Evil Dead II (15, 84 mins)
Director: Sam Raimi
★ ★ ★ ★ ★
Part sequel and part remake, this delirious horror comedy sees Bruce Campbell return as Ash, as he and his girlfriend head to a secluded cabin in the mountains. The Book of the Dead features highly again, this time with added backstory as Ash listens to the tape recordings of the professor who found the book, through which evil spirits can possess the living. It doesn't mess about for a moment, with Ash’s girl possessed within the first five minutes and he forced to decapitate her. But that's only the start of his problems, and he's soon possessed himself while the daughter of the professor and her companions make their way to the cabin to add to the fun.
Director Sam Raimi creates a demented funhouse and manages the extremely rare feat of being terrifying and hilarious at the same time. Through quite astonishing camerawork, this is a movie that’s endlessly inventive and witty, with wonderful makeup effects making for sequence after sequence of breathtaking fun. In the pre-digital days in which it was made, this meant puppetry, stop-motion and sheer ingenuity, along with some lovely matte work.
It’s all driven by the human punching bag that is Campbell, as he gamely and masochistically bashes and smashes, chainsaws and chops his way through Three Stooges routines, and it’s a remarkable performance. This is horror by Looney Tunes, and it's a masterpiece.
Blu-ray: Evil Dead II has never looked or sounded this good on home video, and with over two hours of in-depth documentary and behind the scenes material plus a fun commentary with Raimi and Campbell, this is a package not to be missed.
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