Evil Dead (5 Stars)

This was the first film directed by Sam Raimi in 1981, who later went on to greater fame with Hercules, Xena and Spider-Man. It's also the first film starring the young actor Bruce Campbell, who later appeared in Hercules, Xena and Spider-Man. Are you sensing a pattern here?

This was a significant but controversial film, made at an important crossroads in film history. It was made at the beginning of the video era, when home videos were becoming cheap enough to buy. Before then every film had to be made for a cinema audience, so they had to cater to both the public tastes and official approval. That means they had to be good enough to make people want to watch them, but also had to take care not to run fowl of legal authorities by including too much sex or violence. That changed in the early 1980's. A large number of films were made, mostly in America and Italy, which made no attempt to conform to censorship laws. In fact, at first there were no laws in most countries to regulate the new media called "video". Films that would be banned for cinema viewing were made and sold on video.

In England these films were given the name "video nasties". Decency campaigner Mary Whitehouse campaigned for them to be banned. In fact, she called "Evil Dead" the most evil film ever made. That's an amazing statement. When you compare it with more recent films like "Hostel" or "Saw" it's very tame. The film excels not in its gore, of which there are only a few incidents, but its terrifying suspense. By criticising it, the deluded Mrs. Whitehouse was telling us that it was a great film that everyone should watch. I actually wonder if she ever even watched the films that she criticized. I picture her more as a hypocrite who based her "This is evil" rants on what others told her. But why am I wasting my time talking about her? She's the woman who claimed that people are homosexual because their parents had sex during pregnancy. Instead of being allowed to become a public figure in England in the 1970's and 1980's she should have been institutionalised.

The problem with videos has since been solved. All videos (and DVDs) now need an age classification, just the same as films do when they are shown in cinemas. The different ratings from country to country is worth a study in itself. To take one example: if a film contains full frontal nudity it means an automatic 18 certificate in England, but in Germany nudity alone wouldn't mean more than a 12 certificate. Realistic violence, such as shooting, is 18 certificate in England, but 16 in Germany. On the other hand, supernatural horror is rated 18 in Germany, but 16 or less in England.