45 Years of THE EVIL DEAD: How Sam Raimi Redefined Independent Horror

THE EVIL DEAD (1981) d. Sam Raimi (USA)
EVIL DEAD II (1987) d. Sam Raimi (USA)
ARMY OF DARKNESS (1992) d. Sam Raimi (USA)
EVIL DEAD (2013) d. Fede Alvarez (USA)
EVIL DEAD RISE (2023) d. Lee Cronin (USA)

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Sam Raimi’s Evil Dead franchise is a cornerstone of independent horror cinema, redefining what low-budget filmmaking could achieve. Beginning with The Evil Dead (1981), Raimi combined raw ingenuity, kinetic camerawork, and extreme gore to create a relentlessly inventive horror film that left a lasting impact on the genre. Shot on a shoestring budget with collaborators including star Bruce Campbell, the film’s manic energy and iconic “unseen force” camera movements distinguished it from the slower horror of the late 1970s.

DARKMAN (1990) Blu-ray review

Darkman (1990) d. Sam Raimi (USA)

Scientist Peyton Westlake (Liam Neeson, in his first leading role) is working diligently to uncover the secrets of a new synthetic skin, frustrated at his inability to stabilize it past the 98-minute mark. But when his girlfriend Julie (Frances McDormand) uncovers a corrupt businessman’s (Colin Friels) payoffs to government officials, the noble egghead lands in hot water (or more accurately, boiling acid) at the hands of hired thugs led by the sinister and ruthless Durant (Larry Drake). Awakening in a hospital burn ward, the presumed-dead Westlake escapes and resumes his work, hoping to restore his ruined visage, wreak vengeance on those responsible, and try to become human once again.

EVIL DEAD (2013) movie review

Evil Dead (2013) (1st viewing) d. Alvarez, Fede (USA)

I have seen the new EVIL DEAD...and it is good.

THE POSSESSION (2012) movie review

Possession, The (2012) d. Bornedal, Ole (USA)

Jeffrey Dean Morgan and Kyra Sedgwick star as separated parents, struggling through divergent child-rearing preferences during Morgan’s weekend visitation rights for their two girls Natasha Calis and Madison Davenport. To further frustrate matters, after the younger Calis picks up an old wooden memorabilia box at a yard sale, she starts exhibiting such strange behavior as speaking in growly voices, eating pancakes too fast, stabbing people with forks, eating raw meat, breaking crockery, punching out classmates and coughing up computer-generated moths.