Ellen manages to trap Bruce outside, stabbing Bruce's hand several times in the process. While horrified, Ellen is then attacked by the possessed Bruce. Something attempts to enter the room where Ellen is hiding, and she blindly lashes out with a knife - mistakenly stabbing Scotty who had just returned to the cabin. Shelly walks outside to begin a search for the missing men, but a possessed Bruce assaults and strangles her, eventually stabbing her in the neck and killing her with the dagger that he found, moaning "join us."Įllen encounters her possessed friend and flees into another room, grabbing knives to protect her. Shelly and Ellen are concerned when Scotty doesn't return right away. Ellen tells her friends that Bruce has been murdered, but Scotty dismisses the whole thing as a joke and goes to find Bruce. She runs back to the cabin and screams to be let in immediately, being let in just as the entity is approaching her. While fleeing, she is attacked by unseen forces. She is then startled by the presence of a demonic entity hiding within the woods, and quickly runs back to the cabin. To her horror, she finds Bruce's dead body, horribly mutilated with apparent knife wounds. When she awakes, she finds Bruce missing and wanders into the woods looking for him. Ignoring his own advice, he takes the dagger with him.Īfter lunch, Ellen takes a nap. Bruce then explores the area and discovers an ancient dagger belonging to the Indians. Ellen is concerned, but Bruce assures her that they will be fine as long as they don't disturb the graves of the dead. During their lunch, Bruce announces to Ellen that they're camping on an Indian burial ground. The other couple, Scotty and Shelly, remain at the cabin playing Monopoly to pass time. Ellen and her boyfriend Bruce enter the woods to have a picnic lunch.
An unseen force stalks and watches the group without their knowledge. Two romantic couples, consisting of four teenagers, decide to spend a weekend together located in a remote cabin found in the woods.
Several of the aesthetic qualities found in Within the Woods later defined Raimi's films. The film was the first in the Evil Dead franchise, and launched the careers of both Bruce Campbell and Sam Raimi.
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). Raimi convinced a local theater manager to screen the film alongside The Rocky Horror Picture Show, which sparked minor interest. The film centers around demonic possession and mysterious forces originating from the woods. Several of the special effects presented in the film were done in a severely low budget manner, some of which were improvised on set. Shot on location in a remote cabin in the woods, production was a difficult process because of the low budget. Raimi cast his friends Bruce Campbell and Ellen Sandweiss as the two protagonists and produced the film for $1,600. 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. Within the Woods is a 1978 horror short film written, directed and produced by Sam Raimi.