S4E2. JOIN US: The Evil Dead (1981)

In 1983* Sam Raimi and Co. took the horror world by the neck and shook it until it begged for mercy. The Evil Dead caught the attention of Stephen King at the 1982 Cannes Film Festival and his pull-quote, "The most ferociously original horror film of 1982," placed it on every genre fan's must-watch list. Coverage from Fangoria, along with great notice from a string of festival appearances, helped solidify its notoriety.

Made on a shoe-string budget in the woods of Tennessee by a bunch of friends from Michigan, the movie was an exercise not only in scares and gore, but in moxie and gumption. Before the film was even begun the trio of Sam Raimi, Bruce Campbell, and Rob Tapert formed Renaissance Pictures and took the business side of low-budget films seriously. They produced an instant classic that has withstood the test of time and spawned a franchise that has lasted 35 years.

Ash, his sister Cheryl, his girlfriend Linda, and they're friends Scott and Shelly take a little vacation to a dilapidated backwoods cabin and accidentally summon demonic forces. By the end of the night only Ash survives. Or does he? The Evil Dead may be short on story but it's long on dread, gore, and inventive film-making. Whether you're a die-hard fan of the original, like me, or a lover of the "better in every way" requel, like my guest, or even if you prefer Army of Darkness for some reason, you'll find something to like in this episode. Heck, I even like the 2010 reboot!

For this episode I am once again joined by Mike White from The Projection Booth Podcast. As mentioned in the episode you can also listen to Mike, along with Chris Stachiw, jaw on about Barney Miller and '85 Twilight Zone. And here's a video about the "Bollywood Evil Dead" Mike mentioned in the episode. Enjoy!

Where to watch • IMDb listing • Wikipedia page

*The date of The Evil Dead is a bit confusing. The copyright date, which is what I'm using, is 1981. The film wasn't officially released until 1983. It played Cannes, and other festivals, during 1982.

WUH: Stephen King 1984-87

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Were there signs of King slowing down over the next four years? Heck no! Remember what I said about 1980-83 being over saturated? Well that may have been premature. King published six novels, one novella, one collection of short stories, and the Bachman book Thinner. The previous four Bachman books were also re-released as an omnibus, which we will get to in time.

Eight movies were released during this time with many of them being adaptations of short stories, or novellas. I.e. Hollywood was really digging deep to provide movie goers with their King fix, but they were mining some of the lesser works.

Of the books published during that time these titles have been brought to the screen: Cycle of the Werewolf as Silver Bullet (1985) IT (1990 & 2017/2019), and Misery (1990). The Talisman is currently in the development stage, and Hulu is supposedly bringing The Eyes of the Dragon to their platform as a series.

My interest in King may have started to wane during these years, but, like so many of the things that brought me great pleasure when I was young, my love for all things King has returned with renewed fervor.

• Where to watch: Silver Bullet, It (1990), It (2017), It Chapter Two (2019), Misery
• IMDb listing: Silver Bullet, It (1990), It (2017), It Chapter Two (2019), Misery
• Wikipedia page: Silver Bullet, It (1990), It (2017), It Chapter Two (2019), Misery

WUH: Stephen King 1980-83

The years 1980 through 1983 might possibly be the most over-saturated in terms of Stephen King output. During this time five novels were published and five movies were released, and if you didn't know who King was you must have been living under a (Castle) rock. Ha ha. And lest we forget we also got the collection Different Seasons, as well as two novels published as Richard Bachman: Roadwork and The Running Man. That's EIGHT books in three years people!!

To one extent or another all of the books published in those years have been adapted to screen: Firestarter (1984), Cujo (1983), The Dark Tower (2017), Christine (1983), and Pet Sematary (1989). Three of the stories from Different Seasons have been adapted, with the fourth ("The Breathing Method") due in 2020, AS WELL AS the Bachman books The Running Man (1987) and Roadwork forecast from the producers of IT.

1983 was pure King Heaven for this 14 year old, with the acquisition of my first hardcover and seeing a King film in the theater for the first time. And to this day the books and movies from this time period are among my favorite horror stories, not just of King's but in general.

• Where to watch: Firestarter • Cujo • The Dark Tower • Christine • Pet Sematary
• IMDb listing: Firestarter • Cujo • The Dark Tower • Christine • Pet Sematary
• Wikipedia page: Firestarter • Cujo • The Dark Tower • Christine • Pet Sematary