Evil Dead 2 1987

Here's a beloved film that was seminal to my film-viewing as a teenager. It captured my imagination because this was an adventure/comedy in the Spielberg/Lucas vein but filled with gore, monsters and spooky settings. And it was so much more fun and flashy than the original Evil Dead. But its not one of those films that I revist often and this last viewing revealed that its not as great as I and others remember. It sucks when nostalgia wears off.

I went back to this movie because there is internet debate on whether the film is a sequel or remake. People who worked on it have called it both or just a remake, while its fans are outraged at the idea that its not "the greatest horror sequel ever". I can now confirm that the film is a remake and not a traditional sequel. To be more precise, its a reboot and maybe the "original" reboot.

Evil Dead 2 starts with a flashback but not to Evil Dead. The events in the original Evil Dead didn't happen (because Sam Raimi couldn't get the rights), so similar events happen to this film's version of Ash but he's not the same Ash. The characters and hellish torture he went through is erased and replaced with a condensed 10 minute version of some scenes from the original. This film's Ash then goes through a scene-by-scene recreation of the first film (this is what makes it a remake and not a sequel) including a possessed witch in the cellar, man-eating trees, a bridge thats been destroyed and finding a book to send demons back to Hell. Notice how ED2's Ash finds the bridge and book as new discoveries. Because he is not the original Ash.

Losing continuity really spoils the fun for me. It was a clever trick to hide that this isn't a real sequel, but the appeal was that the same universe had suddenly shifted its tone to a more comic and action-driven one and that Ash had to re-live the horrors he experienced. Now I see that this Ash is really a comic book copy of the original and the plot is just a lazy re-telling to cash-in on the original film. The charm has worn off and the cynicism is pretty thick as Raimi does a fairly shabby job with much of the film, only showing interest in trying new camera tricks and playing with a bigger budget. He's obviously looking towards his future Hollywood career and mining old ideas to prep for it. Its a very kinetic, wild and weird movie, but not nearly as effective, sincere and artistic as the original. The rubbery FX and cheap laughs were so cool 15 years ago but now come off as boring. I'm really turned off at the lack of thrills and suspense. It tries to be scary a few times and fails miserably. The action is there but its so dated by today's standards. Kudos to being ambitious and very high quality in its day.

To Raimi's credit, he has done much more with the premise of a action-comedy Evil Dead with his new Evil Dead TV series, which is just Evil Dead 2 done over and over again. But the best continuation of the original Evil Dead, ironically, is the 2013 reboot. That film was much more original and simultaneously faithful to the 1980 classic. (Evil Dead 2's sequel "Army of Darkness" has nothing to do with the other Evil Dead's, but is a fun horror movie for kids and delivers more of the Monty Python/Three Stooges worship).

Evil Dead 2 has earned a huge reputation as an entertaining and over-the-top follow-up to a film that was very hard to top. It does not top the original, but its a very unique spin-off. But its not the best horror sequel. I think it works best as a standalone film, which is why its very popular with people who don't necessarily enjoy the original. Like I said, this is the original reboot.