Sypnosis: Two couples go to a farmhouse for the weekend. One couple goes out for a picnic and accidentally wake evil spirits. Will they survive Within the Woods?
Within the Woods(1978) was, as mentioned above, a damn good little film. Sam Raimi definitely knew where he was going with this when he directed it. Bruce Campbell, of course, delivers, (he never did make a bad performance, did he? I mean, he's the only reason to watch Herbie the love bug and Congo...) and Ellen Sandweiss is believable as the tormented Ellen. Scott Spiegel and Mary Valenti perform to the extent of their roles. (I.E. cannon fodder...) It was shot with approximatively 1,600$ of budget in a three day weekend in Michigan. It premiered in August 1979 at the Punch and Judy theatre in Detroit double-billed with the Rocky Horror Picture Show (1975)
The good: This movie heralds the birth of the Evil Force, a Raimi horror staple, along with his crazy camera movements. The makeup by Tom Sullivan is great for a first feature and the film has enough gory moments in the latter half. The film was so intense, that even if the super-8 projector filled a 1/4 of the screen, the audience actually reacted to it!
The bad: No available copy (excluding of course Raimi's and Campbell's) has high quality or sound and is hard as all hell to find. Let's hope some day Anchor Bay closes the deal to release this little gem.
Review: 5/5
Within the Woods(1978) was, as mentioned above, a damn good little film. Sam Raimi definitely knew where he was going with this when he directed it. Bruce Campbell, of course, delivers, (he never did make a bad performance, did he? I mean, he's the only reason to watch Herbie the love bug and Congo...) and Ellen Sandweiss is believable as the tormented Ellen. Scott Spiegel and Mary Valenti perform to the extent of their roles. (I.E. cannon fodder...) It was shot with approximatively 1,600$ of budget in a three day weekend in Michigan. It premiered in August 1979 at the Punch and Judy theatre in Detroit double-billed with the Rocky Horror Picture Show (1975)
The good: This movie heralds the birth of the Evil Force, a Raimi horror staple, along with his crazy camera movements. The makeup by Tom Sullivan is great for a first feature and the film has enough gory moments in the latter half. The film was so intense, that even if the super-8 projector filled a 1/4 of the screen, the audience actually reacted to it!
The bad: No available copy (excluding of course Raimi's and Campbell's) has high quality or sound and is hard as all hell to find. Let's hope some day Anchor Bay closes the deal to release this little gem.
Review: 5/5