Horror Classics Revisited: Evil Dead II

This review will contain spoilers for Evil Dead II.

Evil Dead II is a lovingly made satire of terrible horror movies. This film has (intentionally) hammy acting and inane dialogue. Bruce Campbell gives a brilliantly over the top performance as the movie's groovy hero, Ash. Campbell's facial expressions are sometimes so goofy and absurd that even the most stern viewers will crack a smile.

I suppose the best thing I can say about Evil Dead II is that it is unpredictable. From very early on, director Sam Raimi keeps playing with our expectations of what will happen to the characters. After Ash accidentally awakens an evil spirit in the woods, his girlfriend Linda is possessed and he is forced to decapitate her.

If that does not seem strange enough, Linda's head comes back to life and bites Ash's hand. Ash then proceeds to comically smash the head on various objects, but to no avail. The head will not come off his hand. Finally, Ash races to the shed and places Linda's head in a vise.

Ash looks around for the chainsaw so he can destroy Linda's head for good. Just then, Linda's headless torso bursts into the room holding the chainsaw high. Ash quickly defends himself and causes Linda's torso to cut itself in half, spraying black ooze all over Ash's face.

Later that night, Ash sits down and tries to relax. Slowly, he becomes aware that his hand is now possessed after being bit by Linda's head. This leads to one of the most bizarre and hilarious scenes in movie history.

Ash's rogue hand smashes dinner plates over his head, slams him into a counter, beats him up and finally flips him over. This is Evil Dead II at its insane best. Bruce Campbell's stuntwork is fantastic and its a wonder that he kept a straight face during this gut-busting scene.

As Ash lies broken and bloody on the floor, his possessed hand inches closer and closer towards a chainsaw on the floor. The hand nearly succeeds, but Ash plunges a knife into the hand and revves up the chainsaw. "WHO'S LAUGHING NOW?!?" bellows Ash, as he severs off his evil hand. Bright crimson blood splatters all over Ash's demented face, while he screams deliriously into the night.

Evil Dead II's gore sequences and stuntwork are all the more enjoyable because they are practical. All the makeup, prosthectics and fake blood were created from scratch and as a result, they are more effective than CGI. The creature makeup and effects are all first rate, even for 1987.

I can't begin to describe all of this movie's brilliance in one article but I hope that I at least touched on it. Evil Dead II is an absolutely hilarious horror spoof that benefits greatly from the presence of Bruce Campbell and the brilliant vision of director Sam Raimi.

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