BLOODvember Day 1: THE EVIL DEAD (1981)

Welcome one, welcome both of you to this first-ever BLOODvember celebration. I thought it might be...fun? Interesting? Something to do?...to spend the month talkin' 'bout some of the horror images I find to be indelible. Please note, the key phrase there is "I find"! Surely some of these will be stone cold classic shots, while others might simply be random images or moments that have stuck in my head like some kind of brain herpes. Aren't you already pumped for this month?? Do you feel like you have the power of 100 energy drinks and/or 100 Dr. Julie Parrishes of television's V coursing through your veins? I know I do! And at my age it's actually a bit dangerous, quite frankly.

On a recent episode of Gaylords of Darkness, Anthony and I talked about Sam Raimi's 1981 film The Evil Dead. I mean, talk about stone cold classics! This movie holds the fuck up. As I mentioned on the show, it's hard for me to be objective about it because it's so deeply ingrained in who I am as a horror fan thanks to watching it so many times in my young adulthood. But hot dang, it remains a startling unique, beyond clever, and terrifying little movie. Yeah, I said it: terrifying. I've seen it too many times to lose sleep over it or some such. But while there are some comedic moments (both intentional and otherwise), The Evil Dead is often called a comedy when in fact it's anything but...and the "Cheryl is possessed" reveal is perhaps its scariest moment.

You know the scene: Linda and Shelly are having fun with a deck of playing cards; Linda tries to guess the card that Shelly's holding and while she always guesses wrong, Shelly always tells her she's guessed correctly. It's funny and really sweet–a nice moment of character building in a film that severely lacks in that department. Behind them, Cheryl faces away, looking out a window. She begins to correctly name the cards Shelly is holding, faster and faster, until there's a big ol' discordant chord of music and she turns around, revealing that she's possessed. It's incredibly well-timed, perfectly shocking, and flat out spine-chilling. It's my favorite moment in a favorite movie.

She's been sitting there possessed the whole time! Yikes...how very unnerving. I guess you never know who around you might be possessed until you see their faces. Be careful out there, folks. One by one they will take you!