Contains
mild spoilers.
I'm going to start
by extolling the virtues of this film. It's manic, hilarious and gratuitously
over the top; a none-stop entertainment thrill-ride with a virtuoso slap-stick
acting performance from Bruce Campbell, and it oozes style and vision at every
turn. Honestly it's probably the best horror/comedy ever made and if you don't
like it there's something wrong with you. Yes, I quite like this film.
Ok it's basically a
rehash of the first, with a weak attempt at a recap, Ok Ash is more the crazed
manic hero than the cowardly oddball reluctant survivor, and Ok the effects are
still hilariously bad compared to the hyper-realistic stuff we're now used to,
but honestly none of this matters a jot. Also is it really a zombie film?
Probably not but I'll go into this in a bit and I still think has a place on a
blog such as this.
Sam Raimi is still a
genius. I loved The Evil Dead declaring it probably as good as it gets horror.
Stylish, ambitious, an eye for action and suspense, and perfectly paced. Always
on the edge of turning into a full on over the top farce, it trod quite the
precarious line. Gratuitous gore, shocking sequences and hammy dialogue were
all present but I always felt it understood restraint; knew when to pull back,
and more or less, it stuck to a horror narrative. With Evil Dead II
Raimi and Campbell haven't showed such restraint, fully embracing the slapstick humour and ridulous
nature that was present in the first, but never fully allowed to flourish or take centre
stage. Bruce Campbell was always a bit of a clown exaggerating his actions and
behaviour but here not only is he allowed to throw himself about with as much
gusto and abandon as he can, he has a script and director that go out of their
way to positively encourage his antics at every opportunity and it all comes
together flawlessly.
From probably the
best chase sequence ever put on film to the ludicrous 14th Century climax the
pacing is relentless and like its predecessor the cinematic aesthetic ambitious
and audacious. This is a film with a true identity, understanding what it is, what
it's trying to do and executing it all with breathtaking ease and simplicity.
Nothing ever feels forced, action and dialogue flow and each increasingly
over-the-top sequence merges into the next with ease and comfort. There's also
no trying to push an ensemble cast, who do a sterling job of not being totally
eclipsed by Campbell, as anything other than shallow parodies there to meet unfortunate ends. It's brilliant, cohesive and authentic.
Evil Dead II like its
predecessor is a possession film which turns people into zombie like
monstrosities. It's not a clear cut die, reanimate sort of story and I don't
think you could ever call them zombies per se. The Evil Darkness unleashed by
reading from the Book of the Dead takes peoples souls and possession of their
bodies, and whether they're dead or not is irrelevant. They're puppets to be
controlled and thrown about; they can not only shrug off being shot, stabbed
smashed, but severed heads can still taunt and mock and like in The Return of the Living Dead severed limbs scuttle about with a life of their own. There's
no undead rabid drive for flesh or vacant soulless instinctual reanimation,
these are bodies fully alive with the sentience and will of their possessor and
bestowed the ability to levitate, reanimate and metamorphose into fantastical monsters. Zombies? Only really in that they're still active and
possessed even after death, and the way to shut them up is the traditional,
tried and tested brain mash.
Evil Dead II, is
bloody good ride; a relentless farcical rush into the bizarre and twisted. A
showcase for the brilliance of Bruce Campbell, Raimi and Co. took the over-top
of the first, and put it front and centre creating a seminal horror/comedy that
I can't praise enough. Brilliant, entertaining and stupid, 10/10.
WTD.
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