When people talk about classic horror, The Evil Dead is never far from their minds. Though some have called it slapstick in moments, it truly is a visceral horror film that has remained a staple in the genre for 30 years. Along with that, it helped launch the careers of Sam Raimi, Bruce Campbell, and even Joel Coen of the Coen brothers. The Evil Dead would also go on to inspire entire franchises, comics, and television spin offs as well as a mountain of chainsaw related merchandise. Now to the facts:

College isn’t for everyone.

Sam Raimi dropped out of college after making the film “The Happy Valley Kid.” He noticed that many directors dabbled in horror first because it was the cheapest to produce and the most likely to get distribution. This led to the production of “Into the Woods,” a short film in which Bruce Campbell played a possessed man. “Into the Woods” would eventually become the template for “The Evil Dead” and was used as a tool to get the movie’s 350,000 dollar budget.

Run down cabins and arson.

Originally Raimi and company were supposed to shoot elsewhere, but ended up filming in Tennessee. The cabin used in The Evil Dead was not in good condition when they found it. It was filled with cow dung, leaves, and hordes of bugs. They had to rebuild a porch, tear out parts of the roof and install generators for electricity. For the whole shoot there was no running water or working toilet. The actors and crew were forced to use a roped off area in the woods for their bathroom. It also did not have a basement, so the crew cut a hole in the floor and built stairs to nothing. They would later shoot all of the basement scenes at Raimi’s parent’s house. Unfortunately the cabin no longer exists as it burned down shortly after shooting ended.

Plastic eyes and broken skin.

Shooting The Evil Dead was extremely perilous to the actors and crew. There were no stuntmen so every actor had to throw themselves into walls, run through forests barefoot, and endure contact lenses for hours that were too thick to see through. This was amplified by the inexperienced crew that used real bullets, real chainsaws, and real broken glass on the set. The grueling conditions ran on for 16 hours per day which left everyone so exhausted they often fell asleep on set. According to the original plan Raimi wanted to wrap filming in six weeks but they ended up filming for over 12.

Necessity, budgets, and camera angles.

The budget was so tight that they couldn’t afford a camera dolly and may not have had space to use it. This led to a lot of static shots at odd angles. Raimi also improvised his own form of Steadicam by strapping a few pieces of wood to the camera and running through the woods (or floating on a raft) with it.

Censors are evil pests.

The Evil Dead premiered in the UK with both theatrical and video releases. The cassette was the most rented film for a time and caused massive controversy in the UK. The creators were brought up on obscenity charges by Mediawatch-UK, then known as the National Viewer’s and Listener’s Association. The group has campaigned to stop any media involving violence, blasphemy, pornography, and profanity. They added The Evil Dead to their Video Nasty list and videos were confiscated from stores. Thankfully, a judge in the UK watched the film and immediately threw out the case.

You can reach Mediawatch-UK by Telephone: (0)1233 633936. I’m not saying you should call them and voice your obscenity laden opinion about their work, but you could.

The Evil Dead was one of the first horror movies I ever had the pleasure of watching. Eight year old me was transfixed by the brutality and terror I beheld and it definitely left a mark on my future viewing tastes and writing. As this series progresses we may have to take a look at the sequels. Did we miss any facts? Hit us up in the comments with your thoughts!

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Tony Southcotte: Tony hails from the Rocky Mountains somewhere around the state of Colorado. Possibly raised by grizzly bears, this gritty denizen of the arena now spends most of his time grappling with Java updates and dysfunctional RAM. With not much fiction under his belt, it might seem tempting to bet against Mister Southcotte, but an impressive knowledge of everything from PVC pipe to psychedelic drugs makes Tony a storehouse of fiction waiting to hit the paper. Plus, you know, there’s the possibility of him ripping you apart like a grizzly bear.