Now this is groovy.

The difference between The Evil Dead and Evil Dead II reminds me of the difference between A Fistful of Dollars and For a Few Dollars More; the initial film is a rough cut - a prototype - hampered by its budget and a director searching to find his style. The follow-up is fully realized, supremely confident, and trimmed of all fat - so much so that it's hard to believe both films in either set were directed by the same person. Evil Dead II is all the best parts of The Evil Dead, and, as it borrows liberally and literally from the first, its retakes on some of the so-so or hokey parts from the first…

Foregoing the creeping dread of the first film, Evil Dead II, is a frenetic and non-stop splatterfest of bravura filmmaking. Although featuring strikingly similar plots the two films couldn’t be more different. Where the first unsettles the audience with its wonderfully warped atmosphere the sequel is far more playful and confident with a kinetic energy more commonly associated with slapstick comedy than traditional horror. Yet this sequel still possesses the same independent spirit and exuberant inventiveness of the first whilst being bigger in scope and budget.

Following a brisk recapping of the first film, Raimi, wastes little time in re-establishing the world before putting Ash through one hellishly entertaining night with a host of new houseguests. There are few films…

Part of...
Horroctober 2012

We just cut up our girlfriend with a chainsaw. Does that sound "fine"?
-Mirror Ash

I love this film unabashedly. To get it out of the way upfront, I do prefer it over the original Evil Dead, but it is a ridiculously close call. The fact of the matter is I find it hard to compare the two films because I don't think they belong in the same "sub-genre". I won't argue with anyone who prefers the original though, because I think it's a perfectly valid opinion. I will question you however if you claim that Army of Darkness is the best of the three.

After the horrible experience making Crimewave and it's subsequent failure at…

One of my absolute favourites. What can one say that hasn't already been said? Suppose I'll just tell you how I saw this for the first time.

Back in my schooldays, I would convince my amazing nan to rent me horror videos and I had a particular penchant for sequels. This would probably explain my embarrassing early fascination with Police Academy films. On one glorious Sunday afternoon, I persuaded her to get me the amazing looking EVIL DEAD II box from off the shelf. I didn't know what Evil Dead was, I'd not seen the original. I just wanted to see Part 2. I would've been around 13 or 14. Maybe younger. Yeepers.

So back at my grandmothers bungalow while…

Yesterday I watched all three Evil Dead films in a row, two for the first time. In order to save your time, I have made a review of the trilogy, rather than going after each one at a time.

Never has a trilogy transformed so thoroughly by the end. It starts, in The Evil Dead, as a traditional horror film. Five teenagers go to a cabin and are attacked by some kind of supernatural killer. One, however, in a bit of a twist, lives and becomes the hero of the series, and, in the opposite of the usual horror movie trope, becomes the one continous character for the trilogy.

The second film, creatively titled Evil Dead II, follows more in…

June Challenge List

Part of the Hail to the King, Bruce Campbell All-Nighter

Talk about improvement. Instead of wimpy Bruce Campbell surrounded by his arsehole friends and some goofy practical effects, we have awesome badass Bruce Campbell mostly on his own and some goofier practical effects. But the last bit is good, because it's meant to be goofy. I mean, there's a bit where a deadite does a dance without a head naked. That's how you use over the top, practical gore!

Bruce Campbell is bloody epic and instantly one of my favourite actors now, even though it is a shame he hasn't starred in much else. He's wise cracking and a bit of dick, but so goddamn likable. I…

Part of Hail to the King, a Bruce Campbell all-nighter.

This, my friends, is groovy.

Ramping up the comedy and toning down the actual horror, Evil Dead II uses the first film as a jumping off point to explore the concept further. This feels like the movie Raimi wanted to make at first but didn't have the money/resources/time to, and so put all his ideas in this one. The complete retconning of the events of the first Evil Dead is confusing at first, but gradually grew on me, as it seems this film's version is much better than what was actually in the original.

And since I'm talking about Evil Dead, I simply must talk about Bruce Campbell. He's much…

Talk about a perfect sequel Sam Raimi's high spirits sequel to the cult classic The Evil Dead did the impossible. It improved and perfected a genre that was perfected by its predecessor.
The Exorcist made you feel respect and fear to the Devil. Sam Raimi's Evil Dead II makes fun of the Devil and demon possession. Although there are some really scary scenes, there are some really twisted funny situations that would leave you wondering "what the f*** just happened?!". The movie is funny for the wrong reasons. I normally don't laugh when a man is breaking himself dishes on the head. I don't think it's funny when a man is repeatedly beaten up by grotesque characters. I would never…