Back in 1981, a little horror movie came about titled “The Evil Dead”, which was set in an abandoned cabin in the woods, and focused on young adults trying to survive an onslaught of wicked entities that emerged from a cursed book. It launched the directing carrier of Sam Raimi, as well as the acting carrier of Bruce Campbell. It was a low budget, independently filmed project that has sense influenced people to make their own low budget films. While it was a modest success, it’s also dwarfed by it’s 1987 sequel simply titled “Evil Dead 2”, which has sense become the poster child for 80’s horror classics. Also known as “Evil Dead 2: Dead by Dawn”, this is one of those rare horror sequels that not only surpassed the original, but is a recognized horror classic that can stand on its own. While I’ve personally never been a fan of the “Evil Dead” franchise as a whole … I absolutely love this movie by itself, and that’s how I choose to view it. So, let’s look back at one of the great 80’s horror classics, and see why it stands as one of the defining sequels of the genera.
The first thing to note is that this sequel doesn’t require watching the first movie at all, as there’s no direct continuity, and the first half of the film is basically a remake of the original, with the second half giving us new content.
Bruce Campbell once again reprises his role as Ash William’s, who’s out on a romantic drive with his girl-friend, and the two decide to spend the night in an abandoned cabin in the middle of the woods. Our visitors soon learn that the cabin belonged to a professor, who was deciphering the written words of an ancient book called the Necronomicon … which was inked in blood, bound in human flesh, and is a thing of “pure evil”. Rather than doing something conventional, like raising zombies or ghost, this book once translated twists the entire environment into something malevolent. Tree’s come to life, objects move on their own, people are transformed into monsters, and … there’s really no rules as to what can happen, it’s a free for all with spooky encounters, and nasty creatures. Eventually, the professor’s daughter arrives at the cabin with a small team of friends, and they all get caught in this living nightmare. Thus, the chase is on to find a way to send all the evil entities back to where they came from, while also surviving all these horrific encounters. In short, there’s really not much story, or deep character incites, it’s just an over the top may-lay of horror, comedy and action all blended together in one highly entertaining experience.
This movie waists no time beating around the bush, once Ash arrives at the cabin, things instantly get crazy, and the rest of the movie is a non-stop ride that combines hummer, frights, atmosphere, innovative special effects, original concepts and creative camera work all into one package. Director Sam Rami had a field day creating all these unique camera tricks, as it’s always flying through the environment, and basically becomes a character in of itself. One of the coolest shots is an unbroken POV shot that follows Ash as he runs through the interior of the cabin, and while we don’t see what’s chasing our hero, it’s still really cool how from the camera’s perspective it bursts through doors and smashes through windows. While the original “Evil Dead” movie inspired independent filmmakers, this film inspired filmmakers to get innovative with how they utilize the camera. Sam Rami would apply similar camera techniques to his live action “Spider-Man” movies. Also, despite having a bigger budget for special effects, Sam Rami still utilizes a number of practical, in-camera effects, and it’s always great to see what an artist can accomplish on-set, as opposed to what gets added in post-production.
With that said, the visuals on display are the pinnacle of 1980’s creature effects. I was a kid that grew-up watching Ray Harryhausen movies, and as such, I love seeing stop-motion effects utilized for creature appearances.
Even if it looks fake, there’s still a charm to the craft that just can’t be replicated with CGI. Whenever a person in the cabin gets corrupted by the evil of the book, they transform into hideous creatures, and the makeup designs here are all top-notch, and come in a creative variety. One of my favorite designs is the headless girl with the chainsaw … that’s awesome. Sam Rami also has a lot of fun using the cabin setting for various supernatural oddities. There are reflections in mirrors coming to life, eyeballs flying across the room, a girl gets dragged around by killer trees, and I love that just about every object in the house becomes a character. All the best horror movies like “The Shinning” or “The Exorcist” have distinct visuals that instantly come to mind whenever you think of them, and “Evil Dead 2” is no exception. The first thing that always comes to my mind is that mounted dear head that laughs maniacally along with all the other house hold appliances. It’s probably my favorite little scene of the whole film, as no other horror movie features anything as goofy as that, and I love that our main hero cracks and joins in with all the laughter. One thing I hated about the original “Evil Dead” was its repetitive bloodshed and gore, which I’ve never been a fan of. This film on the other hand gets it right, because despite featuring gallons of blood exploding from the walls, it’s all still cartoony supernatural blood, and that’s fine with me. It’s like the elevator blood from “The Shinning”, which I was okay with as it wasn’t coming from a person.
Let’s finally talk about Bruce Campbell in his signature role as Ash Williams. Most iconic characters from horror movies are usually the villains, but this is a rare case in which it’s the hero who stands out as the films recognizable mascot. He’s a horror victim, a slap-stick goof and an action hero all rolled into one. Even though the first film started his carrier, it was his portrayal of Ash in this sequel that made him an icon of the genera. He’s laid back and chill, dishing out quotable lines … “GROOVY” … and yet he’s also over the top and loony. His physical acting is what I admire the most, as he puts his body through all kinds abuse, just for the sake of a laugh. He and Sam Rami channel a lot from the “3 Stooges” for the layout of the physical slap-stick on display. The most famous scene of the whole film is when Ash’s hand gets possessed by evil forces, and what follows is an epic battle between one man and his out of control fist. Resourcefully, Ash severs his hand, traps it in a container, and then places a copy of the book “Farewell to Arms” on top … I absolutely love it. Then of course he spends the rest of the movie with a Chainsaw for a hand, and a loaded shot gut in the other, which completes his bad ass design.
Once we segue into the climax, the main girl learns that she has to read a passage from the book to banish all the evil entities through a black-hole. The catch … all the fiendish forces have to take a physical form, leaving Ash the one guy who has to battle every one of them. There are zombie-witches flying around, giant monsters, winged creatures, and all kinds of cool stuff on display. Once all the action is done, Ash accidentally gets sucked into the black-hole, and is transported back to ancient times. This is the one thing I never liked about the movie, as the setting felt out of place when compared to the cabin, and I hate when horror movies end by setting up a sequel. Naturally, a third film followed titled “Army of Darkness”, which dropped all the horror elements in favor of straight-up goofiness. I liked it a little more than the first “Evil Dead” movie, but it still wasn’t on par with the second film, which still stands as one of my favorite hybrids of comedy and horror.
In the end, I wish the title “Evil Dead 2” was dropped in favor of “Dead by Dawn”, that way it could stand apart from the first the same way “Army of Darkness” did. It’s that rare sequel that stands apart from a popular franchise, and has stuck with me as a personal favorite. Bruce Campbell is awesome as the lead, Sam Rami directs the shit out of the film, and everything else is wild, fun and innovative. Typically, I prefer layered stories, and character arc’s, but sometimes I just want to have fun, and that’s what “Evil Dead 2” is. It’s like a theme park ride set in a spooky fun house, and that’s cool with me. Yet, despite it’s over the top nature, this is still a movie that’s inspired countless young filmmakers, and continues to do so through the years. Along with “The Shinning” and “Fright Night”, I think this movie stands as one of the best of what 80’s horror has to offer.
Thanks for reading my review of the 1987 Horror classic “Evil Dead 2” … and treat yourself to one good scare this October.
Happy Halloween!
Happy Halloween!
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