The Dawn of Splatstick

Rating: 8/10 (28 October 2005)

Shaun of the Dead. Undead. Dead & Breakfast. Bubba Ho-Tep. Without Evil Dead II, it is more than likely that none of those films would exist. This film really did usher in a brand new form of both horror and comedy. A form that is now lovingly referred to as "splatstick".
Before I even begin the plot summary, I will say that if you have not yet seen The Evil Dead, DO NOT watch Evil Dead II. By no means is it a stand-alone film. That said, the story is of Ash (Campbell), the hero from the first film, who, like in the first film, must do battle with evil demons summoned by the ancient "Book of the Dead". That's really about it.
So what is it that makes Evil Dead II so special and so different from The Evil Dead? What makes it more than a cheap rehash? The answer is simple: humor. The Evil Dead was a low-budget classic of frightening, gory horror, and while there are certainly some very funny moments of extremely black humor (it somehow manages to make a man decapitating his girlfriend with a shovel seem hilarious), it was a rather intense and horrifying ride. Evil Dead II, however, is just the opposite. It has moments of frightening horror, but it is really a screwball comedy reminiscent of The Three Stooges (whom director Sam Raimi is an avid fan of). Gags include a projectile eyeball flying into someone's mouth, guffawing possessed furniture, a possessed headless corpse putting a chainsaw in its own neck, and my personal favorite, a sequence involving a possessed severed hand and a copy of Ernest Hemingway's A Farewell To Arms. Trust me, it all sounds much darker in writing than it is in the film; it's all quite light-hearted (as much as possible considering the subject matter, anyway). This type of bloody macabre humor would come to be known as "splatstick", and would be utilized in many more films to follow.
Yes, there were a few splatstick films prior to Evil Dead II (Re-Animator comes to mind), but what really sets II apart is its sheer inventiveness. Everything just feels so fresh and exciting, even today, as the film is approaching its twentieth anniversary.
And of course, no review of this film would be complete without at least one reference to B-movie icon Bruce Campbell's performance, which can only be described with the word "awesome". He's not quite achieved the level of bada*s-ness he's at in the second Evil Dead sequel, Army of Darkness (which is in a class all its own), but he's getting there.
Evil Dead II's influence is widespread and undeniable. While it is personally my least favorite of the Evil Dead series (I look to The Evil Dead for horror and Army of Darkness for comedy; II feels like a slightly diluted mix of the two), it is still a classic and essential viewing for any self-respecting horror fan.
8/10