The Evil Dead (1981)

Director: Sam Raimi
Stars: Bruce Campbell, Ellen Sandweiss, Richard DeManicor, Betsy Baker, Theresa Tilly

Sam Raimi’s The Evil Dead isn’t simply a rollercoaster ride of a movie—it’s that flying-off-the-rails coaster from the beginning of Final Destination 3. Out of control from beginning to end, the future Spider-Manfranchise director’s low-budgeted first effort is the purveyor of horror’s “cabin in the woods” template.

A group of numb-skulled innocents head to a secluded, wooded crib, find an ancient Necronomicon text (a.k.a. the book of the dead), and unleash a string of demonic possessions, bodily dismemberments, and gory slapstick comedy. It’s an absolute blast.