Evil Dead II/Evil Dead 2: Dead by Dawn (1987) - Campbell, Spiegel and Raimi's crazy, gory classic

♥♥♥♥♥

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  

Top 10: Best franchise movies

Bruce Campbell gives an interview at the 2016 San Diego Comic Con about his work on the Ash vs Evil Dead TV-series

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?

Army of Darkness (1992) or, Medieval Dead

♥♥♥♥♥

An awesome, painted poster for Sam Raimi's Army of Darkness - with a very funny tagline

Army of Darkness is the 6th feature by and third film in Michigander master filmmaker Sam Raimi's (Spider-Man (2002)) Evil Dead franchise; it has deservedly become a cult hit. - Blending comedy, horror and action with great skill, Army of Darkness is a gem and a take-off from the, however, also sensational first Evil Dead two films, in that it takes place somewhere around year 1300. Raimi wrote the imaginative screenplay with his brother Ivan Raimi (Darkman (1990)).

Familiar hero Ash this time gets caught in the Middle Ages, battling different kinds of medieval death in order to return back to the comfy 1990s.

The humor is light, physically centered and genre-prone throughout. Army of Darkness was definitely innovative and ingenious in terms of its staggering effects, - the flying arrows and swords that the camera follows, for instance, or the mini-attackers, the live skeletons etc. - All brought to life with impressive visual expertise. It brings you back the enthusiasm of watching old Ray Harryhausen (Jason and the Argonauts (1963), associate producer/special visual effects creator) films with its effects-heavy zeal for everything fantastic. Army of Darkness by turn thrills, awes, scares and amuses.
Bruce Campbell's (The Evil Dead (1981)) returns as Ash, and Campbell's great, physical acting talent is used in almost every shot of the film, back in top shape here in a very demanding role.
Enormously entertaining and good-looking; everyone who were involved must and rightly should be very proud of Army of Darkness.

Related posts:

Sam Raimi: Oz the Great and Powerful (2013) - A fun, eye-popping adventure
2013 in films - according to Film Excess
Evil Dead (2013) - One hell of a ride (producer)
Drag Me to Hell (2009) - Raimi returns to horror in high style 

 

Star Bruce Campbell talks of his work in the film here

Cost: 11 mil. $
Box office: 21.5 mil. $
= Big flop (returned 1.95 times its cost)
[Army of Darkness premiered 9 October (Sitges Film Festival, Spain) and runs 81 minutes (US theatrical release)/88 minutes (international release)/96 minutes (director's cut). Financing came together with Universal Pictures due to producer Dino De Laurentiis' deal with them. Filming took place from May - August 1991 in California, including in a castle built on the edge of the Mojave Desert. Universal demanded cuts to get a PG-13 rating for the film and refused Raimi's own ending, which he, Campbell and producer Robert Tapert (The Grudge (2004)) had put up 1 mil. $ off their own salaries to shoot. The rating never got lower than an R, despite cuts, and Raimi and co. later had their ending made available on home video. Disagreements between Universal and De Laurentiis (about the rights to the Hannibal Lecter character) pushed the general release of the film from the summer of '92 to February '93. It opened #6 to a 4.4 mil. $ first weekend in North America, where it played only 3 weeks and grossed 11.5 mil. $ (53.5 % of the total gross.) Despite being the highest-grossing Evil Dead film to date, Army of Darkness' ballooned budget means it wasn't financially successful theatrically at least. The franchise has since spawned a 2013 remake (Evil Dead) and a successful TV-series, Ash vs Evil Dead (2015-) by creators Sam and Ivan Raimi and Tom Spezialy. Army of Darkness is fresh at 72 % with a 6.9/10 critical average at Rotten Tomatoes.]


What do you think of Army of Darkness?