The Evil Dead (1981)
Sam Raimi’s first trip into the woods, The Evil Dead, wasn’t prosecuted during the “video nasty” era but it did have to undergo cuts to play internationally. The story follows Ash (Bruce Campbell) and his friends as they travel to a remote mountain cabin, read from the Necronomicon and unleash a cadre of demons.
Unlike The Last House on the Left, The Evil Dead intentionally adds elements of humor to it that it would continue to add on in its eventual sequels. The 1992 spin-off Army of Darkness is the most overt horror/comedy in the series. On its own merits, Raimi and crew, working with an incredibly limited budget, take the “cabin in the woods” conceit and make it work. At the time, much was made about a brutal rape sequence involving a tree that has to be seen to be believed — though it is a tough sit.
Life is presented as out of balance so it’s understandable that even the woods would rebel. The makeup effects on the “deadites” are also incredibly creepy and only enhance the eventual gore factor when Ash decides to take them out. The film series as a whole has a devout cult following so if you haven’t seen it yet, make every effort to. Though you might rethink camping after it.