Within the Woods

Or more accurately, "Invest In Us...", as that's exactly what this short 30-minute movie was trying to say. This 30-minute concept movie was intended to convince people to loan Raimi and his crew money to make the first "Evil Dead" movie.

We all the know the story by now surely : a bunch of teenagers are staying in a cabin and they awaken an evil curse that tries to kill them all off one by one blah blah blah ... only THIS time, rather than the "Book of the Dead", it is an ancient Indian curse that's causing all the carnage. Fun, huh?

First off, I can't believe that Raimi actually had the nerve to use the words "Ancient Indian Burial Ground" in a horror movie. But that and the vacuum cleaner sound effects aside, this is a great concept movie that showed exactly what it needed to - that Raimi even at that age was a competent director capable of making a successful movie.

There are aspects of this short movie that are present in the later ones, and it is interesting to note these ideas (the follow cam, the banging swing, "Join Us!") and exact sequences such as Linda trying to open the cabin door and the whole three minute "Zombie At The Door" sequence that appear literally shot-for-shot in Evil Dead and Evil Dead 2.

Serious Evil Dead fans should definitely take a look if you ever get the chance.

Two couples are vacationing in a rickety shack deep "Within the Woods". When Bruce and Ellen decide to venture out to have a picnic, they find the worst possible place to roast their weenies. They soon learn that disturbing an ancient Indian burial ground has its price…and they will pay in blood.

Hey, hey you can't really fault the filmmakers for the production. This Super 8 short was put to round up some funding for what would later become "The Evil Dead" (1982). The film itself is actually pretty good with a good atmosphere and music score that punctuate an already creepy cabin and woods. You'll see many a gag and shot that will later be replicated in the official version and let's face it any "Dead" fan has got to see "Within the Woods" for the sheer fun. Word of warning though the short has never gotten an official release (due to music rights issues) it only exists in bootleg form. If you pay for it good luck because you'll get suckered. Downloading is your best bet (it is plenty available on most P2P's) because it always seems to be an 87th generation copy of a 10th generation VHS dupe. Not worth a bloody dime but priceless any other way.

I got my hands on a 30th generation dub of this short. The same plot as Evil Dead, but really really old and simple compared to the first full-length production of Sam Raimi. It's nice and campy, with some really cool camera shots, and it's the perfect length for a short. I enjoyed it, but if you didn't know anything about Evil Dead or Sam Raimi, you would just blow it off. I recommend FINDING A COPY, if you are a fan.

The original half-hour short put together by Sam Raimi and Bruce Campbell, to try to secure funding for their first full-length horror film. Two young couples spend the weekend at a remote farmhouse. As one couple spends an afternoon playing Monopoly, the other (Bruce Campbell and Ellen Sandweiss) goes outside for a picnic. During lunch, Bruce tells Ellen (they stick with their real names) that the land they're on used to be AN INDIAN BURIAL GROUND!! But that although the Indians placed a protection curse, they'll be fine as long as they don't disturb any graves. Then, as Ellen gathers firewood, Bruce wanders off and finds an ancient dagger - which he decides to keep. Events soon take a turn for the worse, and a possessed, mutilated Bruce stalks Ellen, determined to kill her, leading her to seek refuge in the farmhouse...

Eventually, of course, Raimi and Campbell found the money, and went on to make their horror movie - The Evil Dead (along with Sandweiss), using several elements from this film. Attempts to release WTW on home media have always fallen through, and Evil Dead fans who want to see where the idea first came from have to make do with scans of bootleg VHS's (that in themselves look like tenth generation copies). Despite dreadful picture quality near the beginning, occasional picture-roll throughout, excessive darkness, and what looks like 'tracking' issues (remember those?), the performances aren't bad, the effects are serviceable for the time, and the direction and camera work show Raimi's obvious talent. Rating it in it's present condition doesn't seem fair - but if you're an Evil Dead fan it's definitely worth a look.

Haha, one of my favourite shorts! a 30 minute short with just 4 actors turns out to be a classic Art-house presentation of what would become the evil dead series.

Highly recommended if you can find a copy, i saw this long ago.

9/10