Chad

IBJoel

Didn't this was part of the challenge, but watched this 2 nights ago! Definitely better than I remember it, although AoD is still my favorite and first exposure to the series (probably related)

Undeadcow

Evil Dead 2 is a kinetic upbeat gore comedy that is one of the best horror movies ever made and a highlight of the franchise. Its effects have aged but in a delicious way that compliments its lighthearted comedic tone. The tracking shots work well and theres a lot of cinematic experimentation that make ED2 feel unique even beyond the far out plot and effects. The evil hand is a great twist and emphasizes that the supernatural force here has not shape of its own but can attack only in the forn of something familiar or loved; its a girlfriend, mother, or part of oneself rather than some masked killer - abstract but ever changinf enough its never ill defined.

I remember the high of seeing Evil Dead 2 the first time after discovering the public library would let me check out R rated films own my own that my parents would never have approved of.

Gobear

Evil Dead II isn't a sequel; it's a remake with a higher budget and better production values. To be honest, I prefer the dark horror of the first film unalloyed by pratfalls and physical gags.

I first saw EDII in 1987 as a double feature with Nightmare on Elm Street III in a rundown movie palace in downtown Cleveland with full audience participation. Seeing with an appreciative and vocal crowd enhanced the experience.

Obi-Wanma

It's a sequel. The opening only exists because they didn't have the rights to use footage from the first film for a recap. It ends exactly where the first film did.

Gobear

No, EDII ends by Ash traveling through time to medieval England.

Obi-Wanma

What does that have to do with it not being a sequel? I'm talking about part 1 to part 2. The opening of Evil Dead 2 is a recap of the first movie, and it ends with the Deadite force traveling through the house and into Ash's body, the same way the first film ends. At that point is the real beginning of ED2, everything before it is a quick recap of ED1.

But the same thing happened with ED2 into Army of Darkness. New recap.

Obi-Wanma

Take it from Ash himself:

Toddarino

Sequel not remake.

Anyway I think while obviously this has a higher budget and is a “better” movie, I find it vastly inferior to the first one.
Im not a fan of horror comedy which I’ve mentioned before, but this is still a rare exception. It’s a great film and I do watch it often. Plus that fucking scene with the mirror is the best thing Bruce Campbell has ever done.

Fist of Doom Jr

Ah, I see the debate still rages on!

As for the movie: like the evil dead force, it's an entity all its own. Campbell establishes his legend with an all-out performance. Love the groovy chainsaw hand. Oh, and the poster with just the skull w/eyeballs is one of the best horror movie posters ever.

I love I and II, but prefer the original. Both movies are a mix of horror and comedy, but the first is more horror.

wishbone

It's both a floor wax and a dessert topping!

I love Evil Dead II now as much as I did when I watched it as a rental with friends in the late '80s. From the possessed hand pulling unconscious Ash across the floor to puppet Linda wielding the chainsaw to the blood floods there is so much daft fun to enjoy in this movie. If you have not read it Bruce Campbell's autobiography If Chins Could Kill: Confessions of a B Movie Actor provides some great stories and insight on The Evil Dead series.

clckworang

Considering the mountains of extra features out there about this movie, I'm surprised anyone would still call this a remake.

I remember the first time I watched this. I was staying with my uncle, and he was watching it on TNT (I think) and making great cracks about it. I was early in high school, and the movie left a mark. When I got back, I ended up renting the VHS to show a friend, and then we rented it again to show other friends and so on.

While I've always thought it was a hoot to watch, it wasn't until later that I was able to fully appreciate what Raimi and team accomplished here with so little money and resources. It really was quite the feat, and it's amazing how influential such a little movie turned out to be.

rbrown498

If you're old enough to have seen The Evil Dead in its original theatrical run (way back in 1983), you found NOTHING funny about the film. It was one of the scariest movies that I and all of my friends had ever seen. Because of that, and because of watching it over and over again on VHS before Evil Dead II came out, AND because of the TV ads that made the film look as scary as the first film, I was expecting the sequel to BE as scary as the first one. My best friend and I were in the theater on opening night, ready to be scared silly, and we got a comedy. I was mad about it, but my best friend was enraged. He was so mad that watching the film gave him a headache. We left the theater with him ranting about how he was going to write Sam Raimi and give him a piece of his mind.

Over the years, I've warmed up quite a bit to Evil Dead II, but it's still my least-favorite film in the original trilogy. Now that I don't have an emotional stake in how the film plays, I have to admit that it's pretty bravura film making. It just wasn't what I was expecting at the time at ALL.

My subset film rankings for the Challenge thus far:

1. Battle Royale
2. Carrie (1976)
3. Curse of the Demon
4. Freaky
5. Evil Dead II
6. Slither
7. Possessor Uncut
8. The Ninth Gate
9. Tower of Evil
10. Witchfinder General
11. A Bay of Blood / The Spiral Staircase (averaged together)
12. Planet Terror
13. Silent Madness
14. Slumber Party Massacre II (based purely on its out-of-left-field aesthetic)
15. In Search of Darkness
16. Opera
17. The Gate
18. Road Games
19. Daughters of Darkness
20. Triangle
21. The Untold Story
22. The Collector
23. Cure
24. Hello Mary Lou: Prom Night II
25. Grave Robbers (Ladrones de Tumbas)
26. Body Bags
27. The Severed Arm
28. Fade to Black
29. The Empty Man
30. The Mortuary Collection
31. Cutting Class