Raimi's Super-8 precursor to his cult debut feature THE EVIL DEAD (1983) is an amateurish half-hour piece about a geeky young man (the ubiquitous Bruce Campbell) coming under the influence of an Indian graveyard in the woods. A picnic with his girlfriend turns sour as he goes missing and then reappears as a zombie and attacks the young woman; his onslaught is unrelenting even after she reaches a cabin in the woods. The first half of this is pretty deadly (especially given the poor state of the footage) but the latter scenes involve some decent action and suspense – already showcasing the director's fondness for over-the-top gore effects. All things considered, a definite curio but not really worth more than a cursory viewing.
Review of Within the Woods
