A bit disappointing sequel

Rating: 6/10 (28 January 1999)

Evil Dead II opens with compressing the first half-hour of the original into five minutes, and then goes it's own ways. Despite it's title and appearance this is a remake, not a sequel. It was a bit disappointing to me because I, naively, had waited for another horror movie, and instead I get a clumsy, and confusing slapstick comedy, which doesn't seem to make much sense. It isn't all bad, though, Bruce Campbell is funny as the main character Ash, and he does his best to make the visual jokes as funny as possible. Unfortunately, most of the funny parts are unintended, and therefore a bit clumsy. But for those who liked the first Evil Dead, and payed close attention to it there's a lot more in store. Funny references and inside jokes towards the first Evil Dead are plenty and most of them are pretty good. SPOILER For example, when Ash hits a monster with an axe, you only see the shadows of the blood and gore, which was shown so graphically in the original. This kind of reflects upon the whole movie, not as gory, not as scary, but done with slightly more taste and style than it's predecessor, allthough that isn't very much. If someone who didn't see the original saw this he/she probably would hate it, but those who have will probably notice the same (and more so) tongue-in-cheek attitude of Evil Dead I, and the numerous inside jokes. Recommendable for the fans of the original, others beware.