The lore surrounding Raimi and his movies aside, there’s the simple fact that continuity errors are one of the avid moviegoer’s favorite pastimes. Of course, there’s a dark side to spotting mistakes – in addition to filmmakers potentially being embarrassed about them, there can be an arrogance to those eagerly pointing out mistakes, with people acting like they’re better than the filmmakers. This path leads straight to CinemaSins, folks, and no one wants that.
Instead, spotting gaffes is a lot like what Raimi described: they’re “part of the experience and the beauty of it.” Gaffes are always going to show up, no matter how many script supervisors are hired to watch them, and rather than detracting from the film, they can often add to the fun. In some cases, such as with the moment in “Aliens” where actor Lance Henriksen’s body can be seen under a hole in the ground, such mistakes reinforce the power of craftsmanship and technique – as the director James Cameron in his commentary for “Aliens,” the error is forgiven because audiences are looking where they are “supposed to be looking”.
Although the gaffe and other imperfections remain “corrected” in the most recent 4K Ultra HD and streaming versions of “The Evil Dead”, perhaps Raimi’s comments could mean he changes his mind about performing such fixes in the future, and possibly even reinstating the old gaffes in a future version of “The Evil Dead”. The goofs are dead; long live the blunders!
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