The Flaming Groovy!

Yes indeed, Sam Raimi and Bruce Campbell are back to shake some action with this remake of their own The Evil Dead (1981), only this time with more money and more overt humour. A quick prologue sets things up nicely, then BAM! Ash (Campbell) and his squeeze are in the cabin of doom and about to be part of a night of unholy demonic terror.

It's a nightmare of the black comedy kind, where Raimi and Campbell invite us to a party and then gleefully pummel us into submission - and we sado-masochistically enjoy it! Ash has grown a pair of cojones and decides to fight back against the demonic forces, cue mucho action with chainsaw and shotgun. There's a quip on the tongue for our hero as well, even as he is battered from pillar to post to make the action work.

Raimi isn't interested in extraneous scenes or exposition, he strips it bare as the pic hurtles along, all while he brings his technical skills with camera and sound design to the fore. The humour is often outrageous, dementedly so, while it's nice to find a group of film makers who don't feel the need to now throw blood and guts at the screen every other scene just to make a formulaic impact.

Bonkers, chilling and devilishly funny. 8/10

RELEASED IN 1987 and written & directed by Sam Raimi, “The Evil Dead” chronicles events when two Michigan State students (Bruce Campbell & Denise Bixler) travel to a remote cabin in western Tennessee for spring break wherein they discover a copy of the Book of the Dead and an audiotape whose incantations resurrect demons in the woods. The daughter of the archeologist who made the tape (Sarah Berry) also visits the cabin with her beau (Richard Domeier) and a couple of dubious locals (Dan Hicks & Kassie Wesley DePaiva).

The first film was low-budget, cartoony and extreme, but it was serious horror. This sequel is also cartoony and extreme, but it’s decidedly comedy horror. It’s entertaining for what it is, but it’s hindered by a confusing opening “recap” that doesn’t match the previous film. Raimi stated that he didn’t have the rights to use material from the original movie so he did a 7-minute recap with only two people instead of five (with Denise Bixler taking over the role of Linda). But there are other inconsistencies: The Book of the Dead and audiotape is found in a room rather than the basement and Ash (Campbell) later “rediscovers” that the bridge is out, which he already knew via events in the first film.

Once you get past the awkward and perplexing set-up, the movie settles into an entertaining over-the-top gory horror comedy, which is so creative it’s as if it was made by a lunatic. Bixler is a great replacement in the role of Linda, but her part is too brief and you only catch glimpses of her stunning beauty. It took me a while to warm up to Annie (Berry), but I eventually did and she’s a worthy secondary protagonist. There are several amusing and thrilling sequences, like the demonic hand scenes.

THE FILM RUNS 1 hour & 24 minutes and was shot in Wadesboro and (studio) Wilmington, North Carolina, with supplementary work done in Detroit. ADDITIONAL WRITER: Scott Spiegel.

GRADE: B-/C+

7/10
Just, would have been a 6/10 if not for the blood gore and mess.

Now this is not comedy horror,
This is a Horror-Comedy
and yes their's a difference.
That being said this us no way better than number 1
Not in a million years
Never....Will be.
Number 1 is a far far superior movie in every way, the blood gore mess, the deaths, the interesting story, the camra work all hand held by Raimi.
The stand out iconic scene of the forest rape that was one of the main reason the masterpiece of the original got banned fir everything that has made the original timeless and one of the best damn horror movies ever made and is definitely in the "GOAT" category has all been gutted and watered-down for this continuation, I mean Raimi got summoned to a court of law over number 1 and had to stand in front of a judge and defend the 1st movie and prevent his ass from going to jail, so I get why number 2 is the way it is but nobody can tell me this is the better movie.
"From what Multiverse are you from".

But here's the ups
Before Jim Carrey their was "Bruce Campbell"
and my god he sells Ash in this installment, the guy is acting his heart out and then some, now whether the slapstick is you're cup of tea are not you can not denie that Bruce is definitely the man for the job for this type of carry on. Holly Shit the guy can act and that's why he is a Legend through and through, even though I hate it when comedy-slapstick waters my Horror down Bruce definitely saw me through this second installment and made it very watchable and entertaining, I would not have enjoyed it at all with anybody else in the role.

It served as a good sequel to move the story on and I get why it was sort of a retelling because
New Line would not give the rights are any footage from the original to Raimi to do a sequel, Raimi wanted to use old footage to make it a complete blend from the 1st movie straight into the second but because he couldn't get the rights he said F-U to new line and just re-shot the hole lot with different actors/actresses supporting our Hero
Bruce/Ash, so I'm fine we got a restructuring because at least we got
The Evil Dead II
from it.
Look it's a good movie and I do enjoy it and I find the pacing is rather good and the movie has a great energy to it all thanx to Brucey baby and this movie certainly doesn't over stay it's welcome and all though not a patch on number 1 this movie is certainly a welcome addition and is still good fun 20yrs later.

Now: ARMY OF DARKNESS
The Directors Cut

The Evil Dead II takes everything fans loved from the original and ramps it up to one thousand, but is that such a good thing? The direction from Raimi is very present once again with fantastically creative shots and quick zooms that are such a staple of his. The story is way more fleshed out here, with interesting flash backs that give the original an entirely new perspective. The special effects are better than the original, and we get to see a lot more of what the evil entity is. But with all the positives this movie has, it is just missing something that I cannot put my finger on. The original felt so genuine, and I think the low budget helped increase the tension and horror of the possessions. Here the tone is a little campier and I just don't resonant with it as much as the original. It is still a great film, and one of the better horror films of the 80s, but I do not hold it as high as most unfortunately.

Score: 81% ✅
Verdict: Great

Not really much of a fan of slasher/gore films, but friends suggested I give this a try purely because the film does not try to take itself too seriously, and despite the fact there is lots of gore here, none of it looked particularly realistic and only adds to the extremely black humour of the whole affair.

But what attracted me to this film was the charisma of the lead actor Ash, played by Bruce Campbell. He is not a great actor by any stretch, but he does have a rather boyish charm that moves the film along, even if the script is as creaky as the rocking chair in his cabin!

Definitely made on a shoestring budget, and the sfx (no cgi here!) are not all that great, but it doesn't matter because you're just there for the ride; and to be fair there are some very good fx splashed around throughout, and the first person camera-eye of the Evil Spirit in the Wood, is also well done.

Groovy!