EVIL DEAD:THE BOOK OF THE DEAD
© 2002 Anchor Bay Entertainment

Mania Grade: A
Disc Grade: A-
Reviewed Format: DVD
Rated: Not Rated
Stars: Bruce Campbell, Ellen Sandweiss, Hal Delrich, Betsy Baker
Writer: Sam Raimi
Director: Sam Raimi
Distributor: Anchor Bay Entertainment
Original Year of Release: 1982
Retail Price: $49.98
Extras: anamorphic widescreen; audio commentary by Sam Raimi and producer Robert Tapert, second commentary by Bruce Campbell; behind-the-scenes footage and outtakes; "Fanalysis" - a documentary by Bruce Campbell; the documentary "Discovering Evil Dead"; theatrical trailer; TV spots; poster and still gallery; talent bios

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THE EVIL DEAD: BOOK OF THE DEAD

With DVD all bets are off. Multiple packages of the same movie can exist on store shelves and it becomes a guessing game as to: a) do you have this new version, and b) are you a die-hard fan enough to pick up the latest attempt at nabbing your hard earned money.

In the case of EVIL DEAD, the answer is yes, hell yes. In fact, Elite Entertainment released a pretty stellar DVD a few years back, but Anchor Bay may have eclipsed that with their super-deluxe package. While there are outtakes, commentaries and other great DVD extras, this limited edition set is bound in flesh and inked in blood coming in its own Necronomicon Ex Mortis packaging. Recreated by Tom Sullivan (the effects artist who created it for the original film), latex takes the place of flesh, but it's a damn cool recreation, with many of the pages lavishly recreating the look of the book from the EVIL DEAD flicks. Though, a forewarning latex ages, cracks and falls apart over time, so take care of this set. If mistreated, it may not hold up over in the years to come and you wouldn't want that, would you?

As for the set itself, the previously "full screen" version of the movie (full screen because it was shot full frame on 16mm) has been given an exceptional widescreen presentation. A new digital clean-up has also given the film a whole new pristine look it's also cleaned up so many of the rough edges that in many shots you can see where opticals have been laid over the actual film (check out the moon shots) which is probably one of the only downfalls of preserving these old films which relied on little imperfections to smooth over those rough edges.

Nonetheless, the film is still damn creepy all these years later. Whereas EVIL DEAD 2 and ARMY OF DARKNESS mixed more laughs with the terror, EVIL DEAD was an aggressive, no holds bared horror film relentless in its portrayal of a group of young adults trapped in a small cabin in the woods taken over by the restless evil spirits unleashed from the book of the dead. By film's end, Ash (Bruce Campbell) becomes the de facto hero and gets the brunt of all the evil dead's torturous taunting, teasing and of course possession.

The audio commentaries shed some new light on the making of the film. Director Sam Raimi and producer Robert Tapert provide the first commentary, but you can tell they've talked about this movie until they're blue in the face with Tapert remembering more about the filming than Raimi himself. For a second commentary though, Campbell gets the facts down pat. He remembers little details and conveys them to all those aspiring filmmakers out there still dissecting this film to pieces. He's funny, honest and recants old tales as if they're brand new.

The rest of the disc has an excellent documentary by Campbell called "Fanalysis" which focuses on being a genre fan and what it means to them and to Campbell himself. "Discovering Evil Dead" is a new featurette covering the history of EVIL DEAD's distribution, and while it is missing key personnel (it talks primarily to the distributors who initially discovered the movie and got it out into theaters), it's still an interesting document of the DEAD.

Perfunctory trailers, TV spots, poster and still galleries round things out in typical comprehensive fashion. However, the main omission here is also the one most fans will probably have to wait to see another day the original "Within the Woods" short that preceded EVIL DEAD. Originally intended to be released on this disc, a month before this came out it mysteriously disappeared likely due to rights issue.

Oh well. You can't have everything. So far this is the best EVIL DEAD DVD currently available and any self-respecting genre fan will be kicking themselves if they don't fork over the cash to own it. Anchor Bay makes it irresistible with the packaging, but even without the fancy wrapping, it's still worth the hefty price tag. This is a seminal horror classic and with Raimi now off doing SPIDER-MAN others can finally see what genre fans have known all along Raimi is the real deal and even when he was hindered by low budgets and limited resources, he still knew how to deliver the goods. Hail to the king indeed.