Short plot
summary |
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A
group of pesky kids go to stay in a run down shack in the woods... Yep, folks,
Scooby Doo, again but without the dog. Our
heroes stumble upon a recording which reads from The Book Of The Dead, a book
'bound in human flesh and inked in human blood'... Despite cry's to stop playing
it, our alpha male heroes can't resist, and in so doing they seem to have set
off strange things out there in thar woods... ya ha ha haaaaaarrggghh.... |
What our
panel of critics thought... |
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"Lots
of low flying camera work, an innovation in this movie, and thankfully it doesn't
go straight for the goolies every time. Bravisimo!" "I
AM THE RULE MAKER YOU MUST LISTEN TO ME...: Rule number one: Never go outside
on your own. Rule number two: when going outside on your own never go too far
off. Rule number three... oh what's the use, nobody listens to me anyway..." "I
went out into the woods as I have always wanted to be raped by the trees like
that. I sat still for 6 weeks, by which time they were only just getting started.
It's the bleedin' story of my life mister!" "The
original 'video nasty' which was banned for a time in the UK after topping the
charts in the early 80's. Very violent, but not as scary as I remember, although
I kept checking behind me when I watched it." "The
scariest camera in movie history." "With
all due respect, bitch, will you please stop screaming!" "A
nicely scary movie, and then it goes hideously over the top. You will not be able
to not think of this movie next time you go into the woods... or stay in a crusty
old motel in the woods... Boo!" |
Please
tell me the ending or plot overview if necessary
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| Black
haired alpha male (Ash - Bruce Campbell) survives, but let's face it, his prospects
don't look good, although on the plus side all of his friends do seem to have
conveniently decomposed. |
Justify
this movie's existence in the classic strand from
theVoiceofReason.com's Veritable Cornucopia |
|
This movie
is a pivotal entry in the history of blood and giblets flinging across the big
screen. It's release also coincided with a new technology of its day - the video
cassette recorder. For the first time we could be scared witless in the privacy
of our own homes, and boy how we jumped. The
movie inspired a whole generation of horror movie makers and it is impossible
to watch movies like Friday the Thirteenth or Nightmare on Elm Street without
thinking of this movie. Technically
this movie is extremely impressive with innovative camera work and special effects
throughout. The
whole enterprise has the feeling of a live action cartoon at times and when the
axing of limbs starts your only hope may be to go and make a nice cup of tea. |
Quotable
quotes (real) |
"One
by one we will take you." "Where
is it? It's still down there." "An
animal? That's the stupidest thing I ever heard of." "Aaaaarrgggggghhhhhhhhh!!!!?
*!" "Eeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeee" "eoooieeiioooeiiieieieioooooooooo!" "Slurp." |
What
snack should I eat while watching this movie?
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| Milk,
strawberry milkshake, strawberry jam, mushy peas, carrot soup. |
I don't like that 'eeeoooiiooooo' sound possessed people
make. I'm not going to watch this movie if that sound is in this movie
no sireee. |
| We
recommend turning the sound off and putting the subtitles up. |
I have a heart condition and the last thing I need is hands grabbing at the
main hero through the walls as he sits there taking a breather after all the killing
seems to have stopped. Tell me I will be safe. |
|
Consult
your doctor before attempting to watch this movie. |
I do love a movie where everybody ends up as a zombie, and especially movies
in which hands jump out of bodies, ooh, and mushy peas come out of arms, and milk
shoots out of eyes, and maggots eat up bodies in fast motion. Yes, this sounds
just the ticket for me and the girls in the old
people's home...
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|
If
you are looking for a movie to blow the scary-air up your scaredy-skirts, especially
heavy woollen ones, this may just be the movie for you. |
Other comments
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| This
is one of the most important slash and slash again then bash with an axe, thump
with a hammer, splice with a pickaxe, puncture with a rifle shot, flatten with
a fridge falling on top of you, horror movies of its time. This really is a superb
example of its type. Filled with extreme cartoon-type violence, it is truly scary.
The
reviewer last saw this movie when it was originally released (uncut) on video
in the early 1980's (it topped the charts in the UK for years before being banned)
and I was amazed that I genuinely felt a form of dread that I would have to go
through this movie again for this review. Time
and experience has dulled the scary bits, of course, however memories of seeing
this movie for the first time on what was then a new technology called a video
cassette recorder, brought back a feeling of genuine excitement of something new.
All
horror movies after this one were never the same again. Don't miss it. The camerawork
is technically superb and the whole movie cost around $350,000 which probably
wasn't that much back in 1980. |
Other movies we have reviewed like this one
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|
Texas
Chainsaw Massacre, Blair Witch Project,
The Hitcher, American
Werewolf in London, Assault
on Precinct 13. |