Shapiro was a founder of the Cannes Film Festival , and allowed Raimi to screen the film at the 1982 festival out of competition . Stephen King was present at its screening and gave the film a rave review . '' USA Today '' released an article about King 's favorite horror films ; the author cited '' The Evil Dead '' as his fifth favorite film of the genre . The film severely affected King , who commented that while watching the film at Cannes , he was " registering things he had never seen in a movie before " . He became one of the film 's largest supporters during the early efforts to find a distributor , eventually describing it as the " most ferociously original film of the year " , a quote used in the film 's promotional pieces . King 's comments attracted the interest of critics , who otherwise would likely have dismissed the low-budget thriller
1982 festival
1982 Cannes Film Festival
The Evil Dead