The Evil Dead Trilogy (1981-1993)
Posted on January 11, 2007
Filed Under Classics, Comedies, Movies, Nasties, Series, Zombies
The Evil Dead trilogy confounds expectations in all sorts of ways. At the most basic level, it’s not really much of a trilogy: an original film, a remake of that film and a third instalment that wilfully contradicts the first two. But it’s worth considering all Evil Dead, Evil Dead 2: Dead By Dawn and Army of Darkness for two important reasons: firstly, all three represent important milestones in Sam Raimi’s bizarre journey from video nasty director to Hollywood maven, and secondly, I watched all three in one sitting, so I’ll damn well write them up in one.
The Evil Dead has quite rightly become the most celebrated film of those that became entangled in the video nasty farrago, partly because it’s one of the best, and partly because it had the most obvious and visible effects on other ‘mainstream’ genre films at the time. Copious splatter wasn’t new in horror movies, but Raimi’s injection of comedy was, and led to a whole array of ‘splat-stick’ (yuck) films in its wake, most notably the Return of the Living Dead saga. Instead of relying on comedy characters or amusing situations, Evil Dead is actually fairly serious-minded in its story and overall tone, but there is much humour in both the ludicrous exaggerations of horror conventions and the lunatic energy that Raimi’s direction imbues the proceedings. At this stage, Bruce Campbell plays Ash, the central character in all three films, dead straight and there are genuine shocks and chills to be found, most notably in the transformation of the other students into giggling demons.
Perhaps most remarkable is how inventively Raimi deploys his pitifully small budget. Evil Dead is small scale, but never looks cheap; the POV shots of the mysterious force in the woods – apparently achieved simply by taping a camera to a plank and running around with it – are startling, and have an overwhelming effect when combined with the effective sound effects and furious editing. Throughout all three films, Raimi’s bludgeoning of the viewer with exhausting visuals remains the most rewarding and fruitful trick in his arsenal, and it’s this aspect of the first film that is really developed in the sequel.
Dead By Dawn is less Evil Dead 2 than Evil Dead Squared. Raimi overlooks such trivialities as, say, plot and character – both sketchy at best in the first film – in favour of all-out visual excess and a frantic, almost Looney Tunes-esque aura of cartoony slapstick. It’s a testament to his level of invention that Raimi’s indulgences rarely seem puerile or predictable, and on a first viewing the film’s unpredictability is utterly compelling – in that the viewer never quite knows what’s coming next, whether it’s a hysterical laughing deer, the hilarious farting noise made by the decapitated witch or Ash’s logic-defying decision to graft a chainsaw to his arm in place of his severed hand. Raimi has commented that his intention with the film was to see what he could get away with putting Bruce Campbell through, and Campbell steps up to the challenge; across the film, his portrayal of Ash shifts from the more earnest portrayal in The Evil Dead to a tounge-in-cheek, gun-totin’, chainsawin’ action hero – complete with slick catchphrases like “groovy” and “let’s carve ourselves a witch”.
The third film, Army of Darkness, falls between two stools. On the one hand, it continues the same self-parodic portrayal of Ash from Evil Dead 2, but this time Raimi tempers the excess, seemingly preferring to make a slick, medieval romp that sits rather awkwardly with Bruce Campbell’s ultra-stylised performance. The film is a very clear homage to the Ray Harryhausen stop-motion epics of the 50s and 60s, and the creature segments are by far the most successful, particularly the brilliant skeleton army. However, about two-thirds of the way through, Raimi pulls out one of the memorable running-pan shots that he used so heavily in the first two films, and at that moment we realise what we’re missing; Army of Darkness may be the most technically accomplished of the three Evil Dead films, but it has the least energy and even drags in places. It’s too silly to take seriously, but lacks the necessary invention needed for the audience to just roll with it.
As I discovered in my Evil Dead marathon, it’s a pretty lousy trilogy that doesn’t really reward back-to-back viewing. But leave enough space between instalments, and it’s pretty clear why at the first two films are genre classics. Raimi’s career arc from video nasty director to one of Hollywood’s hottest talents is only marginally less ridiculous than that of Peter Jackson, and while fans continue to clamour for an Evil Dead 4, Army of Darkness would suggest that maybe it’s a good thing that the franchise remains dormant. The appeal of the films lies in the hyperactive energy that only young, independent film-makers seem to be able to muster; somehow, a big-budget, major studio-back return to the log cabin wouldn’t feel right.
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