Did The Evil Dead (1981) lose its impact?
 

I was reading an article about censorship in Germany, and after 30 years Raimi's The Evil Dead (1981) was taken off the index of forbidden/banned movies.
After a reevaluation German courts don't think The Evil Dead is harmful to minors anymore, like it apparently was 30 years ago. The uncut version of The Evil Dead is now rated "16" which is equal to a PG-13 rating.
I should note that German censors never had issues with swear words or most sexual/nude content. They used to be very strict when it came to onscreen violence, especially movies that glorify violence.

This got me thinking. Would The Evil Dead still be slapped with an "X" rating in America if they did a re-rating?

Re: Did The Evil Dead (1981) lose its impact?
 

I saw it for the first time just a couple years ago. I didn't even realize it was rated X/NC-17. I imagine it would probably get an R if it were re-rated today.

Re: Did The Evil Dead (1981) lose its impact?
 

No, it'd be R. Hell, they could probably air it uncut on basic cable these days and still sell advertising.

Re: Did The Evil Dead (1981) lose its impact?
 

When compared to the nastiness of stuff like A Serbian Film & Martyrs, it has lost its impact.

Re: Did The Evil Dead (1981) lose its impact?
 

No it has not lost any impact.

A Serbian Film & Martyrs are two of the most absurd fucking films ever made.

Re: Did The Evil Dead (1981) lose its impact?
 

That tree branch rape is as "impactful" as ever!

Re: Did The Evil Dead (1981) lose its impact?
 

Martyrs is phenomenal.

Re: Did The Evil Dead (1981) lose its impact?
 

The Evil Dead will never lose its impact on me.

1982 or so, I'm a super shy high schooler working at McDonalds, just beginning to get the nerve to flirt with girls. This cute blonde and I start working the drive-thru together a lot and next thing I know I'm taking her to her prom. She's into me but I'm just incapable of closing the deal. We go to Blockbuster to rent a movie after the prom and I suggest we rent this little indie horror film everyone's talking about.

Not too long after the infamous tree scene our dating history ends.

Re: Did The Evil Dead (1981) lose its impact?
 

Speaking as someone who saw it for the first time in the late nineties in my late teens/early twenties, I can respect what it's was going for and what it meant at the time, but the hokiness of the effects completely offset any of the scares.

That said, even if it was made more realistic effects, there's absolutely nothing in the film that earns an X rating, by modern standards.

Re: Did The Evil Dead (1981) lose its impact?
 

I agree about those two films.

When I first saw Evil Dead 35 years ago I was creeped out. Watched it last year and unlike Texas Chainsaw Massacre or The Exorcist, for me it has lost its impact.

Re: Did The Evil Dead (1981) lose its impact?
 

The German court explained that the act of violence against zombies with "laughable make up" is not a violation of the penal code's paragraph 131.

Basically the court thinks the hokiness of Evil Dead is not a threat anymore by modern standards.

Re: Did The Evil Dead (1981) lose its impact?
 

I like Martyrs, but A Serbian Film is one of the biggest pieces of shit I have ever seen. And I haven't seen Evil Dead...yet.

Re: Did The Evil Dead (1981) lose its impact?
 

I can't remember when I first saw Evil Dead (but it was way after seeing the amazing Evil Dead II), but I do remember appreciating that it tried to be frightening compared to the sequel, but that effort was undercut by a lot of silly looking effects and cheap production. There's no way it would have much impact on a modern viewer, besides explosive laughter.

Re: Did The Evil Dead (1981) lose its impact?
 

For those who think Martyrs is absurd, just give the American remake a try . . . -rolleyes-

Re: Did The Evil Dead (1981) lose its impact?
 

Maybe lost a little if we're talking about gore and scares. I didn't see it till around 2000 (nearly ten years after Army of Darkness 20+ times). So, like The Exorcist, the horror conventions changed. What was scary at one time can be hilarious now. The Ring is relatively recent (oh God I'm getting old) and has become kind of a joke. That had some EddieMoney pants-shitting scares when it was released.

My opinion is that genre movies lose effectiveness after they are deconstructed into comedy. Especially true for horror movies, because their goal is to elicit a specific feeling. Once a horror trope or convention is deconstructed and in the public consciousness, filmmakers should give up on it and find something else.

To me, Evil Dead is just a lot of fun. And Ash VS Evil Dead is top tier TV. Which makes the original three movies as good as ever.

Re: Did The Evil Dead (1981) lose its impact?
 

this is true, I saw The Ring in the theater in 2002 and had to throw my underwear away when I went for a popcorn refill

Re: Did The Evil Dead (1981) lose its impact?
 

Don't blame it on the movie, that was the White Castle and Mad Dog 20/20 you snuck into the theatre that did it.

Re: Did The Evil Dead (1981) lose its impact?
 

That would explain why my colon was expelled into the toilet bowl

Re: Did The Evil Dead (1981) lose its impact?
 

I think a lot depends on when you saw a particular movie and how old and impressionable you were at the time.

Another factor seems to be whether you saw a film (first-run) in the theatre or not.

I saw the Evil Dead on video in 1985 when I was twelve and yeah, it scared me.

Pet Semetary in the theatre creeped me out as well.

I actually watched "The Ring" for the first time the other night on Blu-ray and it's still very effective and scary even though there have been countless movies very similar to it since 2002.

Re: Did The Evil Dead (1981) lose its impact?
 

I saw The Evil Dead for the first time about six months ago. It was a reasonably competent movie, low budget, and nothing special. The tree rape scene was creepy. I don't remember much else about it.

Its plot hung together a lot better than that of Phantasm, which I saw the next week. The only thing that had was a good villain.

Re: Did The Evil Dead (1981) lose its impact?
 

Evil Dead was great except for that stupid little magnifying glass and the shitty claymation at the end.

Re: Did The Evil Dead (1981) lose its impact?
 

I first saw Evil Dead as a teenager, watching it on VHS on a dying TV. The TV I was watching it on was on its last legs, so the image was very dark. The tree scene was barely discernable. The result? I think the movie's low budget effects benefited from being hidden by the dark picture, and I found the movie incredibly scary.

Years later, on a bright TV via bluray? Not nearly as effective.

Re: Did The Evil Dead (1981) lose its impact?
 

The Exorcist. That sealed the deal with the gal I was dating. And it was her suggestion to watch it on Valentine's Day! :lol:

Re: Did The Evil Dead (1981) lose its impact?
 

I suppose it has lost impact, but what I think it (and other movies of that era) have really lost is context. People today don't understand the concept of a world without home video, streaming, and mega-multiplexes.

Re: Did The Evil Dead (1981) lose its impact?
 

Yes it is. Still need to see how horrible that remake it, but the original is so disturbing and so well done.

Why would The Evil Dead be remotely considered for X/NC-17 rating?