Welcome to Knockout Horror and to day five of our K-O-Ween 31 Days of Halloween 2023 feature. We spent the past few days looking at some horror movies that fall under the cult classic label. Today we are going to be looking at something that is simply a horror classic. Sam Raimi’s Evil Dead 2. Talk about a change of pace from the previous four days. Let’s take a look.
Sam Raimi’s Evil Dead franchise is something of a horror phenomenon. Rarely do you see an entire series of movies all receive at least some degree of critical acclaim. Army of Darkness is the weakest entry but is still a cult classic. Even the 2013 reboot was pretty well received and 2023’s Evil Dead Rise has earned a bunch of critical praise. In my opinion, the best entry into the series is Evil Dead 2.
Following the story of the horror megastar Ash Williams (Bruce Campbell) as he and his fiancée head deep into the woods to spend a weekend together in a cabin. Only to find themselves in the middle of a Deadite infested hell hole and a desperate fight for survival. Evil Dead 2 acts as something of a reset for the Evil Dead formula while, at the same time, being a sequel. Taking the events of the first movie, scrubbing them out, and redoing them in what some class as a “Re-quel”.
Groovy and Charming
The silliness of the practical effects, the buckets of gore and the ridiculous humour are all instrumental in making Evil Dead 2 such a great watch. The action starts within the first 5 minutes with almost no exposition or build and doesn’t let up until the credits roll. It is non stop violence and gore, blood spurts all over walls and faces as if shot from a fire hose. Limbs are dismembered, people are beheaded, chainsaws are grafted to arms and boomsticks are fired unrelentingly. Everything in the movie bleeds, even the cabin itself. It is continuous, brutal, brilliant mayhem and that’s what makes the movie so great.
If you go into Evil Dead 2 expecting a serious horror with a slow build, tons of tension, and loads of scares. You are going to be beyond disappointed. You need to reset your expectations for this movie and that is something you should be doing with all 80’s horror. Expect a film version of a fair ground ghost train ride and you will be a lot closer to what this movie delivers. It is pure chaos from beginning to end. I compared the recent Deadstream to Evil Dead and I think that is one of the better examples of modern versions of these types of movies but there really isn’t much around like this any more. Evil Dead 2 is almost the flag bearer for a type of horror that doesn’t get made anymore. Something that makes me rather sad.
Comedy Horror Done Right
Evil Dead 2 deserves a whole bunch of praise for its balance of comedy, action, and horror. The action doesn’t relent for one minute and the horror is ever present but it is in its moments of pure hilarity that Evil Dead 2 might be at its most charming. Ash Williams, played brilliantly by Bruce Campbell, is a catchphrase spouting, action movie star lampooning, icon of a horror movie protagonist. Evil Dead 2 takes some of the traits of the characters from the more serious The Evil Dead. Recognises the potential for laughs and turns them up to 11.
Everyone here is a caricature and Ash is no exception. He has an inhuman tolerance for abuse and should have been killed multiple times but his series plot armour keeps him coming back for more. Campbell’s consistently hilarious facial expressions, coupled with some brilliant one liners, make Ash one of the best horror movie protagonists of all time. He will make you laugh throughout. Something that the spirits surrounding Ash also add to. It is massively charming and consistently amusing. Evil Dead is just the right amount of funny, with the comedy never getting in the way of the horror or action.
Bruce Campbell is Fantastic
Campbell’s acting deserves mention, here. Some may watch Evil Dead 2 and think that there is a lot of overacting and silliness but that would be missing the point. This is a movie that is very self aware and Ash is a character that is deliberately ridiculous. Campbell was very inexperienced going into The Evil Dead but worked closely with Raimi to bring the character of Ash to life. Years on, he is considered a horror icon and much beloved within the community.
He is fantastic here in the only role really worthy of note. Campbell completely gets the type of character Ash is supposed to be and is pitch perfect in delivering it. His facial expressions and comedy timing are perfect for this movie. He completely gets the campiness and silliness needed for the role. Campbell would bring to life a character in Ash that would endure for years.
Ash has inspired dozens of video game and movie characters and that is in no small part thanks to Campbell’s brilliant performance here. It’s great to see him still acting in movies like Black Friday but he also hits the convention scene a lot giving fans a chance to meet the legend himself. What a fantastic guy!
Fantastic Direction and Effects
Raimi takes many of the things that made The Evil Dead great and expands on them here. He is a veritable hurricane of ideas and each collection of scenes acts as its own little set piece. There is more use of bike cameras to capture long trailing shots through the woods, creative use of mirrors and camera angles to aid special effects. Great scene set ups that get the most out of the chaos inside the cabin and some brilliant lighting to add ambiance. Raimi manages to keep an immense pace throughout the movie with very little let up between shots. There are a few continuity issues here and there but nothing major.
It’s impossible not to be impressed at just what was achieved with Evil Dead 2. Looking back on it now, the amount of work that went in to the practical effects is incredible. Trees come to life, disembodied heads attack people mercilessly, hands roam around of their own free will like Thing from The Addams Family and all of it is done practically. There is a ton of stop motion and a whole bunch of creative effects work. And while some of it looks a bit hokey and silly today. It is no less impressive when you consider just how much an achievement this was at the time.
Should You Watch Evil Dead 2?
You absolutely have to watch Evil Dead 2! I’ve done a lot of raving here only for someone to slap this movie on and immediately laugh at how old it looks and how silly it is. And while you would be right in thinking that, it sort of misses the point. Evil Dead 2 represents a type of horror movie that you just don’t see a lot anymore. It is pure action and laughs from beginning to end. It’s not supposed to be tense and unsettling, it’s supposed to be pulse racing silliness and unrelenting laughs. It achieves that perfectly. Sure, it is old and looks it, but that is all part of the charm.
Campbell’s performance is fantastic and the practical effects are of particular note given the budget constraints. Raimi’s myriad ideas lead to a movie that plays out like a fair ground horror ride. In a lot of ways, Evil Dead 2 is a ridiculous movie with a thread bare story and few scares. But if you just switch off your brain and grab some popcorn, there may not be a more satisfying horror thrill ride around.