Hail to the King, baby...

Rating: 7/10 (6 February 2005)

Sequel/remake of the classic Evil Dead, this time focusing more on the humorous aspects of slicing and dicing people.
Evil Dead 2 is obviously not meant to be taken seriously. It's a horror film, but not as much so as the original. What we have here is a bunch of guys having fun with effects and and a camera. It's all very tongue in cheek, and fortunately very entertaining.
You don't care about continuity problems, goofs, or dodgy effects. There's an amateurish charm over the film that works just fine. It's nice to see that you can have a film with many faults without someone going back after-wards trying to cover up their mistakes and make it look better (Yes George Lucas, I'm talking to you.)
The central thrust of this film is of course Bruce Campbell, who oozes of charisma as he picks up his chainsaw, ready to take on the undead. The rest of the cast are obviously just cannon fodder, but who cares?
Evil Dead 2 is also interesting for its surreal tone. At times, it feels more like an art film than cheap horror. There are flaws, after all it really is a cheap horror flick, but the sheer enthusiasm and warped comedy that's gone in to this film makes up for much of it. [7/10]