A different time.
The new TV series of The Evil Dead has been earning rave reviews and positive word of mouth in the US which is a drastic change to what greeted Sam Raimi when the original film was released in 1981.
It wasn’t an army of Deadities that stopped Ash from feeling groovy about Irish audiences but rather some strict censorship that banned the horror-comedy classic. The seminal film is just one of many other notable movies that were banned or heavily cut before being released in Irish theaters.
Here are some notable others.
A Clockwork Orange
Plot: In future Britain, charismatic delinquent Alex DeLarge is jailed and volunteers for an experimental aversion therapy developed by the government in an effort to solve society’s crime problem – but not all goes according to plan.
Reason most likely: Rampant violence and hooks in eyes.
Monty Python’s Life of Brian
Plot: Brian is born on the original Christmas, in the stable next door. He spends his life being mistaken for a messiah.
Reason most likely: Down with this sort of thing! Blasphemy! Maybe they should just look on the bright side of life?
Natural Born Killers
Plot: Two victims of traumatized childhoods become lovers and psychopathic serial murderers irresponsibly glorified by the mass media.
Reason most likely: Because TV will ultimately turn us all into mindless zombies that slavishly mimic the violence that we see on a daily basis. We’re also incapable of understanding satire or sarcasm. D’uh!
The Evil Dead
Plot: Five friends travel to a cabin in the woods, where they unknowingly release flesh-possessing demons.
Reason most likely: The tree sequence pushes the boundaries but I maintain that this film is bloody hilarious in how OTT it is.
From Dusk till Dawn
Plot: Two criminals and their hostages unknowingly seek temporary refuge in an establishment populated by vampires, with chaotic results.
Reason most likely: Is it Cheech Marin’s speech outside of the Titty Twister, the orgy of violence that follows soon after or the fact that they just couldn’t stand to see George Clooney in a role outside of ER?
Fantasia
Plot: A collection of animated interpretations of great works of Western classical music.
Reason most likely: To be fair, those multiplying Mickey’s are terrifying. There’s a way to make that sentence seem rude.
Rosemary’s Baby
Plot: A young couple move into an apartment, only to be surrounded by peculiar neighbors and occurrences.
Reason most likely: Those dream sequences are the best bet. It’s still a horror masterpiece that should never have been censored.
The Hills Have Eyes
Plot: On the way to California, a family has the misfortune to have their car break down in an area closed to the public, and inhabited by violent savages ready to attack.
Reason most likely: Just one of the more memorable ‘video nasties’ like Cannibal Holocaust and Meet the Feebles that fell foul of the censors.
The Graduate
Plot: A disillusioned college graduate finds himself torn between his older lover and her daughter.
Reason most likely: It was released in Irish cinemas but only after 11 cuts. Maybe they didn’t want to be seduced.
The Texas Chainsaw Massacre
Plot: Five friends visiting their grandfather’s house in the country are hunted and terrorized by a chain-saw wielding killer and his family of grave-robbing cannibals.
Reason most likely: A simpler time that didn’t appreciate the scarier things in life, like people being impaled on meat hooks. Sad news this week but RIP Gunnar Hansen, he played Leatherface in the original.
Porky’s
Plot: Set in 1954, a group of Florida high schoolers seek out to help a buddy lose his virginity, which leads them to seek revenge on a sleazy nightclub owner and his redneck sheriff brother for harassing them.
Reason most likely: Clearly not fans of Kim Cattrall. Sex and the City should have been banned though.
The Passion of St. Tibulus
Plot: Condemned by the Pope as “blasphemous” and banned everywhere else for being “a type of nudie thing”, it somehow managed to be shown on Craggy Island because of an unknown loophole. Despite Father Ted and Dougal’s protests, they even came from Gdansk to see the film.
Reason most likely: That’s not a banana.
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