King saw the movie at the Cannes Film Festival and was apparently so scared he was screaming and shouting at the screen! In his review of the film, which Raimi then later used in press releases and promotional materials for the film, King said The Evil Dead was, "The most ferociously original horror movie I have ever seen.Raimi chose to reveal some choice updates about the state of the Evil Dead franchise during a Reddit AMA over the weekend pegged to the release of The Grudge. The movie wasn't released uncut in the U.K. The Evil Dead was one of the first films to be labeled a "Video Nasty" in the U.K., and was subsequently banned from video stores. Raimi was so grateful for his financial contribution, he credited Campbell as Co-Producer. When the production ran out of money, Campbell put up his family's property in Northern Michigan as collateral so that Raimi could finish the film and also blow it up to 35 mm which was required for theatrical release. Coined by Raimi, the term is named after Shemp Howard of The Three Stooges, whose sudden death in 1955 necessitated the use of stand-ins to finish the legendary comedy team's films that were in production. Most of the second half of the film features Bruce Campbell and various stand-ins- "Fake Shemps"-to replace the previous actors. Raimi's 1973 Delta 88 Oldsmobile may not seem like a cool movie car, but its legendary presence on screen has been in almost all of his films since it first appeared in The Evil Dead.Īfter completing principal photography in the winter of 1979-1980, most of the actors left the production, despite the majority of the film being uncompleted. In the commentary track on the film's DVD / Blu-ray bonus features, Raimi says George Romero’s Night of the Living Dead was an inspiration for his movie, specifically for its use of 16mm film, its small budget, and its smart use of a single location. Newspaper ad announcing The Evil Dead playing at the Goldman Theatre, which was located near 15th and Chestnut Sts. so he invented his own take on it, called the Shaky Cam! The camera was placed on a wooden plank and held on either end, so the crew could literally run around the woods with the contraption to create chaotic camerawork, simultaneously inventing a new take on the scary monster's point of view. While the Steadicam was invented in 1975 and has been a filmmaking mainstay over the years, Raimi could not afford one. And last but maybe most important was the cinematography. Take for example the massive amounts of blood used in the film-it was just a simple combination of Karo syrup, non-dairy creamer, and red food coloring! When Special Effects Artist Tom Sullivan needed to make a melting skull, he used oatmeal, snakes, and guts made out of marshmallows. Non-existent budget be damned, Raimi used creative ideas and workarounds to make his film-and its effects-special. They also would go on to collaborate again with the Evil Dead crew on the movie Crimewave, which they wrote, was directed by Raimi, and featured cameos from Campbell and Sam's brother, Ted Raimi. ethic as Raimi to get their first film made, Blood Simple.
One of director Joel Cohen's first film jobs was working as an Assistant Editor on The Evil Dead! He and his brother Ethan applied the same D.I.Y.
Campbell has since gone on to have acting roles in almost every single one of Raimi's films. The two made several Super 8 films together in college, which led to them creating the first iteration of The Evil Dead universe, Within the Woods. Sam Raimi (Director and Screenwriter) and Bruce Campbell (Actor, Producer, Writer, and Director) have been friends since high school. Here are some frightening facts and terror-ific trivia related to the film.