Within the Woods (1978)

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Avg Rating: 4.4 / 5. Voted: 22

No one cared thus far. Do you?


AKA:
Directed by: Sam Raimi
Starring: Bruce Campbell (Bruce), Ellen Sandweiss (Ellen), Scott Spiegel (Scotty), Mary Valenti (Shelly)
Country: USA; Effed Up American Movies
Language: English (Optional Eng Subs)
Runtime: 00:30:37
Genres: Barely visible, so not worth slotting into categories

About:
The short film made by Sam Raimi to raise a budget for Evil Dead. This is barely visible but also features Bruce Campbell and Ellen Sandweiss (who plays his girlfriend here). Similar premise – friends out in the woods. This time though, it’s an Indian burial ground that Bruce knows a lot about. He talks about the dangers of desecrating the place and then promptly goes and digs around, unleashing demonic forces.

There’s not much else similar apart from the opening shot, the pleas to Join Us, stabbing a hand trapped by a door and a ghoul severing its own hand.

There’s one scene here though of the humor that can be found in inadvertent cruelty to a friend while in panic – and you wonder why that went missing from Evil Dead.

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James Leroy Anderson
James Leroy Anderson
April 12, 2023 12:30 am

Within the Woods is a 1978 horror short film written, directed and produced by Sam Raimi. Raimi drew inspiration from his earlier short film Clockwork, deciding to produce a proof of concept horror film to help build the interest of potential investors. Raimi cast his friends Bruce Campbell and Ellen Sandweiss as the two protagonists and produced the film for $1,600. Shot on location in a remote cabin in the woods, production was a difficult process because of the low budget. Several of the special effects presented in the film were done in a severely low budget manner, some of which were improvised on set. The film centers around demonic possession and mysterious forces originating from the woods.
Raimi convinced a local theater manager to screen the film alongside The Rocky Horror Picture Show, which sparked minor interest. Initially a meagre success, the film screened well to test audiences and inspired a larger budget remake directed by Raimi, called The Evil Dead (1981). The film was the first in the Evil Dead franchise, and launched the careers of both Bruce Campbell and Sam Raimi. Several of the aesthetic qualities found in Within the Woods later defined Raimi’s films.

James Leroy Anderson
James Leroy Anderson
April 11, 2023 12:44 pm

Join us!

GoreBeast
GoreBeast
April 9, 2023 8:27 pm

You would think with all the money and clout Sam Raimi has nowadays, he could hammer out whatever licensing issues that need to be worked out, and give this a remastered proper release, as like a supplement to a special edition release of Evil Dead.

AlfredoGarcia
AlfredoGarcia
December 29, 2022 6:04 pm

Enjoyed this despite the quality (almost enjoyed Bot Pres’s dissertation on the dangers of washing machines more) but wanted to point out that the snippet of music you hear at the very end is from Tangerine Dream’s incredible score for William Friedkin’s incredible film SORCERER.

your bot president
your bot president
August 6, 2022 2:48 pm

gross feeling stomach
slight temperature sweat
bandcamp farforovyekoty sight

Hey admin
thanks for this treat
within the woods
watching the movie made me feel like
I was stuck in a washing machine

Getting stuck in a washing machine
is not a matter to take lightly

Operating a washing machine while under the influence
of alcohol or drugs can lead to getting stuck.
You could be in there trying to fix something
while loaded and you accidentally lock yourself in

Some washing machines automatically lock
once the washing cycle begins

By the way, do washing machines ‘eat’ socks?
You may decide to go in there to look for
your favorite socks then accidentally lock yourself in

Surviving in a washing machine is a 50/50 debate

Some washing machines spin at 1000 RPM or more
and a machine that spins that quickly with
a radius large enough for a person to fit inside would
be exposed to enough g-force to actually harm or kill

In a top-loading machine, it fills with water
as per cycle then it tries to agitate with
the water and potentially soap.
You would become so wet and soapy
but still kinda breathe.
The spin cycle gets you really dizzy
then you get rinsed

With a side-loading machine,
he would likely have a horrible experience.
He would be tumbled in the wet dark soapy water
and have difficulties in breathing.
It can cause a lot of severe harm and zero benefits

Gustavo
Gustavo
August 5, 2022 12:10 pm

Muito bom !!

[swe]nekrofil
[swe]nekrofil
August 2, 2022 9:21 am

Nice too see this one finally, too bad about the quality though