On this day in 1981, the product of $350,000 dollars and six weeks spent in the woods by Sam Raimi and his band of hooligans hit a few theaters in the United States. The Evil Dead originally opened in 15 theaters nationwide, grossing about $108,000 during its opening weekend. It was a limited release, and after horror author Stephen King praised the film and New Line Cinema acquired U.S. distribution rights, it started to reach a wider audience in more venues.
The movie itself is still terrific in its own right, but it was also one of those movies that proved you didn’t need a Hollywood studio, a big budget, or even particularly good judgment about what human beings should be allowed to do with a camera to change horror movies forever. Bruce Campbell’s Ash wasn’t yet the wisecracking, chainsaw-wielding cult hero he’d become in the sequels, but the movie established the franchise’s glorious trademark combination of genuine terror, outrageous gore, and slapstick.
Today's video: Quentin Tarantino talks about the Evil Dead franchise.
Open Letters by Mersault: The Night MAGA Neighbors Came Into My House (Against My Wishes)
Left Jabs: The Courtship of Abdul El-Sayed By, Uh, Fox?
Lawyers, Guns & Money: Department of Grifting Efficiency.
Attention space nerds! Four years ago, NASA punched an asteroid in the face! Europe's Hera probe arrives this month to inspect the wreckage.
Round Up by driftglass of the Professional Left Podcast and Science Fiction University
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