- Joined
- Jul 3, 1997
- Messages
- 66,776
- Real Name
- Ronald Epstein
Evil Dead: Book of the Dead
LIMITED EDITION
"it's not gonna let us leave"
For Stymee.....
To understand better what inspired me to sit
and watch a film like this in the first place,
I need to tell you about my friend, Stymee.
Stymee is a co-worker of mine who I have known
for the past 12 years. He can be best described
as a very unique individual who enjoys the most
abnormal forms of entertainment I have ever known.
From far-out musical groups to the most bizarre
movies ever made, Stymee has grown to appreciate
a culture that many of us do not know. It is that
culture that makes him one of the coolest, most
full-of-life individuals I know. I am proud to call
him a friend.
The first time I ever heard of The Evil Dead,
was from my friend, Stymee. He practically worships
this film. He has collected every version ever
released on VHS, LASERDISC and DVD. What is not
available, he has found at collector shows and has
even set up his own website dedicated to this film.
I'll try to post that website address later in this
thread.
Me? I don't like shlocky horror films. I don't
usually waste my time with B-grade movies. Stymee
will be the first to tell you that it took him years
to get me to watch The Evil Dead. My first
viewing was about two years ago, and it was off of
a second generation VHS tape. My overall opinion
was that I wasn't sure if I liked it or not, but I
was certain that it was the most shocking film I
had ever seen.
Originally filmed in 1979 on a shoestring budget
of $375,000, Director Sam Raimi created a movie
so gruelling, that it would stand the test of time.
What I have never grown to appreciate until now
is that The Evil Dead has grown to become
one of the most influential and renowned cult films
ever made. Skillfully photographed and edited,
its success can be attributed to the many video
releases over the past years and the scores of
fans that turned on their friends to this movie
filled with blood and gore.
The film concerns five college students who
take a weekend holiday at a lone cabin buried
in the woods. It is there that they find unspeakable
evil lurking in the forest. In the basement they
uncover a "book of the dead" and audio tape that
translates the text inside. Once the tape full of
chanting is played, an unspeakable force is released
and slowly possesses each of the teens, turning them
into deadly zombies.
Though the film has gone through as many video
incarnations as there are zombies in the film, Anchor
Bay has finally done the ultimate justice to this film
by releasing it in a special Limited Edition. The
packaging on this disc is is so incredible that I
had to include my own pictures so all my readers
could see it first-hand. The DVD comes encased in
a rubber/latex book that replicates THE BOOK OF
THE DEAD as seen in the film. The look of this thing
is just incredible. I have never seen packaging as
creative as this before. If the look of it isn't
awesome enough, you can look forward to the nice
rubbery smell it will give your room (if that is
your sort of thing).
Opening up the book, we are introduced to the
very pages that make up the BOOK OF THE DEAD, filled
with the ancient incantations that when read, may
cause terrible things to happen to your next door
neighbor. On the last page of the book is a list
of internet fan sites dedicated to the film and the
cast and crew. On the opposite page is a pocket
that holds a small pamphlet entitled, "Bringing
The Dead Home For Dinner". It's penned by our friend,
Michael Felsher, who writes a very detailed history
of the many video releases over the years including
the repackaging and horrible transfers that plagued
this title. It wasn't until ELITE ENTERTAINMENT did
an outstanding laserdisc release of NIGHT OF THE
LIVING DEAD that a new attitude about the film's
presentation came to light. Filled with pictures
of the many past phases of the film's video releases,
this is a fun little read that should earn your
utmost appreciation for this pristine DVD that you
now hold in your hand.
How does the transfer look?
The last time I saw this film was on a crappy
VHS copy. You could imagine my surprise watching
this brand new digitally mastered anamorphic
widescreen (1.85:1) release.
Before I can talk about the film's picture
quality, I need to remind everyone that this was
a low-budget film, originally shot in 16mm (if my
memory serves me right). You can only take an
original print of this caliber and make it look so
good.
With that in mind, I can tell you that although
the print is in outstanding condition, with little
blemish or film scar, the picture quality can only
be described as good. Overall picture looks very
faded and soft. Flesh tones run more on the red
side, and some scenes look a little out of focus.
I would put the blame of the overall look of the
picture on the original film elements and the budget
of the film.
I must warn all of you that having this film
cleaned up for DVD does have its drawbacks. Twice
during the film, with the first at the 23-minute
mark, you see a picture of the lit moon hovering
over the woods. Thing is, that moon was never
originally there. It seems to have been superimposed
in the picture and the square blocking around it
can be visibly seen. Perhaps the grain that
was common in lower resolution video formats hid
the flaws in this effects shot.
And now, here is where the DVD really shines....
I couldn't believe that a movie like this could
be remixed in THX Dolby Digital 5.1 and DTS 6.1
surround. I opted to listen to the DTS surround
track, using a 5.1 setup. The sound just blew
me away!
The Evil Dead relies mostly on things you
cannot see. Visually, that means trees suddenly
falling from the forest or a running camera shot
of unseen evil closing in on its prey. But sound
is just as much an important element this film and
you suddenly realize that when your viewing area is
suddenly encompassed by the thumping of an old swing
against the cottage wall or whispering evil passing
through each of the speakers, not knowing which
direction it will strike from. This is a totally
active surround mix that has to be heard to be
believed. It literally gave me the creeps.
Sound placement is quite good, with dialogue
staying in the center speaker, as the film's main
action spreads over the remaining 5 speakers.
Major gripe: No English subtitles for the hard
of hearing.
EXTRA FEATURES
Once you pop the disc in, you are treated to a
short menu sequence starting with Bruce Campbell
filling in a burial hole as the dirt drowns out
the scene and dissolves into a fast lurking shot
towards the cottage. THE EVIL DEAD appears in
blood-like text with menu selections beneath it.
To begin with there are 2 sets of running commentaries.
One is with Writer/Director Sam Raimi and Producer
Robert Tapert. The other is with star Bruce Campbell.
Though I rarely have the time to rewatch a film
and listen to commentary, I gave this DVD special
consideration and listened to the first 30 minutes
of Bruce Campbell's commentary. I must say, it is
a wildly funny commentary as Bruce pokes fun at
Raimi and Tapert being these old senile guys that
won't get the facts right on their commentary. Bruce
pokes fun at just about every scene pointing out
the goofy shoes he wore, to the face masks that could
only be worn 5 minutes at a time to the art of breaking
a window before the camera gets to it. He even points
out the cameo appearance of Raimi and Tapert on the
side of the road. You can tell Bruce is having a
really fun time with all of this as he laughs many
times through it even making jokes at the dialogue.
At the top of the list of EXTRAS is the film's
original theatrical TRAILER. Interestingly,
the source material is very good and it is even
presented in widescreen.
There are four 30-second TV SPOTS included.
The source material contains some film blemishes,
but looks fairly good. You even get a listing of
the theaters the film was playing in at the time
of the TV spot.
There is much to see in the Poster and still
gallery that consists of dozens of production
stills; behind-the-scenes photos of the crew; shots
of the latex masks; effect shots; artwork and
storyboards; original poster art.
If you want a peek into the odd, check out the
people that make up Fanalysis, a 26-minute
documentary that examines the many levels of
fans that make up the convention circuit. Bruce
Campbell takes us on a fascinating and often
humorous look at fanmail and public appearances.
This is a terrifically fun piece that you are sure
to enjoy.
Discovering Evil Dead takes us back to the
early beginning of schlock horror. Told through
the words of Stephen Wooley, Nick Powell and other
early pioneers at Palace Video, we learn how
Sam Raimi took a small film and turned it into
legendary status. This 13-minute featurette examines
the marketing success that the video medium
brought to this film.
Eighteen minutes of Behind the scenes outtakes
and footage shows us how much perfection goes
into creating a believable zombie, or, taking an
axe to a rubber hand placed below the cellar trap
door. Cameras stop as smoke effects are added to
a zombie with a fireplace poker. A zombie lying
on the floor is properly placed as she coughs up
black blood. The quality of this footage is in
reasonably good shape.
Rounding out this disc is Talent Bios
that gives us more than just a list of who has
done what. We actually get nice snippets of
information about Bruce Campbell who appeared
in local productions as a teen, or, Sam Raimi
who made Super 8mm movies about the Civil War
at age 13, or, Robert Tapert who has interesting
things to say about how studios treat inexperienced
filmmakers.
Final Thoughts
I am not particularly a fan of grade-B horror
films. However, there is no denying that The
Evil Dead is the grandaddy of all horror
movies of its kind.
This is a great time for the release of this
film. I haven't seen a good horror movie in
the past 10 years. Watching The Evil Dead,
I am taken back to a grand era of time where
horror films spared no expense in scaring and
shocking its audience. You can take this movie
and put it up against anything released since
it and realize that it is as effectively scary today
as it was two decades ago. Even with its low-budget
effects, it remains the most shocking film of our time.
I dare any newcomers not to be affected by it all.
Thank You, Stymee, for turning me on to this
film. Thank You, Anchor Bay, for caring enough
to do this release justice.
Release Date: March 5, 2002
C was fantastically funny!
