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| The iconic, cool skull face poster for Sam Raimi's Evil Dead II |
Ash and his girlfriend are in a cabin in the woods, when he unintentionally releases the evil of Necronomicom (The Book of the Dead), and soon demons spread and attack most spectacularly.
Led by a positively rabid performance by the inimitable master of physical, cartoonish horror acting, Bruce Campbell (Ash vs Evil Dead (2015-16)), Evil Dead II elbows itself violently ahead at a mad pace with effects by the wheelbarrow. Its visuals, camera work (by cinematographer Peter Deming (Drag Me to Hell (2009)), dummies, prosthetics etc. all serve the wild lunacy that is maybe the best 1980's-made 'nothing's-too-much' effects-driven horror, as well as my favorite in the franchise.
The story is extremely (and intentionally) silly, - more or less the story of the original The Evil Dead (1981) all over again, just sillier, with lots of ludicrous, fantastical incongruities that only heighten the fun factor. Mixed in are sequences of genuine nightmarish horror.
Evil Dead II is written by Scott Spiegel (The Rookie (1990)) and Michigander master co-writer-director Sam Raimi (Crimewave (1985)). It is essentially a horror gore comedy about-nothing near-masterpiece.
Related posts:
Sam Raimi: 2013 in films - according to Film Excess
Evil Dead (2013) - One hell of a ride (producer)
Oz the Great and Powerful (2013) - A fun, eye-popping adventure
Drag Me to Hell (2009) - Raimi returns to horror in high style
Army of Darkness (1992) or, Medieval Death
Cost: 3.6 mil. $
Box office: 5.9 mil. $ (North America only, on first release)
= Uncertainty (but likely a huge hit)
[Evil Dead II was released 13 March (USA) and runs 84 minutes. After the failure of Raimi and Joel and Ethan Coen's Crimewave (1985), Raimi needed a hit and reverted to the sequel idea. Stephen King, a fan of the first film, introduced him to Dino De Laurentiis, who financed Evil Dead II. Due to the relatively small budget, the idea to move Ash to Medieval times were scrapped until the next film in the franchise, Raimi's also great Army of Darkness (1992). Shooting took place in North Carolina, including at De Laurentiis' Studios in Wadesboro, and in Detroit, Michigan from May - September 1986 with re-shoots in December 1986. The film opened #14 to an 807k $ first weekend in just 310 theaters in North America, its peak there. It seems to have racked in good business abroad: Reportedly 3 mil. $ in France, 1.1 mil. £ (UK), 1.4 mil. $ in West Germany and also good performances in Spain, Italy and other markets. It also continued grossing in North America, where its gross by 2006 had reportedly reached 10.9 mil. $. It has likely grossed upwards of 20 mil. $ by now, which would make it a huge hit. Roger Ebert gave it 3 stars, and Leonard Maltin has changed his initial 2 star review to 3 stars. Evil Dead II has become a cult film, and the franchise continued with one 1992 sequel, a 2013 remake and a TV-series, Ash vs Evil Dead (2015-16). Evil Dead II is certified fresh at 98 % with an 8 critical average at Rotten Tomatoes.]
What do you think of Evil Dead II?
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