Ash VS The Evil Hand

Rating: 8/10 (28 October 2019)

"Evil Dead II: Dead By Dawn" is a 1987 horror comedy directed by Sam Raimi starring Bruce Campbell and ... . When it comes to categorising this flick the people still argue to this day: Is it a remake or is it a sequel? I would say it both, it's sort of a remake and obviously a sequel. When I watched it for the first time I was highly confused how it's only loosely based on the horrifying events of its predecessor. Now that I know that it's the result of legal issues I can appreciate the production. While the first movie was pure gory horror, Raimi decided to go in another and more experimental direction with this one. The hilarious genre mix of splatter, slapstick and stop motion animation delivers absolutely weird fun. The first act shows us the fight of the charismatic lone survivor, as he deals with both his declining mental health and the supernatural possessing forces. It shows how great of a comedy actor Campbell is, as he dominates the scene for almost half and hour. With enough jokes and humourous ideas (Ash vs. The Evil Hand!) it offers a unique pleasure, but with the start of the second act the horror begins to show itself. While the atmosphere isn't as packing as it's predecessor's, there are enough gruesome and gory effects to terrorise the audience (Henrietta!). Most of it might be over the top, but that's why it works so well. I mean, a guy with a chainsaw prothesis and shotgun! What do you want more? All in all, this one might not be the perfect sequel for everyone, it definitely doesn't come close to the original, but if you embrace the madness and love the style of Raimi, you're in for hell of fun. Groovy!