Evil Dead II (1987)

 

Off-List: Evil Dead II

The third slot in my off-List category is usually allocated to a Danish movie, but I since I have two of those on my main list for 1987, this leaves room for “Evil Dead II”. I am usually not much for sequels, but “Evil Dead II” is more of a reboot than a sequel and its status in years following has taken it beyond the original “Evil Dead” movie. At least so it was back at my old campus in the nineties. I have not watched it since and I realized now that I watched it again, how much of it I had forgotten.

While “Evil Dead II” is a retelling of the “Evil Dead” story, reviewed earlier on this blog, there are a number of substantial differences. This time Ash (Bruce Campbell) is taking his girlfriend Linda out in the woods to a deserted cabin. It does not take long before he finds an old book, the famous “Necronomicon”, and a tape recording of the professor who used to live in the cabin spelling out the magic words that summons evil. In short order Linda is sucked out of the window, returns as a monster and is killed and buried by Ash. Of course, she does not stay there, and her different body parts continue to cause havoc. Ash is tormented by the evil and occasionally possessed by it as well.

The professor’s daughter, Annie (Sarah Berry) and her partner, Ed (Richard Domeier) are trying to get to the cabin, but finding a bridge destroyed enlist local hillbillies Jake (Dan Hicks) and Bobby Joe (Kassie Wesley) as guides. This of course makes the situation spin even more out of control with the resurrection of the professor’s wife in the basement, and horrible deaths to each of the newcomers. When it is down to just Annie and Ash, a dark ritual seems the only way out... or in...

The point of “Evil Dead II” is pretty much the same as “Evil Dead”. A small group of people under siege from evil forces trying to get to them, being the excuse for a lot of gory mayhem. The result is over the top and hardly credible, but with so much comedy thrown in that the ridiculousness of it all is forgiven. This is classic horror comedy.

It is obvious that the team worked with a larger budget on this one as all the gory parts are far more elaborate than in the original “Evil Dead”, but it maintains the style and tone of that one. This still feels like a bunch of amateurs having fun, they just have more money to spend on it. With the exception of Campbell, none of the actors have other qualities than being good at screaming (which they do very well) and internal logic is not exactly the strong side of this movie. But we also well know that this is not why we watch it. It is the adolescent playfulness with which this movie is imbued, that makes it endearing, if that is even possible to say when monsters are chopped to pieces with chainsaws and spades and what not.

We even get the classic prepping montage when Ash arms himself with shotgun and chainsaw to take on the monsters. It is so gung-ho that I could not stop laughing and this is essentially what makes it worth watching today. Modern B-movies are generally too overworked even when they try to be funny. The gung-ho style of the Evil Dead series, at least the old stuff, makes them actually work, so while this looks dated, it is dated in a good way, if that even makes sense. There is an honesty about the hijinks that is refreshing.

Sam Raimi would go on to make A-list movies and good ones at that, but it is when he reverts to some of this old style that he is best. These old, gory horror comedies can something that is difficult to do today.

For anybody nostalgic about the eighties, “Evil Dead II” is a must. As I am not the typical horror enthusiast I cannot say how this stands in that hall of fame, only that it still works for me.