Movie Review: Evil Dead 2 Dead by Dawn (1987) (series, #2)
Summary:
Ash either inexplicably completely forgot about the first evil dead incident or is having some sort of alternate version of his life presented. Either way, he returns to the same cabin from Evil Dead with his girlfriend, oblivious of any evil occurrences. Within about 5 minutes, he plays the tape that raises the demons. It immediately possesses his girlfriend. The professor’s daughter and some hillbillies stop by, adding to the possible body count. Can they survive until dawn?
Review:
I kind of love the fact that this is a sequel that isn’t so much a sequel as a reimagining of the first Evil Dead. What if Ash arrived with just one other person? What if the main problem wasn’t being infected by wood but instead a possessed dismembered hand running around?
Evil Dead 2 doesn’t mess around. It gets right to the gore, and it does so completely tongue-in-cheek. As opposed to the early tree porn in Evil Dead, Evil Dead 2 has chainsaw dismemberment within the first 10 minutes.
However, don’t get me wrong. This movie is a delicious combination of horror and humor, mainly due to Ash’s dismembered hand. It becomes possessed and the man chops it off with a chainsaw, and then it becomes a nemesis throughout the movie. A nemesis he partly fights with the chainsaw he tied to his arm to replace said hand. Yeah, that’s right. You get a chainsaw for a limb in this movie. Really truly badass! The humor also is derived from the hillbilly couple who show up with the professor’s daughter and her boyfriend, as well as great sight gags. The movie knows it’s B horror, and it thrives on it.
For once I can say, this is a sequel that is just as worth watching as the original.
5 out of 5 stars
Source: Netflix
Previous Movies in Series:
The Evil Dead (1981), review
I’m not a horror movie fan, but my ex-boyfriend was, and he had me watch this. After 20 minutes, I freaked out and yelled for him to turn it off. It had every element of a horror movie freaks me out, so yeah. Not good for me, but I can see why horror movie fans would like it. haha
Lol! I can just imagine someone who doesn’t like horror movies attempting to watch this. Guess I should add an addendum: 5 stars for people who *like* horror. 😉