The Evil Dead 2 (1987)
I think that much of the cult following of the Evil Dead series leads back to this movie. Almost all of the quotes you've ever heard come from this movie or Army of Darkness. It can be easy to forget that the first movie was a serious horror flick when you think of everything you know or have heard about the franchise.
I'm not saying this is a bad thing. I'm saying that the divide between The Evil Dead and its sequel is a hell of a gap.
Despite being a numbered sequel, this movie is actually more of a soft reboot of the series. Starting with just Ash and his girlfriend Linda, the two break into a seemingly-abandoned cabin in the woods, only to find the Necronomicon and the Deadites that come with it.
The movie then takes less than 10 minutes to get Ash to where he was at the end of the original. From there, the movie goes from a horror movie to a campy, schlocky love letter to the genre instead. It accepts that it's not got the highest budget, and that the genre is a little cheesy by definition. It then runs with that idea, and hilarity follows.
Probably the most iconic institution of the series is Ash's signature look. Lacking a hand (since it came to life and tried to kill him), Ash instead straps a chainsaw to the stump. In a sheath on his back, he carries a sawn-off double-barrel shotgun. From that point on, he takes the fight directly to the Deadites head on. Whether it’s possessed people or the weird, touchy forest, he’ll throw down.
He's just so. Cool.
This is an interesting contrast to the first flick, where Ash is actually the more reserved and soft of the two male cast members. Instead of breaking under the stress of the night's events, this Ash instead begins to meet then head on. That's not to say that the original Ash didn't fight back - this version just takes it to an insane level.
With this increase in bravado also comes an increase in solo acting for Bruce Campbell. He spends nearly the entire first half of the movie in the cabin on his own. Acting alone is notoriously difficult, as you don't have others to play off of. While it's cheesy at times, I think Bruce's performance is incredible. He mutters to himself as he thinks of a plan. He tussles with living furniture, a severed head, and even his own hand. All of this, with nothing but his own performance to run with.
It’s also worth talking about how the Deadites act, something I neglected in my review of the first one. While the villain of many horror franchises is an emotionless husk of a person. I think part of this is supposed to represent nihilism, an uncaring death waiting for us all. However, the opposite is also fun, where the villain has so much personality that it’s absolutely nerve-wracking.
Deadites are the latter, in SPADES.
Whatever Kandarian demon the Necronomicon summons, that dude is an absolute NUT. Deadites will cackle, giggle, galivant throughout the house, and in one memorable scene, dances a beautiful ballet with their own head as a prop. I’m sure it’s part of the torment that the demon loves oh so much to inflict, but the fact that it’s so zany and irreverent has to be part of why this series has such a loving fanbase. It’s so unique in comparison to anyone, even Freddy, one of the most notoriously giddy killers film has ever seen.
Maybe it's that very fun that’s winning me over , but I find it hard to find issues with The Evil Dead 2. The pacing is maybe a bit rough at times? Not really too much, though. It's abundantly clear that the real name of the game for this movie is fun, and it delivers that easily. It doesn’t get hung up on the minutia of the plot, it instead wants you to know just enough to understand, so that you can get back to enjoying the hijinks it’s so happily delivering to you.
The ending is a sequel hook that leads straight into Army of Darkness, a movie that probably only vaguely resembles a horror movie. I'll get that one eventually, but for now, I think The Evil Dead 2 is a fun, witty flick that definitely earned the cult that follows it.
