Innovative start to the wildly popular cult series was shot by director/writer Sam Raimi on a shoestring budget while still in college and though it may show at times (some of the stop motion effects are weak) this is a fun ride.

A bunch of friends (led by genre favourite Bruce Campbell whos career will never live down the three films in this series) head off to a remote cabin in the woods only to start getting possessed by demons and being murdered in gruesome ways when they find a tape that contains a demon ressurrection passage.

Of the three films this one is the most outright a horror movie and contains some good shock moments (such as the "pencil in ankle" scene), the effective use of a flowing camera and sound effects and an outrageous finale that trots out all sorts of grue (with our unlucky Bruce being splattered with all kinds of things to add insult to injury).

While some of the effects haven't aged too well (though most are still good) and the "tree rape" sequence almost borders on offensive; this is an entertaining time and an above average start to a series I count among my favourites.

Followed by two sequels.

Directed By: Sam Raimi.
Written By: Sam Raimi.

Starring: Bruce Campbell, Ellen Sandweiss, Betsy Baker, Sarah York.