Leviathan, a living ship. Aboard Moya he meets the hynerian Dominar Rygel XVI, former ruler over 600 billion people, the delvian priest Pa'u Zotoh Zhaan and the luxan warrior Ka D'Argo. Unfortunately for him he looks like a Sebacean - a Peacekeeper. And he gets imprisoned with another Peacekeeper: Peacekeeper Special Command officer Aeryn Sun.

My Opinion: Just like John we are simply thrown into the story and have to figure out what's going on. I liked the idea of "translator microbes at the brain stem" for the translation issues. The problem wasn't forgotten and yet easily solved. I also liked all the "Muppets" (most animatronics were created by Jim Henson's Creature Shop): Rygel, Pilot (Pilot is the pilot of Moya, living in a symbiotic relationship with her) the aliens on the first planet John visited. I also liked that Aeryn didn't simply switch sides "just because" but was forced to run.


Synopsis: John has still a hard time getting accustomed to this whole new universe when they find a homing device deep in Moya's guts that has been activated recently. To remove it would be too painful for Moya and so they have to land on a planet and sink the ship into a swamp to dampen the signal. They have to find a way to anesthetize the entire ship in order to remove that device. And suddenly Crichton finds himself in front of people who have never seen an alien before.

My Opinion: With this episode Crichton's tradition of making cultural references has begun. In this case it was Dagobah and Yoda. And it was funny to see John (who has just learned that Humans aren't alone in the universe) explain to a woman that her race isn't alone in the universe and that he can fully understand how she feels right now.


Synopsis: Some sort of space bug has entered Moya and is crawling through the walls. They begin to disturb Moya's operations and they are somehow turning the heat up. John is able to capture and kill one and Zhaan dissects it. But soon after copies of the crew members begin appear and start to attack the real crew. And Aeryn's condition worsens because Sebaceans can't stand heat and their body functions begin to break down. As if this wasn't enough a Peacekeeper Marauder closes in and tries to re-take the ship.

My Opinion: This episode introduces another common theme of the show: That not everything is as it appears to be and that such misunderstandings can have fatal consequences. I thought it was a great idea of John's that he tried to convince that Peacekeeper that Humans can multiply by thousands in no time (nobody knows Humans after all) and that Crais (the command carrier commander) should stay out of his way.

(From Farscape Marathon on March 14th, 2009)