The Evil Dead

Five friends, a cabin, a Book of the Dead and a tape recorder, and Sam Raimi turning a tiny budget into pure kinetic aggression. The camera flies through the woods, the gore escalates past sense, and the whole thing is shot with an energy that reads now as the debut of a major talent.

It was prosecuted as a video nasty in Britain, which is absurd, because underneath the splatter it is basically a very violent cartoon. Bruce Campbell's Ash has not yet become a comedian, but you can see it coming.

Relentless, inventive, and made by people who clearly could not be stopped.