It's 2026 And I Just Watched 1981's Evil Dead For The First Time – These Are My Honest Thoughts

This article contains discussions of sexual assault.

I am notoriously bad with horror movies. From "The Ring" to "Skinamarink," I'm addicted to reading the Wikipedia entries detailing the plot specifics of famous horror flicks, but whether or not I like watching them is a different story. Over the years, though, I've come a long way. Jordan Peele is one of my favorite directors. I saw "Weapons" in theaters twice. I even watched "Obsession" the other day (at home and in broad daylight, but still). I've still got plenty of gaps on my horror dance card, though, and one of them is "The Evil Dead."

Before watching Sam Raimi's 1981 cult classic "The Evil Dead," I had never seen anything in the "Evil Dead" franchise. To be fair, I think that I probably would have been able to follow any one of the sequels; I wouldn't call this movie particularly heavy or complex when it comes to the plot. Still, when one of my editors asked if I'd seen "The Evil Dead" and I said no, we decided I'd watch this NC-17 movie right away as "Evil Dead Burn" heads to theaters.

Just under 90 minutes, "The Evil Dead" is a tight, innovative, over-the-top, sometimes silly, and genuinely fun horror movie that was obviously made on a shoestring budget — and, less obviously, was a famously difficult filming process for its lead performers. So, what are the basics here? Ash Williams (Bruce Campbell), his friend Scott (Richard DeManincor credited as Hal Delrich), Scott's girlfriend Shelly (Theresa Tilly credited as Sarah York), Ash's sister Cheryl (Ellen Sandweiss), and Ash's girlfriend Linda (Betsy Baker) all head to a cabin for a vacation. While there, they accidentally discover a Sumerian version of the Book of the Dead ... which is when things take a turn.

After Ash and his friends accidentally summon the Kandarian Demon thanks to a weird tape they find that recites strange incantations, things go haywire immediately. Cheryl is the first one affected by the whole ordeal, which makes sense considering that her hand is briefly possessed by some sort of demonic force while she's drawing, even before the incantations shenanigans — but I will be perfectly honest here. One of the first upsetting things to happen to any of the characters is that Cheryl, freaked out by the incantations, runs into the woods and is immediately sexually assaulted, in graphic fashion, by trees. 

Sorry to be a buzzkill, but I didn't love watching this unfold! Here's what I will say: it's not as if Sam Raimi's predilection for extreme violence and gore is limited to sexual assault, and I do not think this scene cheapens the movie, nor do I think that Raimi was specifically and particularly exploiting women's pain in any sort of gleeful way. I think he probably just thought, "What's the most f***** up thing I can do here?" That impulse is certainly on display throughout the rest of "The Evil Dead," in which zombies are dismembered and decapitated, demons infiltrate human bodies and turn them into terrifying spectacles, and Bruce Campbell's Ash ends the movie soaked in gallons of blood. 

This movie's NC-17 rating makes a ton of sense when you fully experience exactly how bloody and wild it is, but it all works ... which is a testament to Raimi's singular vision as a filmmaker. In fact, it's pretty easy to see how this movie — and some of Raimi's filmmaking techniques — became more popular in the horror genre after "The Evil Dead."

Right from the jump, "The Evil Dead" utilizes a handheld tracking shot — done by Sam Raimi running around in the woods — to show the audience that a demonic entity of some kind is following the car containing Ash and his friends. It pulls this off perfectly without pandering to the audience at all. Honestly, despite this movie's obviously small budget, Raimi, as the kids say, "freaked it." (I think they say that. I'm 35.) The slow-motion effect on the decomposing corpses, the absolutely unsettling practical effects (especially the makeup), and Raimi's penchant for creative filmmaking techniques like tracking shots and Dutch angles just all work together seamlessly.

It's extremely easy to see a throughline from "The Evil Dead" to a whole host of modern horror classics, especially "The Cabin in the Woods," Peter Jackson's "Dead Alive," and other gory treasures that get beautifully creative with their filmmaking. It's also the movie that put Raimi himself on the map, so without it, we might not have his "Spider-Man" movies, "Drag Me To Hell," or "Send Help," just to name a few. Raimi's playful, chaotic nature is perfectly represented in "The Evil Dead," and I can certainly see how and why this spawned a long-running franchise.

Oh, and one last thing: the ragtime music that played over the credits made me laugh really hard.

"The Evil Dead" is available to stream on HBO Max, and "Evil Dead Burn," the latest installment in the storied franchise, is in theaters now.

If you or anyone you know has been a victim of sexual assault, help is available. Visit the Rape, Abuse & Incest National Network website or contact RAINN's National Helpline at 1-800-656-HOPE (4673).