MARIO GAUCI 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.

J D I remember making amateurish home movies with my buddies during our high school years, but young Sam Raimi took it a step further. At 18, he wrote and directed this amazing half-hour short that would, a year later, be remade as The Evil Dead.While its far from a great film, its a truly amazing little gem that has sadly gotten lost in the folds of time. The acting is all right, the cinematography is quite good, and the gory effects are extremely promising. Its no wonder that Raimi and companions were able to take this reel around and secure financing for a full-length version.Sadly, the boys used a bevy of copyrighted music, which kept it from being publicly released for some time. Now, in an age when music could easily be lifted from the feature, Raimi (and his star Bruce Campbell) have made numerous comments that they're happy it is not readily available. To quote an interview, "releasing it would be like showing off our dirty underwear".What they fail to realize is just how much fans of their work want to see this movie in a pristine version - or at least a better version than the one readily available online.Come on Raimi... for those of us who want to see where it all began. Release it already.

Noel (Teknofobe70) 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.

iscream22 This is the short film from the filmakers that made "The Evil Dead". The film is kind of rough, and it doesn't come in that great, and about the only place to find it, is bootlegged on the internet.The story involves college students who take a picnic on an indian burial ground. One of them becomes possessed by a spirit and goes on a murder spree.Very dark and gory.Contains Strong Violence, no nudity though