A Bloody Good Time: 'Evil Dead'

| Print Post This | Like (2) | Comments (0)

JUST IN TIME for Halloween, Landless Theatre Company mounts a production of the finest horror movie ever made. We are speaking, of course, of 1981's "Evil Dead."

Five college students decide to take a weekend vacation at a cabin in the woods, which turns out to be possessed by evil spirits who take over their bodies. Leading man Ash (Clay Comer) manages to stay alive with the help of a chain saw and a shotgun, with no help from his newly zombified girlfriend (Natalie Pyle) and sister (Karissa Swanigan).

The musical adaptation stays faithful to Sam Raimi's movies (it encompasses the plots of "Evil Dead" and "Evil Dead 2," a far superior film), adding only cheerful pastiche songs and a startling number of puns. The plot might not make sense if you've never seen the films, but (a it doesn't make much sense anyway, and (b WHAT IS WRONG WITH YOU? Why haven't you seen "Evil Dead"?

Sigh. Anyway, the musical takes the recognizable set and plot trappings of Raimi's movie and makes them even more cartoonish, creating a veritable "You're a Dead Man, Charlie Brown."

Comer's heroic, stentorian Ash is the highlight of the production. He may yet do for the eyebrow what original "Evil Dead" star Bruce Campbell has done for the chin.

» D.C. Arts Center, 2438 18th St. NW; through Nov. 1, $25; 202-462-7833, Landlesstheatrecompany.org. (Woodley Park-Zoo)

Written by Express contributor Roxana Hadadi
Photo courtesy Landless Theatre Company