How can I even review Evil Dead? Anything I say has surely been said before. Any praise I laud upon it will only join thousands of like-minded reviewers who love this ground-breaking masterpiece. So just allow me to rave for a few paragraphs.

Evil Dead is the film that started it all. Okay, not really, that was Night of the Living Dead. But Raimi's Evil Dead gave birth to a new generation of filmmakers. It's still inspiring boys and girls across the world to become filmmakers. This movie was groundbreaking in a way that can't even be imagined today because so many movies - hundreds, maybe thousands - have copied it/stole from it/honored it one way or another. It is the movie upon which all other horror movies will forever be judged. You think I'm being dramatic? Maybe I am, but this movie reinvented horror.

If you haven't seen this movie, you probably aren't visiting this website, but I'll tell you the story anyway. Five friends rent a cabin deep in the woods for a little vacation. Once there, they find the "Book of the Dead". The Necrominicon. A book which is said to conjure evil spirits and do other dastardly things. Well, being foolish kids play a tape in which an anthropologist is reciting some of the book's text and, although they don't know it at first, they've just summoned an evil force. Before the night ends, they're forced to fight of demons which take over the bodies of their friends, battle evil trees and endure more blood and guts than had ever been put to film before.

That doesn't even begin to capture the film's charm. It's dark humor. It's over-the-top violence. It's coolness. This is THE horror movie for anyone who loves horror movies. Bruce Campbell plays Ashley, a rather meek and mild young man who over the course of the movie goes from lovable geek to ass-kicking hero. He becomes ASH whose name should be right up there with Jason, Freddy and Michael as horror Royalty. Ash kills demons, buries his friends and gets covered in so much blood that it's a wonder he ever worked with Raimi again. He gives an excellent performance as do all the other cast members. Campbell has achieved God-like status among many horror fans but everyone in this film does a really great job. Ellen Sandweiss is dead on as Ash's sister Cheryl who gets up close and personal with the demons in the forest. Hal Delrich is great as the handsome everyman. Betsy Baker's Linda is one of the most memorable ghouls ever to grace the screen and her laugh still sends chills up my spine and puts a smile on my face. Sarah York is given the least to do which is unfortunate as she has a great screen presence.

Raimi's direction is jaw-dropping in its originality. So many clever shots/angles/movements, the man is a genius. The make-up, when it comes to the demons is only "good". Sometimes they look amazing but when actors weren't present, it's obvious they used doubles and lots of latex to try to hide the fact. The gore FX are fantastic with some of the grossest, best looking blood ever seen in a movie.

I simply could go on forever. This movie has everything you could want. A cool story, great acting, amazing amounts of gore, even nudity from two of the actresses. But you have to see Evil Dead to believe it. And what's tragic is that, seeing it now for the first time, you'll have no idea how original it was when Raimi and company made it. Those men set the bar, the bar all of us independent filmmakers are still trying to reach.