The Evil Dead

If you want a drama that takes its characters as seriously as its plot, The Evil Dead is available in the US on HBO Max Amazon Channel and Philo, and in the UK on Sky Go right now. It knows exactly what kind of film it is from the opening scene, and never loses that thread. With 4,554 viewer ratings on TMDB, this is not a title flying under the radar. Bruce Campbell's performance alone is worth the time investment. Put it on tonight on HBO Max Amazon Channel and see for yourself.

The Evil Dead is not trying to be everything to everyone, and that focus is exactly what makes it work. The Evil Dead takes its time building the world its characters inhabit, and the patience pays off. In 1979, a group of college students find a Sumerian Book of the Dead in an old wilderness cabin they've rented for a weekend getaway. Bruce Campbell and Ellen Sandweiss lead a cast doing genuinely serious work here. It hit screens in 1981. The performances in The Evil Dead do a lot of work in the silences between the dialogue. It delivers reliably on what it promises, which is more than most of its competition manages.

The Evil Dead is what you recommend to people who say they do not really watch much. It has built its own audience without needing a direct comparison. Best experienced as a single, sustained watch from start to finish. Bruce Campbell is the centre of it, and it is one of their strongest performances on record. The patience it asks of you early on is paid back with interest.