The Evil Dead

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The Evil Dead

NC-17

Released Oct 15, 1981

1h 25m

Horror

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86%

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85 Reviews

84%

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100,000+ Ratings

Ashley "Ash" Williams (Bruce Campbell), his girlfriend and three pals hike into the woods to a cabin for a fun night away. There they find an old book, the Necronomicon, whose text reawakens the dead when it's read aloud. The friends inadvertently release a flood of evil and must fight for their lives or become one of the evil dead. Ash watches his friends become possessed, and must make a difficult decision before daybreak to save his own life in this, the first of Sam Raimi's trilogy.

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Critics Consensus

So scrappy that it feels as illicit as a book found in the woods, The Evil Dead is a stomach-churning achievement in bad taste that marks a startling debut for wunderkind Sam Raimi.

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Kevin Maher

The Times (UK)

Sam Raimi’s 1981 breakout feature remains profoundly unsettling due to the gonzo vigour with which he attacks his subject.

Sep 12, 2023

Full Review

Diane Haithman

Detroit Free Press

It may not be serious, but it's totally sincere; it never laughs at its own jokes. In fact, I'm not sure it even gets them. And you can't help but respond to Evil Dead at some level beyond the usual horror-movie fright and disgust.

Rated: 6/10

Mar 24, 2023

Full Review

Owen Gleiberman

Boston Phoenix

Sam Raimi's technique is equal to his perverse imagination. In his first directorial outing, he's already got a flair for the visual grammar of horror movies that John Carpenter might envy.

Mar 24, 2023

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Bryce Hanson

Horror Movie Talk

Even with the jaded eyes of someone that grew up on the films influenced by Raimi’s directorial debut, it still is impressively violent, visceral, and darkly funny.

Rated: 8/10

Sep 23, 2025

Full Review

Adrian Martin

Film Critic: Adrian Martin

The Evil Dead is the ultimate movie-nerd success story, flagrantly amateurish and hand-made in many of its effects.

Rated: 3.5/5

Jul 30, 2025

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Noah Berlatsky

Everything is Horrible (Substack)

No matter how many directors return to that forest, it's unlikely anyone will ever reproduce Evil Dead's weaponized feral clunkiness

Mar 19, 2024

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BAPHOMETT

This movie is disgusting. My wife screamed the whole time and walked out before it was over because she couldn't handle it anymore. Personally I think it's a really cool movie though lol some of the scenes are very scary considering how old it is. But some also look super fake.

Rated 3.5 out of 5 stars

10/22/23

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Patrick C

Airbnb Special Offer! Delightful cabin in picturesque, sylvan location. Perfect for finding inner calm, yoga practice, mindfulness exercises. Some entertainment on hand, vintage tape recorder and old tome. Enjoy nature at its purest and forget those everyday cares. Well, not quite. Beheading, bewitching, bleeding, disemboweling, regurgitating, screaming, impaling, burying, disinterring and that's just the fun stuff. A riot, a scream, a visceral poke in the eye with a bloodied pencil.

Rated 4 out of 5 stars

09/25/25

Full Review

Pedro Henrique C

The Evil Dead (1981) is a film that has a well-crafted and practical direction, it was a great success at that time, but this film unfortunately didn't convince me to like anything.

Rated 2 out of 5 stars

09/11/25

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Ghostface D

THE ULTIMATE GRUELING EXPERIENCE!

Rated 5 out of 5 stars

08/30/25

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tim s

The Evil Dead is a splatterfest if ever there was one. It's so visceral that your senses won't know what hit you. This film takes the old cabin in the woods trope and amps it up to a startling degree. The amount of gore and sheer devilishness of the besieging demons reign terror upon the venerable Ash Williams in Bruce Campbell's career-defining role.

Rated 5 out of 5 stars

08/21/25

Full Review

Tyler S.

While some parts of the animation don’t hold up well to today’s standard I still feel this was a very enjoyable watch and every time we came to a scene where it was in the perspective of the entity looking into the cabin; it fully impressed me and I dare say that was one of it not the most visually appealing scenes in all of cinema!!! If you have not seen this iconic film before like me I implore you to watch experience this film atleast once.

Rated 4.5 out of 5 stars

08/15/25

Full Review

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Sam Raimi

Director

Bruce Campbell

Ashly 'Ash' J. Williams

Ellen Sandweiss

Cheryl

Betsy Baker

Linda

Richard DeManincor

Scotty

Theresa Tilly

Shelly

The Evil Dead: Official Clip - The Tree Attack

1:56

The Evil Dead: Official Clip - Trapped in the Cabin

0:56

The Evil Dead: Official Clip - The Zombies Attack

2:33

The Evil Dead: Official Clip - Rising From the Grave

1:52

The Evil Dead: Official Clip - They Won't Stop Laughing

3:17

The Evil Dead: Official Clip - Killing the Zombies

2:43

The Evil Dead: Official Clip - The Walls Bleed

2:15

The Evil Dead: Official Clip - Demons Possess Cheryl

2:48

The Evil Dead: Official Clip - Hacked to Pieces

4:46

The Evil Dead: Official Clip - Psycho Demon Girlfriend

2:23

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The Evil Dead: Trailer 1

1:52

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Synopsis

Ashley "Ash" Williams (Bruce Campbell), his girlfriend and three pals hike into the woods to a cabin for a fun night away. There they find an old book, the Necronomicon, whose text reawakens the dead when it's read aloud. The friends inadvertently release a flood of evil and must fight for their lives or become one of the evil dead. Ash watches his friends become possessed, and must make a difficult decision before daybreak to save his own life in this, the first of Sam Raimi's trilogy.

Director: Sam Raimi
Producer: Rob Tapert
Screenwriter: Sam Raimi
Distributor: New Line Cinema
Production Co: Renaissance Pictures
Rating: NC-17
Genre: Horror
Original Language: English
Release Date (Theaters): Oct 15, 1981, Original
Release Date (Streaming): Nov 30, 2016
Runtime: 1h 25m
Sound Mix: Mono
Aspect Ratio: Flat (1.37:1), 35mm, 16mm

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