The Evil Dead

The Evil Dead (other names: "The Book Of The Dead", "Sam Raimi's The Evil Dead", or "The Evil Dead, the Ultimate Experience in Grueling Terror") is a 1981 horror film directed and written by Sam Raimi, starring Bruce Campbell. It is considered a classic of the genre.

Censorship

Because of its graphic violence, the original version of the movie was banned in several countries, including Finland, Iceland, Ireland and Germany. The "tree rape" scene was also objectionable to some and seen as being misogynist.

Related Topics:
Finland - Iceland - Ireland - Germany - Misogynist

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In Germany, the movie's release was hindered by public authorities for almost 10 years. Original 1982 cinema and video releases of the movie had been seized, making the movie a hit on the black market video circuit, with pirated copies abounding. A heavily edited version was first made available in 1992.

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Several high-profile horror enthusiasts, among them even author Stephen King, publicly criticized the German ban on the movie. In other German language markets, the movie was never restricted from distribution.

Related Topics:
Stephen King - German language

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The first legal uncut version of the movie entered the German market in 2001, on DVD.

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In one scene early in the film, the characters are seen to smoke cannabis. The actors are not genuinely 'high', however one shot had to be abandoned because the actors tried using real cannabis but this caused them to become unpredictable, to say the least.

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In England, the movie was one of the first to be labelled as a video nasty and was only released uncut in 2001.

Related Topics:
Video nasty - 2001

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