By the mid 1980s, Sam Raimi's The Evil Dead had became a staple of countless video parties. Who knew this low-budget film would have such a long shelf life? Made on a miniscule budget ($500,000), Evil emerged as one of the most creative and enduring horror films from that period.

Raimi hails from Detroit and graduated from Michigan State University. Although he had made some films while at school, this was his first feature. The lively cast he assembled in The Evil Dead were all friends. Star Bruce Campbell even helped finance the project.

A group of young people are headed for a vacation at an isolated cabin in the woods. Scotty (Hal Delrich) is driving his girlfriend Shelly (Sarah York), another couple, Linda (Betsy Baker) Ash (Bruce Campbell), and Ash's sister Cheryl (Ellen Sandweiss). On the way, they narrowly avoid crashing into a truck, and as they get closer to the cabin, they must cross over a rundown bridge. When they arrive, the swing on the porch which has been swaying comes to an abrupt halt.

That evening, while Cheryl is sketching a portrait of an old grandfather clock, something odd happens. The clock stops and a mysterious force takes control of her hand, forcing her to draw an odd shape on her pad. She then sees the latch door to the cellar begin to open.

During dinner, while Ash is proposing a toast, the cellar door suddenly swings open. Scotty is the only one willing to go down and when he doesn't respond, Ash follows. The two men find a room with items including a rifle, a recorder, and a strange book. They take their discoveries upstairs to show the girls.

Ash plays the tape on the recorder, which has a recording made by the owner of the cabin. In it he describes the items in the cellar, explaining they were found during an archeological dig.

He says the book is a volume of ancient Sumerian burial practices and funerary incantations called "Book of the Dead." It's bound in human flesh and inked in human blood. (In fact the cover is the picture Cheryl drew involuntarily, earlier in the evening.)

The book is to be used to conjure up undead demons in the surrounding forest, a fact which gives Cheryl the creeps. When the voice begins to say the incantation, something in the woods comes alive. Cheryl screams for the tape to be taken off and a tree branch crashes through the window.

With the night winding down, Ash gives Linda a necklace as a gift and the couple settles in front of the fire. As Scotty and Shelly are getting ready for bed, Cheryl hears a voice outside say "join us."

She decides to investigate and goes out into the foggy mist of the woods. There the tree vines come to life and restrain her to the ground where she is then violently raped by the forest.

Cheryl is released and runs to the cabin. An invisible demon comes after her, but she makes it safely inside just in time. Frightened and disheveled, Cheryl demands to be taken into town. Ash agrees to drive her, but they find that the bridge has been destroyed. "It's not gonna let us go!" Cheryl screams.

Back at the house, Ash finishes listening to the tape and discovers that the owner's wife became possessed by a demon. In addition, he finds out that the only way to kill someone in this state is through dismemberment. As Shelly and Linda play a game of cards, Cheryl is looking out the window.

Suddenly she turns around, her eyes rolled back into her head and her skin a sickly color. A demonic voice comes out of her and says "why have you disturbed our sleep...awakened us from our ancient slumber? You will die like the others before you...one by one, we will take you!"

With that, Cheryl's body fall to the ground. Linda and Ash go over to her body. Cheryl quietly picks up a pencil next to her and jabs Linda in her ankle and smacks her across the room. She then knocks Ash, pinning him under a bookcase. As she comes towards him, Scotty hits her with the end of an axe and manages to kick her into the cellar and lock the door with a chain.

Linda is put to bed, while the others keep an eye on Cheryl. Ash says they'll leave in the morning. Later, Shelly senses something outside of her room. It comes towards her and smashes the window. Shelly screams and Scotty goes to investigate. He finds her in the bathroom, but unfortunately she too is now possessed and lunges at him, scratching his face.

Scotty runs into the living room and manages to shove Shelly into the fireplace. He pulls her out but she attacks him again, this time with a dagger. (Cheryl is watching from the cellar and attempts to join in on the action for some kind of three-way.)

Scotty then grabs a knife and attempts to cut Shelly's hand. To his and Ash's horror, Shelly finishes the job by gnawing her own hand completely off! Scotty picks up the dagger and stabs her in the back, which sends her to the ground spewing blood and other lovely substances.

But she's not dead yet and gets up once again. Finally, Scotty picks up the axe and strikes the undead Shelly repeatedly and then severs all of her limbs. He and Ash take her remains and bury them outside in the woods.

Scotty makes a hasty exit from the cabin, but Ash refuses to leave Linda behind. When he goes to check up on her, she suddenly sits up in the bed and laughs maniacally, with only the whites of her eyes showing. Now Ash has lost his girlfriend too. He backs up to the doorway and Scotty jumps at him. His friend didn't make it far and is bloodied and battered.

While they try and figure out what to do next, Linda and Cheryl mock them. Ash has had enough and is about to use the rifle on Linda, when she suddenly returns to normal. Ash hears Cheryl sound like her old self as well and goes over to the cellar door. It was a trick and his sister grabs at him. Both she and Linda tease him with hideous little girl voices, saying "we're gonna get you...not another peep, time to go to sleep."

Ash drags Linda outside and returns to Scotty, who's now dead. Linda reappears and stabs Ash with the dagger. During a struggle, Ash manages to stab her with the same dagger and Linda falls backwards onto it. Now he takes her out once again, this time to the shed to dismember her with a chainsaw.

However, he can't bring himself to do it and buries her instead. When he's done, he finds the necklace he gave her on the ground and bends down to pick it up. Linda grabs at him (again!) and scratches at Ash's legs.

She comes out of the grave and Ash repeatedly hits her with a piece of wood. She won't die, so he finally wacks her with a shovel and decapitates her, which sends blood spurting all over him.

Back inside, Ash finds that Cheryl has escaped. She tries to reach for him and he fires a shot at her. Of course she doesn't die and Ash runs down into the cellar where it suddenly appears as if the entire house is bleeding. Ash loads the rifle and heads back upstairs. The unseen force is all around him and he starts to flip out.

Scotty is now zombified and both he and Cheryl make one last attempt to bring Ash into the fold. (In a particularly gruesome shot, Ash gouges Scotty's eyes with his thumbs.)

While being continuously pummeled by them, Ash gets a hold of the Book of the Dead and tosses it into the fireplace. Cheryl, Scotty, and the book all decompose, with a final plea to join them.

Morning has arrived and Ash is able to breathe some fresh air, but the calm doesn't last long. Behind him and from out of the woods comes a force so sudden and ferocious, Ash can only turn around and scream.

Sam Raimi was 23 at the time The Evil Dead was made. It was an astonishing debut and no less than Stephen King raved, calling it "the most ferociously original horror film of the year." Raimi would film a sequel five years later with Evil Dead II: Dead By Dawn, a work we consider an overrated comedic remake of this classic. That was followed by Army of Darkness in 1992.

In recent years, he's shown his diversity with 1995's The Quick and the Dead, and the excellent (relatively lowkey) A Simple Plan in 1998.

Bruce Campbell went on to reprise his role for several sequels, still works regularly and has of course become a cult horror-action star. That's how these things work nowadays.

The DVD format has been more kind to Evil Dead than most horrors from this period. Digital releases have seen two remixed soundtracks (5.1 & 2.0) and various audio commentaries (one by Raimi and producer Robert Tapert, another by star Campbell, for example). Still galleries, alternate takes, behind-the-scenes footage and theatrical trailers have all adorned the original Dead on disc.

Hunter: This is a real treat for horror fans. Sam Raimi pulled out all the stops, and although many people prefer the sequel, this one does it for me. He handles the possession theme very well, one of the few people to have learned something from The Exorcist. (Apparently a difficult task...see: Mausoleum.)

The only thing I don't understand is the fervent following the Ash character has developed over the years. All that "Ash kicks zombie ass" nonsense is just not my style. After all, he's just a normal guy in this one who unwittingly gets caught up in an extraordinary situation.

Jason: Although not necessarily one of my favorites, this still has earned a rightful place in the zombie pantheon, especially for those nights in college with some pizzas and a beer. Rewatching this yields the realization that the effects are surprisingly well done and the production is top notch for a supposed low budgeter. The woods setting complements this one perfectly. I won't say "Long live Ash!," but I will say watch this classic by your fireplace and prepare to be righteously grossed out!