The "Ultimate Experience in Gruelling Terror" Just Got Better...

Rating: 9/10 (25 July 2005)

Back in the day, when I had a full head of hair still and a growing lust for horror cinema, a friend gave me a battered-looking videocassette to view. The label read EVIL DEAD II in a faded red typeface. Being English, I had no clue what to expect, I'd never heard of the original EVIL DEAD as it had been swept up in the BBFC's roundup of so-called "Video Nasties"(movies deemed likely by a short-sighted and infantile board of censors to "deprave & corrupt"). Either way, the weekend arrived, my house filled up with friends, the tape went in and we were changed forever.
EVIL DEAD II a sequel to the original EVIL DEAD  the tragic tale of a group of teenagers assaulted by demonic forces while stranded in a remote cabin in the wilderness. EVIL DEAD II replayed the entirety of the first film (with several differences) in ten minutes, then brought more young folk out to the cabin to get generally mistreated by the demonic powers circling their cabin refuge like sharks at a shipwreck. Our hero is Ash, an average, slightly dumb guy who's out at the cabin with his girlfriend Linda. They find a tape recorder left by the previous tenant (a history professor working on the translation of an artefact he has discovered), and upon playing the tape release a demonic force into the woods around them. Linda gets possessed, Ash decapitates her with a shovel and then gets possessed himself (albeit temporarily). Plagued by demon-induced visions and a Linda that wont stay in buried, Ash descends into madness. Meanwhile four more victims arrive in the shape of the prof's daughter, a fellow colleague and a couple of local hicks out to make a quick buck. The circle is drawn, the demon's attacks build up in pace, and you just know it's all going to end in tears.
EVIL DEAD II is like a ride on the best ghost train imaginable. It does not let up until the very end. Even the most ADHD-gripped teen can appreciate how balls-to-the-wall this movie is. Each gag is rapidly followed by another. I use the term "gag" as this movie, despite being filled with gore and violence, is funny. I mean fall on you ass laughing funny. Even when people are dying you have a malicious smile on your face. People get drenched in blood and goo, accidentally swallow eyeballs, get possessed and generally go mental, corpses are reanimated, trees come to life and attack and disembodied hands run amok. All the while the movie's tongue moves not an inch from its cheek. If you don't at least crack a smile at this film, you're probably dead already.
Without a doubt though, this is Bruce Campbell's movie. As Ash he steals the show with bouts of world-class lunacy, crass cowardice, hammy scenery-chewing, physical comedy and occasional heroism. Ash is indeed a superhero in the making in this movie, soon after to become one of the greatest horror heroes ever. When he finally gets his act together to become the hero and dons his hero's "armour" I defy anyone not to think they're watching one of the coolest scenes in cinema history. Ash might be an idiot, but you'd want him at your six if demons were attacking your neighbourhood.
The script is at times a bit limited and clunky, and some of the other performances are minimal. Also the effects sometimes look seriously bargain-basement. It doesn't matter in the slightest though. This is a film made with real passion, a sense of humour, and no desire to do anything that scare and delight the viewer. It's horror from a simpler age; one not afraid to be silly or gross in equal parts. It's classics like this that have cemented Sam Rami's career as a director to watch long before SPIDERMAN. EVIL DEAD II is without a doubt one of the greatest horror movies ever made. And if you've never seen it, there's only one thing you can do. Go out now, rent the tape for yourself and join the rest of us in the world of the "Ultimate Experience in Gruelling Terror"
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