The Evil Dead (1981 Original film)

We can't bury Shelly.  Sh-she's a friend of ours. - Ash

When the remake to this film came out earlier this year, one of my friends suggested I do an article comparing the two versions.  The idea intrigued me, but I never got a chance to see the remake in the theater, so the idea never came to fruition... until now, that is.

So, a little of my own personal history with this film.  My first experience with it was actually from its second sequel, Army of Darkness.  I'd seen the second movie's box at the video store (with its cool-looking skull with eyes), even saw a clip from the second movie on Shadow Theatre with Robert Englund, but it wasn't until later on that I realized Army of Darkness was any relation to Evil Dead.  I finally got to see the movie after receiving it for Christmas several years ago.  So, my thoughts on it?  After the summary, of course!

The movie starts with five friends (Ash, Scotty, Linda, Shelly and Cheryl) traveling across the Tennessee border to a small cabin out in the woods (Ash and Linda are a couple, as are Soccy and Shelly, and Cheryl is Ash's sister).  After a close call with a road-hogging truck, followed by another at the rickety bridge, the fivesome finally arrive.  After an initially spooky incident Cheryl has with some automatic drawing, everything seems fine in the cabin... until a strange book and tape player are found.  All hell soon breaks loose... quite literally!

When I first saw this film, it had a major effect on me... it scared me silly!  What's more, right after seeing it, I had to go get something out of the car afterwards, a task I did not look forward to, considering how late it was (after midnight).  The visuals in the film are really effective, especially the slightly overhead shot following the car near the beginning... it's one long tracking shot following them to the cabin and as it draws closer, the sound of the porch swing hitting the wall gets steadily louder and louder.  It's a good setup for the atmosphere and mood to come.

Some differences between The Evil Dead and its sequels; for one thing, the tone.  Barring a few scenes near the beginning, this film is most definitely NOT a comedy.  It's gory, scary, nasty and it will make you uneasy.  Second, the evil book that starts the activity isn't called the Necronomicon here, it's called the Naturum De Montum.  It is the same book, however, some of the interior artwork matches glimpses of the Necronomicon shown at the beginning of Army of Darkness.  Finally, Ash here isn't as he is in later films.  It works, though, as the film shows his start into the realm of badassery.

Ash is, as always, played by the great Bruce Campbell.  One of my favorite actors, he also has parts in the first three Spider-Man films, the second Waxwork, and Oz, the Great and Powerful.  He also played the Surgeon General of Beverly Hills in Escape from L.A.  Ellen Sandweiss played Cheryl pretty well here.  Before this, she played Ellen in 1978's Within the Woods, a prototype of Evil Dead that was filmed to drum up investors for this film.  She took a 20 year hiatus after this, returning to acting in 2006's Satan's Playground.

All in all, a really great film that has stood the test of time, one that I gladly give a 5 out of 5.  Tune in tomorrow for a look at the remake, and how it compares.  Until then, this is Red Hawk signing out!

The Texas Chainsaw Massacre Part 2

Incoming mail! - Chop Top

On the first run of the original version of my site, I reviewed this film after rewatching it after I purchased it.  This was the first film in the franchise that I saw, and when Hollywood Video did one of their VHS purges to make room for more DVDs, I had to purchase it.  So, when I was scheduling for this month and decided to review the original Chain Saw, I thought, 'You know what?  Why not put them back to back?'  Combined with the loss of the original site, it's a perfect reason to rewrite the article.

The film starts (after a text infodump telling us what happened after the first Chain Saw) with a pair of idiots driving the backroads and shooting mailboxes and signs just for fun, driving a truck off the road in the process.  Along their joyride, they call in to the local radio station's request line and talk to the DJ, Stretch.  Later that night, the doofuses call in again, just in time to run into the previously mentioned truck on a bridge.  As they try to get past it, it matches their speed driving backwards.  Someone pops up in the back of the truck dancing around, before pulling out a chainsaw and attacking the idiots' car, driving them off the road and over an embankment.  And Stretch captures the whole thing on tape...

Tobe Hooper did it again with this film.  Directing, scoring and producing this film (with a bigger budget this time around), the film picks up where the first left off, thirteen years later.  We get two plotlines: the plight of Stretch as the demented Sawyer family comes after her for playing the tape of the attack over the air, and the story of Lefty, uncle to Sally and Franklin Hardesty from the first film, as he tries to find what's happened to them.  The special effects are great here, as well, being handled by the great Tom Savini.  We get a lot more blood here than the first one delivered!

So, on to the cast.  stretch was played by Caroline Williams, who also played in Stepfather II, Leprechaun 3 and Rob Zombie's Halloween II, among many other films.  She did great with the part, showing the right amount of panic and fear at the right times.  Lefty was played by Dennis Hopper, who's been in Land of the Dead, Super Mario Bros., Speed and Blue Velvet.  He lets himself go wild in this film, obviously seeming to have fun with it.  Playing Chop Top (twin brother to the Hitchhiker from the first film) is Bill Moseley, one of my favorite actors.  In addition to this film, Mr. Moseley was also in Repo: The Genetic Opera, Rob Zombie's House of 1000 Corpses (and its sequel, The Devil's Rejects), the 1990 Night of the Living Dead remake, and 2001 Maniacs: Field of Screams, where he played the role Robert Englund originated, Sheriff Buckman, as well as playing Drayton Sawyer in the Texas Chainsaw Massacre 3D movie.  He was incredibly manic here and did really well with the role.  Leatherface was played by Bill Johnson here.  He did an excellent job, aided by the more expressive make-up used for Leatherface in this one.

A good continuation, good casting, great score, fantastic makeup, all add up to a 5 out of 5 from me.  Tobe Hooper went bigger, better and more unbelievable here, and it worked.  Tune in tomorrow for another American horror classic.  Until then, this is Red Hawk signing out!

The Texas Chain Saw Massacre (1974 film)

I think we just picked up Dracula. - Franklin

So, today we have a true American horror classic in Tobe Hooper's 1974 original masterpiece, The Texas Chain Saw Massacre.  I only saw this film the second time today, right before I'm reviewing it for you.  The first time I saw it was on a movie rental after the original remake came out, I wanted to see what the original was like after seeing the new one (something that happened when we saw House on Haunted Hill, as well).  I was blown away by the film.  It's not all that graphic, really, but it's dark, it's gritty, and it's intense.

The story could be the blueprint for just about any slasher film.  After reports of grave robberies, a group of friends travel to the cemetery where the robberies happened, hoping that Sally and Franklin Hardesty's grandfather's grave hasn't been disturbed.  After making sure it was okay, they decide to head out to the remains of their grandfather's house, picking up a very creepy hitchhiker along the way.  After ditching the hitchhiker, they finally make it to the old homestead.  After their friends Kirk and Pam find out about a local swimming hole, they decide to go check it out.  Then, they don't return...

This film has earned its place as a masterpiece of the genre.  Several slasher film cliches have found their start here.  The masked, possibly mutated killer; the use of power tools as a murder weapon; the group of friends in an abandoned area being stalked by a killer.  The budget for the film was less than $300,000 and they used the money they had well.  The actors they used were also largely unknown, local talent who more or less used the film as a launching point into Hollywood.

So, on to the casting.  Marilyn Burns played Sally Hardesty.  Other than this film and a cameo appearance in the Texas Chainsaw Massacre 3D film, she was also in Eaten Alive and Helter Skelter.  She definitely delivered in this film, especially in the scenes where her character seems to be losing her mind.  Playing her brother was Paul A. Partain, who also did well in the part.  He had a cameo in Texas Chainsaw: The Next Generation and also played in Race the Devil with Peter Fonda.  Edwin Neal played the Hitchhiker who they pick up.  I was surprised to see, when I looked him up in my research, that he went on to play Lord Zedd from the second season of Power Rangers on.  He's also become a top voice acting talent, voicing three characters on DC Universe Online, The Lord of the Rings video games, Metroid Prime 3, as well as a record-setting 26 voices in the Gatchaman anime.  Gunnar Hansen played Leatherface, the mask-wearing killer, here.  A native of Iceland, he cameoed in the Texas Chainsaw 3D film, as well as Hollywood Chainsaw Hookers, Mosquito and Freakshow.

A 5 out of 5 from me.  If you're in the mood for a piece of horror history, then you will definitely find something to enjoy in this film.  I hope you enjoyed this trip down memory lane.  Tomorrow will be my first redo of a past article, where I'll be bringing you the sequel to this one, The Texas Chainsaw Massacre Part 2 (don't worry, I'm not doing a Chainsaw Week!).  Until then, take care of yourselves, and this is Red Hawk signing out!