It's hard to see any effort in the film. There's no comedy to speak of, no real drama and, worst of all.

To all those who have watched it: I hope you enjoyed it as much as I do.

Good films always raise compelling questions, whether the format is fiction or documentary fact.

The film never slows down or bores, plunging from one harrowing sequence to the next.

This half hour is an 1978 horror movie written and directed by Sam Raimi. You will find quite a few parallels to the filmmaker's "Evil Dead" movies which came out shortly later. The most astonishing thing about this short film is probably that Raimi was only 18 or 19 when he made it. A really good effort for that age. Today, he is mostly known for the "Spider Man" trilogy, but there is a lot more to his body of work and it looks like he is going to stay faithful to his early works with a new "Evil Dead" television serious about to be released. Anyway, back to this short movie. Many of the actors in here also appeared in the "Evil Dead" series and Campbell is going to be in Raimi's new series as well. But it's not just brainless horror. There is actually a feeling of loss when the girl in here in the last scene fights against the evil zombie who once was somebody very close to her. I quite enjoyed watching this one and recommend it and this is even higher to acknowledge as I am usually not too big on horror films. Thumbs up for "Within the Woods".

This short film was mostly made to show the Investors what kind of feature length horror film to what Sam Raimi and his friends are trying to make. it went on to premiere in front of "The Rocky Horror Picture Show" that was playing in Detroit, most of the audience really loved the short film but, it wasn't a commercially success. Sam Raimi went to Approaching several investors in order to make his feature length horror entitled,"The Evil Dead." The plot of the film is the same as the movies teens hang out in the woods and get pick off by the spirit and demons one by one. The quality of the short film is pretty bad looking, it's kind of hard to see, which it's understandable because, it was shot in a super 8 camera. There are parts in the film that will later be recycle in the other films, that you will recognize. the Necronomicon book is not in this film instead is a dagger. the only actors that appear in "The Evil Dead" are Bruce Campbell and Ellen Sandweiss, the difference in the film is Bruce in the short film is Possess by the spirit and Ellen is the hero but,in the movie Ellen gets Possess by the spirit and Bruce is the hero. Not really a big fan of the music, i just find the music not scary and also, there is one music piece that came from "Jaws." I personally find the short film not scary at all but, i got to give it credit for helping Sam and his friends to Make one of the best horror films ever made.

given the budget, and terrible quality in which i viewed this, i gave it a generous 7. either way, sam raimi already showed great skill with a very minimal approach at creating suspense, and terror in this short.. the camera moving through the woods towards the character, ala evil dead, and the minimal soundtrack enhance it all. not giving a long detailed review here, but if you are a big fan of the evil dead, and horror in general, this is WELL worth a look.. for all its "amateurness" this really shows some fantastic promise, which is obviously why raimi is where he is today. it goes to show how even with a minimal approach in both plot, and dialogue, through effective use of music, and incredibly inventive camera work, you can create the atmosphere you are going for. really an inspiring piece for anyone who likes the idea of going into the horror genre.. fun stuff.

Despite it's obvious low budget, un-professionalism and complete lack of intelligence: Within the Woods may well be the most important horror short ever filmed. For, if it were not for this little movie; the student team of Sam Raimi, Roger Tapert, Bruce Campbell et al may never have gone on to make the finest film in horror movie history; The Evil Dead. It's well documented by now that this film was the one that the team made in order to get funding for their first feature length movie, but funding wasn't all they would get from it. If you've seen this film, then it's a good bet that you've seen The Evil Dead too; and if you have, you wont be able to get away from the similarities of the techniques used and the sequences shown. Much of what happens in this film made it into the final cut, with things such as the conclusion to Ellen Sandweiss' chase sequence, the zombie at the door and the final monologue of the main character being lifted wholesale from this movie into The Evil Dead.It's not surprising why Sam Raimi and co ended up getting funded for this short. While, as mentioned, it's not great on the whole; we are shown quite clearly the prowess of the director. Raimi has implemented his trademark camera angles, along with the 'Raimi-cam', brilliantly and this is matched by the post-production, which sees the film being well edited and scored. As you might expect for this sort of film, the acting and script are, frankly, rubbish; but it hardly matters when the rest of the it is so inventive and well done. And 'Indian burial ground' aside; that's what the film is. The basic premise of the film wasn't changed for The Evil Dead, except that the actors have been swapped around. This time, we get to see the great Bruce Campbell as the main monster, and Ellen Sandweiss as the protagonist. While this works because Bruce's charisma allows him to excellently portray a possessed human; he makes for a better hero really, and Raimi and co ended up getting this right for the final cut. If you're not an Evil Dead fan (unlikely), you wont like Within the Woods...but if you are - make sure you track it down!