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Evil Dead II

Evil Dead II

List Price: $39.98
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Rating: 5 stars
Summary: Unlike anything you've seen
Review: When I first saw "Evil Dead 2," I had recently become a fan of watching horror movies and mocking them with a friend and a beer. A friend of mine told me I had to see "Evil Dead 2" so I thought that meant it would be pretty bad and I would have myself a good time watching it. From the first six minutes of "Evil Dead 2" I became strangely in love with this film and watched with awe. "Evil Dead 2" is a remake of "The Evil Dead" but instead of making a serious horror film, it is a satire of the whole genre. "Evil Dead 2" has some of the greatest and most interesting camera work I've seen in a movie. The film is filled with the craziest crap your eyes will ever see. Bruce Campbell, instead of being a wimp like he is in "The Evil Dead," is now a witty mad man that can take anything and delivers some of the greatest one liners ever (kinda like John McLane in the "Die Hard" series). If you want to see a horror film that is beyond anything you've ever seen and will actually enjoy then you need to see "Evil Dead 2." It is the best horror film I've seen thus far and the best in the series.

Rating: 5 stars
Summary: Possibly the greatest horror film ever made
Review: In 1982, moviemaking team Sam Raimi, Robert Tapert, and Bruce Campbell found that their low-budget film THE EVIL DEAD was a hit. Producer Irvan Shapiro wanted a sequel, but the team had no plans for a follow-up to the Stephen King-acclaimed horror hit. But soon Shapiro had advertisements for "Evil Dead II: The Medieval Dead" (which later became ARMY OF DARKNESS), and the crew was forced to make a sequel. Thus we have EVIL DEAD II, co-writer/director Sam Raimi's horror masterpiece follow-up to the original hit. Also known as "Evil Dead 2: Dead by Dawn", EDII isn't as much a sequel as a semi-remake of the first film. In a flashback which changes the story from the first film slightly (there were only two people who came to the cabin instead of five), Ash (Bruce Campbell) travels to a cabin in the woods completely isolated from society with his girlfriend, Linda (Denise Bixler). But soon, Ash has accidentally unleashed the forces of evil that have been lurking in the woods; forces that possess the flesh of the living and gut anything and everything that moves. With Linda headless and possessed, the film picks up where the first left off with Ash still trapped in the woods with the evil force. This time, however, a group of strangers stumble upon the cabin and they too are trapped with Ash; but they aren't the only ones still hiding in the cabin ...
EVIL DEAD II is a masterpiece of horror; Sam Raimi perfectly mixes creepy, gory horror with laugh-out-loud Three Stooges-esque comedy. Bruce Campbell's performance of Ash is classic and goes beyond description. Campbell goes through so much physical pain (including chopping off his own hand with a chainsaw) as to be both unbelievable and outrageous. The effects are fine, albeit not the best; Joseph LoDuca, who later worked on XENA: WARRIOR PRINCESS and HERCULES (both produced by Raimi and Tapert, and featuring Campbell), provides a good score. The film can entertain you time and time again, and keep you laughing and cringing till the end of your days. All in all, EVIL DEAD II is essential for horror fans; it is, possibly, the greatest horror film ever made. With the ending, there had to be one more in the series to criticize, however ...
Ash J. Williams + Chainsaw & Shotgun shall return in:
ARMY OF DARKNESS!

Rating: 5 stars
Summary: Dead by dawn, dead by dawn!!!!!!!!!
Review: Absolutely frickin hillarious!! My favorite scene was the laughing living room. When the deer's head turned and started laughing at Bruce, I fell out of the chair, I was laughing so hard. Great movie for laughs. Gory but insanely funny.

Rating: 5 stars
Summary: The Best Horror Action Film Ever
Review: There are many reasons why this one is rated as the greatest Bruce Campbell film and the finest film that director Sam Raimi (Spider-man) has done to date. First of all the cinematography in this movie is hands down one of the best you will ever see for a film of its type because the camera swirls around the place as if attached to an anti-gravity device. The next is the outstanding acting ability of Mr. Campbell as he literally holds the screen by himself for the vast majority of this fun horror movie. One of the most notable scenes in this picture is Mr. Campbell beating up himself on the screen. It is downright hysterical and looks brutally real (because it is!). There is no doubt that this guy will do anything to please the audience and there is also no doubt that the director just loves to torture him. "Mr. Cambell, do you mind while I strap you to a plank of wood and then drive you at top speed through the bushes and trees while you spin around on its axis?" .... "Hell yeah, sure Mr. Raimi. Whatever you say. I just love being in your pictures."

It is too hard to put down a single shot or scene in this movie as that which defines it. The whole thing from start to finish is just a fury of action that doesn't stop. This is also one of the best character build-ups in the history of cinema. At the start Ash (Bruce Campbell) is a sort of frightened scared little pissy-pants but by the end of the movie he is a fully fledged action hero with some wicked one-liners to boot. This film has some of the most memorable quotes in modern cinema.

Evil Dead II is largely a remake to the first Evil Dead movie but is also a sequel or can work as a stand alone vehicle. The premise is simple. Ash heads to a log cabin in the woods with his girlfriend and manages to wakeup the undead who turn his world, and cabin, upside down. There are things in the cellar, things in the woods and a chainsaw in the workshop.

There is no other film that moves at such pace and speed except maybe Black Hawk Down. Here Raimi conjures up scene by scene mayhem on a larger budget than his previous efforts and just keeps up the velocity relentlessly. It is no wonder why this film tops many fanboy polls as the greatest flick of all time.

In short you will be hard pressed to find a horror film with more action in it than Evil Dead II except for maybe Aliens, but then that is more of a Sci-Fi movie. If you have not seen Evil Dead II then it is about time that you did. This movie is a riot and is deserving of its everlasting repeating viewing appeal (And believe me fans do watch this one a couple of times a month).

One of the greatest shames in Cinema is that Hollywood has not been able to utilize or realize one of the finest B-movie actors of our generation. Maybe with Mr. Raimi picking up momentum there we just might get to see his lead star do more for the box office.

An essential for any horror/action fans collection.

Rating: 4 stars
Summary: Pretty horrifying.
Review: Although there is a lot in this film that doesn't make sense, it's a great remake of the orginal Evil Dead (yes, it's a remake, not a sequel). I think Raimi could have tempered himself a bit with the f/x sequences, as some are a bit overdone. It seems like he was interested in using every bit of his budget, regardless of whether a scene needed it or not. But it does make for an entertaining piece. Campbell's performance is brilliant.

Rating: 4 stars
Summary: We are the things that were and shall be again!
Review: 1987's "Evil Dead II" is a gargantuan gorefest that's packed with dizzying camera motion, morbid puppetry, and ghastly claymation. While acting as a prequel to 1993's "Army of Darkness," this movie combines grisly, over-the-top effects with farce and Three Stooges slapstick. I guarantee it, kiddies; "Evil Dead II" is sick, twisted, and insanely funny! There is so much violence that the cabin itself bleeds!
People have made a mistake by stating that in this movie, Ash (Bruce Campbell) returns to the Tennessee woods and unleashes the forces of evil all over again. That's not true at all. Actually, the first half of "Evil Dead II" fast-forwards through the events of the previous film, reminding horror fans of what occurred in the past: Ash and his girlfriend Linda (Denise Bixler) retreat to an old cabin in the forest. There they discover a tape recorder and the Necronomicon (Book of the Dead). After Ash plays the tape and accidentally awakens the Kandarian demons, Linda becomes possessed and Ash is forced to decapitate her in self-defence. To some viewers, these events may be a little too crunched together; to truly catch on, one would have to watch the original "Evil Dead" first.
In the film's latter half, Ash has to protect a new group of visitors. Annie Knowby (Sarah Berry), the daughter of the archaeologist who first found the Necronomincon, carries some missing pages that could eliminate the evil forever. Meanwhile, she is accompanied by her friend Ed (Richard Domeier), a local truck driver named Jake (Dan Hicks) and his lover Bobbie Joe (Kassie DePaiva). One by one, each victim is possessed and becomes a maniacal, flesh-eating zombie. If that's not horrible enough, the forest's angry trees are pulling themselves out of the ground, and the bloated, putrid corpse of Annie's mother Henrietta (Ted Raimi) is locked in the cellar! In the center of all this madness, a stronger and smarter Ash arms himself with a shotgun and chainsaw, transforming himself into the groovy bad boy we all know today!

Rating: 5 stars
Summary: Mr. Bauer is the greatest teacher this world has ever seen
Review: Since its release in 1987, writer/director Sam Raimi's Evil Dead 2 has garnered somewhat of a cult following among horror enthusiasts. Notable for its inventive camera shots, campy humor and over-the-top gore, this film is not for the faint of heart, or anyone with an aversion to slapstick humor.
Much like the first film, this semi-sequel (the basic plot mirrors that of the first film) begins with Ash (Bruce Campbell), who is on his way to a secluded cabin in the woods with his girlfriend Linda (Denise Bixler). However, things soon go awry as a nondescript demon takes Linda and transforms her into the walking dead. After fending off his former lover, Ash discovers that an ancient book was unearthed by an archaeologist who lived in the cabin, and, upon translating the book, an evil spirit with an insatiable thirst for blood and carnage was unleashed. Now, Ash must fight to protect his life, as well as his sanity.
As a horror film, Evil Dead 2 succeeds on many levels. First of all, the setting, an isolated cabin, adds palpable tension as Ash struggles to combat the creatures that lurk in the night. The audience is made to feel as claustrophobic as he must, running from small room to small room, never quite knowing what will pop out next. When Ash ventures into the woods, the anxiety ratchets up even further, since everyone knows that darkness acts as a blanket for the evil that lurks just beyond the shadows.
Raimi is a virtuoso behind the camera, with skewed perspectives, strange point-of-view shots (like a flying, severed eyeball) and crane shots so manic and wild you could mistake the film for a cartoon. Upside down, diagonal- the camera seems to be able to move anywhere, and the variety of shots adds a considerable amount of unpredictability and energy to the film. Raimi is very playful, very enthusiastic, and he does not hesitate to let these qualities bleed into his work.
Like Raimi, Campbell is a fan of the Three Stooges, and fast-paced, slapstick comedy in general. And as he proves in a very funny kitchen scene, Cambell is very adept when it comes to physical comedy. He can make you laugh while you simultaneously wince or simply stare in awe at the amount of viscera that soaks this film. The insane and often unexpected bits of humor, combined with Cambell's delightful overacting (he is often called the greatest B movie actor of all time) lend the film a unique aspect that makes it seem fresher that many of the ho-hum copycat slasher films that are released today.
Or maybe that freshness simply comes from all the blood of various colors that is being tossed around. On multiple occasions, the death of a character or severing of a limb result in a startlingly gratuitous spray of blood, which is by turns red, green, blue... a veritable cornucopia of vital juices. Due to its excessiveness, Raimi and the rest of the crew decided to purposely alter the color of the blood at certain points, offsetting the seriousness of the situation. It works, despite the fact that your jaw will still drop at a few of the more...body-drenching scenes (don't get too close to that hole in the wall...).
Overall, Evil Dead 2 presents a fresh, interesting and frequently entertaining look at a genre that has recently gotten stale and seemingly refuses to make any progress. However, if you yearn for the old days, with lower-than-low budgets and improvisational actors, this film is right up your alley. Fans of the Three Stooges or slapstick comedies such as The Naked Gun will surely be amused by it, and anyone whose thirst wasn't sated in gorefests like Peter Jackson's Bad Taste and Dead Alive will find themselves adequately satisfied. Fans of quality horror films with copious surprises and thrills need look no further. As an exemplary...example of a horror films, I give Evil Dead 2 , the highest rating possible.
Evil Dead 2, 84 min. 1987
Unrated: extreme violence, gore, language, precarious situations, lame acting


Rating: 5 stars
Summary: The Greatest
Review: I was six years old when I watched the original, which was OK. I was about 11 years old when Evil Dead 2 was released. I wasn't expecting much, was I in for a surprise. From start to end this was sheer class the story was the same as the original but Sam Raimi definitely did his home work on this one, everything from the setting, lighting and directing was spot on. The action never stopped, the violence is on another level, no wonder the movie was censored in the UK I even remember the debate on central live television regarding the release of this movie the censors were appalled saying the movie is too extreme, but this is a horror comedy. . Everything about this movie is brilliant fans world wide agree. Our hero is beaten black and blue, almost driven to insanity and even has his hand cut off (great) no other movie has ever done this before. This movie paved the way how horror movies should be made, how can people compare the likes of those unwatchable Italian rip offs to this master class, this is every gore hounds dream. An Essential DVD.

Rating: 5 stars
Summary: The Best
Review: This is simply the best horror/comedy movie of all time. Unlike Evil Dead which takes it self too seriously and just comes off as laughable, this doesn't and at the time it was quite unique for a horror movie. This has much more gore, the violence is wickedly twisted, an action packed sequel. It's no wonder that this sequel has spawned fans world wide. The story is virtually the same as the original but that were the similarities end. An essential DVD for anyone's collection, every scene is memorable and the lines are super cool, people expecting a serious affair best stay away. If you like your horror movies twisted, violent, and bloody gory this is the one for you. This is no cheap Italian wannabe.

Rating: 5 stars
Summary: Remeber it is a cult classic
Review: If your not a Bruce Campbell or Sam Raimi fan this "B" movie will either annoy you or turn you into a fan. The people who wrote bad reviews on this disk turned down the wrong road when they thought they were getting into realistic serious horror. This movie was not meant to be taken seriously; if you take it seriously you will be very dissapointed This is slapstick cheesy horror comedy at it's best. Bruce Campbell's one liners make the whole Evil Dead trilogy worth watching.


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