If you expect a horror, you're likely to be disappointed, and if you expect a comedy too... but...

Rating: 9/10 (6 June 2003)

There are very mixed opinions about this movie I see, some trash it cos it's not a real horror, others say (well, 'write' actually) the jokes are pretty weak (and not even real jokes, after all) and so it does not even work as a comedy. Many others, on the contrary, are enthusiastic about it. Well, IMHO, the deal here is just to understand what this stuff really is, and if I had to describe it in one word I'd say it is "grotesque". Don't focus your attention on the horrific elements, not either on the funny elements, but rather on the total weirdness of the whole. Yes, this movie is a gem of weirdness, it's a caricature of a horror movie; it exaggerates the stereotypes of that genre, therefore ridiculizing them (but not necessarily presenting them as plain funny).
The first one of the series I saw was... well, the last: "Army of Darkness", and I really enjoyed it as a comedy, so I managed to see this one, thinking it was pretty similar and guess what? I was disappointed 'cause I considered it more of a horror flick than of a comedy. Then I read the comments here and realized that for many other guys happened the opposite thing: they saw the 1st Evil Dead, enjoyed it as a horror, and expected this sequel to be something similar, but they were disappointed 'cause to them this looked more like... a comedy.
What's the moral of this rigmarole of mine then? Here is: if you're looking for a horror movie get rather the first Evil Dead, and if you're looking for a comedy get rather Army Of Darkness; ED2 falls in between but nevertheless it got its own appeal, with its odd moments and weird hysterical characters (Yeah, Ash rules, but what about the witch in the cellar?). If tragi-comic, absurd and grotesque situations charm you this is definitely worth a go.
7/10