L'opéra de la terreur 2

This is the type of film we really wish we made ourselves before some else thought of it. It's intelligent but not entirely complex ... entirely enjoyable yet a serious piece of film making ... everything adds up to cult status. It's the type of film your uninformed friends (or mine at least, I'm surely surrounded by fools) dismiss as trash without giving it a chance.

Raimi showed us the thrills, chills and blackly tinged laughs he could bring about in the first in the series on a virtually non-existent budget. Here with just that little bit more he retreads old ground but everything still works ... probably more effectively too! Seeing some of props used and slightly off production values (the 'muppet' headless girlfriend in the shed, the demon head stuck to camera attacking Ash towards the end, Ted Raimi's ripped old lady from hell suit and the quickest of glimpses of set floor boards during one stage of shooting) shows how Raimi was still constrained by budget issues.

Seriously though, who cares ... this film has 6 different colours of blood, some seriously funny slap-stick scenes (didn't think I'd say that anytime soon) and a chemistry between lead Campbell and director Raimi that let the jokes flow freely.

Campbell proves himself a master of face contortion, self-harm as well as flipping himself over! So many classic scenes in such a short space of time ... my favourite being when Jake is dragged into the cellar and a torment of pink blood comes pumping out. The camera work is as dynamic and as fast paced as in the first outing, the shot of ash standing by the remains of the bridge at the start of film standing out for its grandness among otherwise less cinematic shots.

The film leads on nicely to the 3rd installment in the series with one-handed Ash getting sucked into another dimension to face the undead in jolly olde England (or something like that). It really is no wonder that the in-store geeks/pop-culture snobs of High Fidelty described Evil Dead II as the greatest movie of all time.

'Groovey' indeed.

This film, is without a shadow of a doubt, one of finest, most imaginative comedy horror films ever made. Raimi, has put all the aspects of the film together in masterful fashion. The camera work and sound effects are pulsating, and the timing is perfection. And in Bruce Campbell, the film as a lead actor who gives an exceptional performance. Campbell plays "Ash", an everyday, supermarket attendant who suddenly finds himself thrown into the unusual situation of having to defend himself against, zombies, evil spirits and even his own possessed hand, just in order to survive the night. I laughed, I gasped, and I gripped the arm of my chair throughout! If you like your comedies, black and hilarious, and your horror, gory and sensational, then look no further. Raimi has created the definitive comedy horror! Fantastic!

Amusing and terrifying bloodfeast in which Ash/Bruce Campbell returns for a second round when he takes refuge in an abandoned cabin and taking place subsequent transformation the people into evil demons until only Ashley J. Williams remains to battle the evil . This frightening , strikingly designed horror/comedy movie achieved a lot of success thanks to its unstopped terror and humor , including continuous resemblances to the original version also directed by Sam Raimi . It deals with a 20th century guy , Ash (Bruce Campbell) , none too bright hero , who finds caught between scary monsters located into a ghastly cabin in which unwittingly emerge resurrect demons . As the lone survivor of an onslaught of flesh-possessing spirits holds up in a cabin with a group of strangers while the demons continue their attack . As Ash along with his shotgun , and his chainsaw finds the ¨Book of the Dead¨ and subsequently to confront a nasty witch . Later on , square-jawed Ash must fight an army of ghouls and generally causes all those wreak havoc .

An eerie , tongue firmly in cheek sequel of the original festival of gore and gags in which an ancient book of magic , Necronomicon , invokes a crowd of joke-tossing , flesh-snacking skeletons . Exuberately gory and filled of guts flick , and filled with primitive special effects , by using stop-motion technique . This comic book extravaganza is blending from previous version ¨Dead evil¨ with creepy creatures submitted a fantastic possession have transformed into flesh eating . Highly adequate make-up and appropriate special effects with enjoyable monstrous creatures and apparent technological exuberance . It must be stated that this is one of the grossest , disgusting and most brutally unnerving movies in the eighties . A fun retelling providing chills , hilarious situations and grisly horror and isn't apt for squeamish neither feeble stomachs . The producers insisted upon using different colors of blood to avoid an X rating , this proved futile, as the MPAA gave the film an X anyway ; after cuts, they received a more desirable R rating . This independently produced gem features sets and production standards but is skillfully narrated and results to be an exciting horror/comedy film . Sympathetic acting by Bruce Campbell as improbable hero . Although Bruce Campbell was displeased with the studio's delayed release of the film and their re-editing of it , as he stated he wasted a year of his life waiting for the film to get released to cinemas . This one is Bruce Campbell's favorite film of the trilogy ('The Evil Dead', 'Evil Dead 2: Dead by Dawn', and 'Army of Darkness' in which Ash is hurled back to the 14th-century through the powers of an evil book and attempts to get back to his own time) . There appears cameo by Sam Raimi as the first Medieval knight to raise his sword and give his speech before hailing to Ash and the Zombified Henrietta was actually played by Sam Raimi's little brother , Ted Raimi . Thrilling as well as rousing musical score by Joseph LoDuca . Colorful and evocative cinematography by Peter Deming , though most of the film was shot on a set built inside the gymnasium of the JR Faison Junior High School in Wadesboro, North Carolina .

The motion picture was well directed by Sam Raimi , but many scenes were deleted from the movie and according to official reports, all of them and original version of the movie are lost . All 3 films can be seamlessly cut together , including some introductory footage in the follow-ups . The first installment was ¨Evil dead¨(1983) by Sam Raimi with Betsy Baker , Theresa Tilly and Bruce Campbell who finds ¨The Necronomicon¨, dealing with a group of friends are vacationing in Tennessee woods when go into a mountain cabin and they find the book of the dead , then begins a possession demoniac and they undergo an eerie changing at night and going on a murderous rampage . Followed by two sequels with similar actor (Bruce Campbell) , producer (Robert Tapert by Renaissance pictures) , musician (Joseph LoDuca) and compellingly directed by Sam Raimi . Its sequel was this ¨Evil dead 2 , Dead by Dawn¨ (1987) also starred by Sarah Berry , Dan Hicks , Kassie Wesley DePaiva , Ted Raimi , among others . And ¨Army of darkness¨ who finds Ash accidentally transported to 1300 A.D., as he is trapped in the middle ages where attempts to retrieve the Necronomicon so he can return home ; this is a big-budgeter film , while its predecessors were low-budget , it was stunningly directed by Sam Raimi with great originality , though takes parts here and there , too . It's become a cult favorite thanks to its relentless terror , irony , graphic horror but has still tongue-in-cheek . Well worth watching for terror and gore lovers .

Always a tricky fish to try and fry, the second instalment of a growing franchise, recognising that the same as before just won't do, a need to break away from what's started and to brew, there's still plenty of gore and a great deal of splatter, without CGI, lots of matter gets scattered, some inconsistency, with the early story, but it soon moves along, although there's not really a song (why would there be), must have been lots of fun, making monsters to gun, making potions from notions, appendages that can run, it's quite dated today, though it had been ground breaking, but I enjoyed going back, got more hooked on the making - and It didn't make me laugh, and never did, and there's a good reason for that!!!

The movie is basically like the first one but with better effects and more laughs. Evil Dead II is a Horror/Comedy at its finest. This film did set up all the hype about the franchise and it did its job very good. You will laugh, get scared and see some stunning effects for this budget.

Evil Dead II, the movie that we have to thank for it all.

8/10