Within the Woods is a 1978
horror short film written, directed and produced by
Sam Raimi. Raimi drew inspiration from his earlier short film
Clockwork, deciding to produce a "
prototype"
horror film to help build the interest of potential investors. Raimi cast his friends
Bruce Campbell and
Ellen Sandweiss as the two protagonists and produced the film for
$1600. Shot on location in a remote cabin in the woods, production was a difficult process because of the low budget. Several of the special effects presented in the film were done in a severely low budget manner, some of which were improvised on set. The film centers around
demonic possession and mysterious forces originating from the woods.