The Evil Dead

Director Sam Raimi burst onto the horror scene with this crude cult favourite that's short on story but long on excessive gore and innovative camerawork (future director Joel Coen was the assistant editor). An evil force tries to destroy five friends on vacation in a backwoods cabin when they discover an ancient Sumerian Book of the Dead. Cue all manner of vicious zombies, giggling ghouls and hideous demons going overboard in a relentless blood-splattering, pus-spurting attack. The only way to kill them is to hack them to pieces, so sit back and watch the body parts and viscera fly in this essential 1980s horror.