Evil Dead 2 is a strange little movie. Actually, that’s a bit of an understatement. Evil Dead 2 is more than just a strange little movie. It’s a fun, scary and purely gross way to spend 85 minutes of your life.
Why I am reviewing a sequel before the original? Well, this is basically an improved remake of the first movie with humor added in heaping quantities. You don’t need to see the first movie to understand what’s going on in Evil Dead 2 at all.
OK, so what’s it all about? Basically, Ash (Bruce Campbell) and his girlfriend, Linda (Denise Bixler), decide to spend a night in an isolated cabin. After exploring a little, Ash finds a tape recorder with a somewhat ominous looking book next to it. By playing the tape, he listens to the words of a professor who was transcribing the ancient “Book of the Dead.” The words on the tape unleash the demons that the book is meant to control. Suddenly, an evil force attacks and possesses Linda, causing her to attack Ash. From that point on, it’s non-stop guts, blood, slime and spewing.
If this movie was not obviously intended to poke fun at the horror genre, it would be entirely in bad taste. However, director and co-writer Sam Raimi, along with the talents of fellow writer Scott Spiegel and the acting of Bruce Campbell, provides the movie with just the right amount of charm and wit to keep things from grossing anyone out to the point of vomiting. You’ll find yourself laughing at things like flying eyeballs and severed hands and not feel the least bit odd in doing so.
Although the movie starts to sag towards the end, Raimi manages to tie everything up fairly well without ruining anything. (If you wish to follow the further adventures of Ash, rent Army of Darkness.)
Watching Evil Dead 2 is a joy after watching endless horror movies that take themselves way too seriously.
4.0 out of 5.0 stars
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