10 Weaknesses Of Great Horror Films

There is a case to be made for The Evil Dead being considered the superior film over the more polisehed, larger-than-life Evil Dead II. There's something undeniably charming and enjoyable about watching what is so clearly just a group of friends renting some equipment, goofing around with fake blood and questionable special effects make-up, and having a blast on camera. Even as The Evil Dead continues to age, it will always be the horror movie equivalent of a warm hug for that exact reason. It's a horror lover's comfort food.

As wonderful as the film is, to say that its characters are nothing special would be a valid observation. An unrelenting bloodbath such as The Evil Dead is hardly expected to be a character-driven piece, but it's certainly a weakness. It is perfectly understandable that the eager young filmmakers would have their focus entirely on orchestrating the demonic carnage - that's what we came for. None of this lot have much in the way of distinguishing traits: Cheryl has weak nerves, Scott is a bit of an a***hole, and that's pretty the extent of the characterisation in this film.

Even Ash is largely without character. In Evil Dead II, we are treated to seeing the iconic, chainsaw-wielding, one-liner-spouting bad ass that we all know and love being moulded over the course of the film. In the original, he's just some guy (well, as close to "just some guy" as Bruce Campbell is capable of playing). Of course, The Evil Dead is played very straight as opposed to the comedic detour of later entries in the franchise, so having Ash turn full-on 'action hero' isn't appropriate, but he at least should have experienced a degree of that growth in the original.