"The Evil Dead"

There are a lot of bad horror movies from the 80s. There are a lot of bad horror movies in general. So what is it that makes this bad horror movie from the 80s a cult-classic? What sets this movie apart from others in it's same genre? What made me absolutely love this movie? My first thought is that despite his unibrow, young Bruce Campbell is kind of a ridiculously good looking man. But surely that can't be what set this movie apart. Could it be the ridiculous, over-the-top, unbelievable, unexplained nature of the gobs of gore you see? Well, now I think we're on to something. I realize that is not for everyone (in fact, probably only for a select few), but it was incredibly fun and entertaining, often causing me to cover my mouth, and just plain silly. I love that! Now, bad horror can't be the only thing that made this movie stand out, other wise more movies like it would. Could it be that it had genuinely tense and scary moments? Absolutely! What made these tense and scary moments even better was the fact that it didn't use your typical, over-used scare tactics. If someone is standing at an open door and they close it, you're ready to see the "Big-Bad" behind the door as they close it, or as they stand up ("Isolated" anyone?), or as the camera swings around them. This movie didn't do that. It had those moments, but left them empty, which added to the tension that was slowly building to the final scary reveal. I loved how one moment I was tensed up in suspense, the next tensed up in laughter. This movie nearly reaches brilliance. I may even say it enters greatness. But for now we'll say it pinnacles at really good-ness. The type of really good-ness that after you watch you think you and a few friends could make a movie like this and as good as this, and you wouldn't be far off. And that idea just makes me like this movie even more.

http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0083907/