Wahoo! the gore-fest that started it all! Cheap-horror legend BRUCE CAMPBELL gets his start (possibly) here, as a fresh faced college kid on vacation with his college buddies. They go to a quaint little cabin in the woods... WHERE THEY UNLEASH THE MINIONS OF EVIL AND MASHED POTATOES! Yep, after playing a recording of an evil chant, Ashley (Campbell) and his friends are possessed by evil demons from another realm! Ash must kill (and dismember!) his friends in order to save his own ass, so he does! Actually, only the destruction of the evil Necronomicon Ex Mortus ("the book of the dead" for all you Latin drop-outs) can destroy the demons! So, Ash, with some trouble (because his friends are trying to rip him in two!) throws the accursed book into the fireplace and saves the day! Actually, he's the only one left, so he only saves himself! This thing is FULL of weird shit, including the "tree rape" scene, in which a maple tree gets a LITTLE too intimate with one of the girls! There's an abundance of gore and the stop motion FX were really, really... good. Sure, it seems like your average "Jason on acid" stalker flick that the 80's were notorious for, but Sam Raimi is one bitchin' guy, and I thought this movie kicked sweet ass! Sure, it was done better in "Evil Dead 2", but it was GREAT for Campbell's first (possibly) run! Besides, when you get lumpy mashed potatoes for special FX, you can't help but be happy!

Sequels: EVIL DEAD 2: DEAD BY DAWN and ARMY OF DARKNESS

If You Liked This Flick, Check Out: THE BEYOND or BLOODY NEW YEAR