darkman (1990)

"What is it about the dark? What secret does it hold?"
Peyton Westlake (Liam Neeson) is a scientist who has discovered a process to make synthetic skin. Unfortunately the skin degrades after 100 minutes in daylight. Then Peyton is attacked by gangsters and is left for dead, horrifically burnt. Once recovered and hideously scared Peyton wants revenge, and he converts into Darkman. Using his synthetic skin he is able to take on the appearance of anyone and is impervious to pain. But he still cannot last longer than 100 minutes in any disguise.
An original comic creation by Raimi has more depth than most, and is thus more interesting, but the complexity of Peyton Westlake and the sadistic pleasure he takes in torturing his victims make him less sympathetic as a character. His motivations point towards the more recent Batman, but at the time was a step to far for most

drag me to hell (2009)

"Soon it will be you who will come begging to me."
1969 and a child steals a necklace from some gypsies, is dragged to hell as a consequence and the woman who was trying to protect him vows revenge. Cut to modern day LA and Christine (Alison Lohman) is a bank worker who is desperate to get the promotion that is in the offing. To show her ability to make tough decisions she turns down an old gypsy woman for a re-mortgage, humiliating her in the process. She is later confronted by the woman and she curses Christine. Christine on a whim consults a fortune teller, and he tells her that Lamia, the Black Goat is pursuing her...but should she believe him?
A wonderfully realised chiller where faith the fates and spiritualism are intertwined.

crimewave (1985)

Vic Ajax (Reed Birney) is a nerdish character on his way to the electric chair recounts the events that led him there. It involves a pair of hitmen (Brion James & Paul L Smith) who kill the owner of a security company that Vic works for. Meanwhile Ajax is trying to impress Nancy (Sheree J Wilson) a woman who lives in the building he is a security guard for, but she only has eyes for Ronaldo (Bruce Campbell), an absolute heel. Soon their lives will intertwine when the hitmen notice someone in Vic's building has spotted their actions. A cartoonish and slapstick comedy horror co-written with the Coen Brothers. This merges the comedy of the Coens with the slapstick and horror of Raimi. The over the top gurning and slapstick does wear thin after a while, but this is still an enjoyable film, if watched in the right way.

evil dead III: army of darkness (1993)

aka Army of Darkness: The Medieval Dead. Captain Supermarket. Army of Darkness.
The third of the trilogy sees Ash as an out and out hero transported back in time to fight the deadites in medieval England. But first he needs to put an end to the civil war and unite the two factions to fight their common enemy. Only then can he try and return to the present.
Like Evil Dead II, this brings yet more humour, mostly slapstick humour to the story, rather than the out and out gore of the previous. This is more of a comic-book version of the story, especially when he meets and fights the army of the dead. It starts off well, but the more comic it gets the less its appeal, and whilst still a great film, it fails to match up to the previous installments. Watch it as a comic horror and you'll love it, but if you expect another gorefest like the Evil Dead then you'll likely leave disapointed.

evil dead II (1987)

aka Evil Dead 2: Dead by Dawn.
Ash (Bruce Campbell) takes his girlfriend to a backwoods cabin, and finding a professor's tape recorded translation of the Book of the Dead, unleashes some evil spirits. He's soon fighting his girlfriend and once she's dispatched, the spirits within himself. His hand becoming a truly original and comic creation! Then four strangers turn up including the professor's daughter. Who will survive, or will they all be 'dead by dawn'?
A sequel come remake of The Evil Dead, its an obviously slicker and more expensive affair, but retains its cheap credentials, still making use of the stop motion creatures of the first. The additions are in the character of Ash, who has developed a wickedly black humour and some great one liners. He's also developed his use of tools in defeating the deadites. This makes for a more fulfilling film than the first, which was a much more straight up horror. In this version Ash is more rounded and he's grown into the role of hero, all be it a cowardly one. It also sets us up nicely for Evil Dead III: Army of Darkness.

evil dead (1981)

aka Book of the Dead. Into The Woods. Sam Raimi's The Evil Dead. The Evil Dead, the Ultimate Experience in Grueling Horror.
Five friends holiday in a backwoods cabin. Unfortunately there is a malevolent spirit loose in the woods, which they unleash when they find the Necronomicon, (a book of the dead), and its translation. One by one, they succumb to the evil, leaving one trying to survive till morning.
Once the action gets going this is a truly harrowing, and completely unrelenting horror. But it also knows how to relieve the tension with some deeply black humour. The film became one of the original video nasties, it features the notorious tree rape scene, that viewed now is far less harrowing than in 1981. This is a masterclass in how to make an effective horror with little money.