Billed as the ultimate experience in gruelling horror, The Evil Dead is the Velvet Underground of horror flicks everyone who sees it wants to make their own zombie movie. It was a very different story in 1982, when self-appointed moral guardian Mary Whitehouse singled out Sam Raimis movie as the number one Video Nasty before admitting shed never seen it or any of the other movies on the DPP list. The film was prosecuted for obscenity, a case that was thrown out of court in November 1984. None of which mattered because the film could not legally be shown in its entirety until 2000, prompting fans to rely either on the heavily edited 1992 home video release or bootleg copies. This all contributed to the films mystique, which perhaps explains its enduring appeal.
Ian Watson is the author of 'Midnight Movie Madness', a 600+ page guide to "bad" movies from 'Reefer Madness' to 'Poultrygeist: Night of the Chicken Dead.'
