Cabin+Woods+Evil Spirits = Hilarious Horror!

Rating: Null/10 (25 June 2004)

Sporting the tagline, `Kiss your nerves goodbye' - Evil dead 2 is essentially a re-make of Sam Raimi's first Evil dead movie. This time round the movie's bigger budget is noticeable in the effects department. However, the movie remains loyal by weaving in and out the original storyline. It differs with its slightly more tongue-in-cheek approach with more gore, more frights and an interesting twist at the end allowing for the classic pun in the third movie in the series: The Medieval Dead.
Bruce Campbell is back in his superb role as Ashley, the store clerk looking forward to a quiet weekend away with his girlfriend in a cabin in the woods. His weekend turns out to be anything but quiet. Inadvertently, he summons evil spirits when he finds spooky incantations on a tape recorder belonging to a Professor researching into the phenomena. When his girlfriend is possessed, Ashley is forced to kill her and buries her out in the woods. But she doesn't stay in the ground long. She returns to the cabin to aide the evil spirits in wrecking havoc and generally making Ashley's life hell. And they succeed with horrific and hilarious results.
This is a gem of a movie paying tribute to the original, which in it's own right is an all time classic having inspired and influenced a whole new genre of horror flicks. The camera work, in particular the first person POV of the `demon/evil spirit' is unique for its time, producing astonishing results. Bruce Campbell's role is highly commendable. His facial expressions alone allow the audience to empathise with his agony. The film does lack the eerie spookiness of the original but makes up with the laughs and the gore that is exaggerated for maximum effect. A must for horror fans!