What’s most brilliant about “Evil Dead II” is the way in which it is essentially a comedy/satire disguised as a blood and guts horror film.
Tools:
Recommend review to a friend »
"Evil Dead II" is one of the most highly praised and admired cult films of all time. The strength of the film is in its ability to produce an effective balance of comedy and horror; deftly skating the line between the two with beautiful timing. It´s a brilliant combination of horror, comedy and pulp fun that manages to create a zany mood that works on many levels. To say the least, Sam Raimi, Bruce Campbell and company deliver a film that is an inspired piece of camp entertainment.
The story is essentially a remake come sequel of the first "Evil Dead." Bruce Campbell finally comes into his role as Ash, giving us a glimpse of the wise cracking reluctant hero cemented in cult champion status with his over the top bravado antics in "Army of Darkness." This time around, Ash goes into the woods to spend some time at an out of the way cabin with his girlfriend, Linda. Once there, the couple prepares themselves for a romantic weekend together. However, Ash stumbles upon a tape recording, which he plays back and is subjected to hearing some strange incantations. The incantations lead to a gateway for evil to come pouring through and terrorize the surrounding area. It´s up to Ash and the daughter of an archeologist who found the book of the dead, from which the incantations were read, to put a stop to it all.
For many, the center of the film lays with Campbell´s brilliant comedic antics. In the first 30 minutes of the movie he spends most of the time alone and reacting to various things that aren´t really there, hamming it up and delivers a performance laced with a dazzling display of hilarious lunacy. His acting is something to watch, as it induces a glee filled smile, a testament to his throne as the B-movie king. To this end, it is also interesting to watch Ash´s evolution into the character we have all come to know and love, which is topped off by a montage where he constructs his chainsaw replacement hand and becomes the shotgun totting, smart ass, who ends the scene with the film´s most quotable line, ´groovy´ (aside from ´swallow your soul´).
What´s most brilliant about "Evil Dead II" is the way in which it is essentially a comedy/satire disguised as a blood and guts horror film. There is a difficulty in attempting a combination of both, which this film handles quite well. That´s not to say that the film isn´t scary, it is and often in places you´d least expect, especially after you´ve gotten so use to laughing most of the time. For example, the scene where Bobbie Joe is dragged through the woods and killed by tree demons, the effect is rather chilling, creepy and somewhat gruesome. Still, the film does lose a little steam when Ash is ´re-possessed´ by the evil that has been plaguing them. The film seems to lose its "fun" factor but this also intensifies the scarier possibilities, suggesting that this is the kind of film where anything can happen. In using this balance of horror and comedy the film allows for an air of self-reflexivity, cleverly referencing other horror films and never quite taking itself too seriously.
Video
"Evil Dead II: The Book of the Dead 2" is presented in a new 1.85.1 anamorphic widescreen transfer, which is much better than previous DVD editions of the film. There is even a slight improvement over the THX transfer from a few years ago. Any grain, print damage, discoloration or anything negative about the previous editions has been eliminated here. Blacks are deep and very strong, colors look very natural. The Divimax transfer, supervised by Sam Raimi, is superb in this edition
Average user rating (1-5):
[release]17059[/release]