Evil Dead II, also known as Evil Dead 2: Dead by Dawn, can be seen as a sequel to Evil Dead, a remake, or a little of both. Director Sam Raimi never intended to do a sequel, the pleas from fans, and a tidy sum of money from Dino De Laurentis’s DEG production company, convinced him to return to the film that had brought him recognition. However, instead of picking up where Evil Dead left off, Raimi spends the first 10 minutes of this second film, essentially recapping the first. Ash (Bruce Campbell) heads up to the cabin with his girlfriend Linda (played here by Denise Bixler). The two discover the Necronomicon, and, in no time, Linda is a zombie and Ash is forced to chop her up to save himself.
Things really pick up moments after Linda is buried and Ash is violently hurled through the air by the evil force, crashing into a tree, momentarily possessed. The next day, finds Ash trying to survive another night in the cabin while introducing a audiences to a cast of characters caught in this alternate storyline. This time around, the Book of the Dead was discovered by an archeology professor, who recites passages from it onto a tape recorder. When Ash listens to the incantation, he unwittingly unleashes a mass of malicious spirits. Annie (Sarah Berry), the professor’s daughter, and her boyfriend (Richard Domeier) show up with a hillbilly couple (Kassie Wesley and Danny Hicks) who serve to provide some comic relief. The inclusion of the characters allows Sam Raimi to play up the slapstick elements of the story.
While somewhat scary, much like its predecessor, Evil Dead 2 can’t really be considered a straight horror movie. It’s one heck of an entertaining experience, but the whole thing is so over the top it’s silly; the gore is so excessive, one tends to laugh, instead of recoiling in terror. This is made quite evident in the sight-gags meant as homage to The Three Stooges and the stop-motion animation action sequences that bring to mind the movies of Ray Harryhausen. Most important is the fact that this film paved the way for an equally hysterical third installment, featuring Sam Raimi’s original story idea of Ash Williams battling the undead in the Middle Ages.
Bruce Campbell has said that this 25th Anniversary Edition of Evil Dead 2 sports a new AVC encoded 1080p transfer in 1.85:1, supposedly much improved from the problematic original Starz/Anchor Bay Blu-ray release, but generally speaking, Evil Dead 2 has never really looked very good in any of its home video releases. With that said, this transfer is pretty strong. Black levels are surprisingly rich and dense. The color contrast looks as good as it probably ever will. Grime is minimal and detail quality is fairly good.
The DTS-HD 5.1 Master Audio sound mix is quite impressive, with directional sound effects that match the movie’s restless camera work. Dialogue is a bit muffled at times: It sounds limited compared to the sound effects. Surrounds are used effectively without being totally overbearing.
English SDH, English, and Spanish subtitles are included.
The following special features are included:
- Audio Commentary with Writer/Director Sam Raimi, Actor Bruce Campbell, Co-Writer Scott Spiegel and Special Make-Up Effects Artist Greg Nicotero. This previously released commentary track is a fairly rowdy affair, though Nicotero’s contributions are quite interesting, and all of the commentators manage to provide a lot of technical detail about how the film was made.
- Swallowed Souls: The Making of Evil Dead 2 (HD; 1:38:00). This is a great assemblage of featurettes which includes the requisite interviews with cast and crew, but also explain the insane ambience of the film and its unexpected cultural impact.
- Cabin Fever – A “Fly on the Wall” Look Behind the Scenes of Evil Dead II (HD; 30:22) features some video segments from Special Make-Up Effects Creator Greg Nicotero’s own “home movies,” which show several effects and make-ups being created, as well as some deleted scenes that didn’t make into the final cut.
- Road to Wadesboro: Revisiting the Shooting Location with Filmmaker Tony Elwood (HD; 8:00) features the film’s special effects props master.
- Evil Dead II: Behind-the-Screams (SD; 17:07) is an Anchor Bay archival featurette with Tom Sullivan hosting and narrating a slideshow of various stills showing effects and creatures being fabricated, as well as on the set shots of the actors.
- The Gore the Merrier (SD; 31:51) is another archival making of featurette which concentrates on the blood and guts aspect of the film.
- theatrical Trailer (HD; 1:29)
- Still Galleries are split into Advertising & Memorabilia, Behind-the-Scenes, Special Make-up Effects and Stop Motion Animation.
