MYST #4: Evil Dead 2

MYST #4: Evil Dead 2
Review By Nicky Nocerino
     What makes a good bad movie. Sharknado, Troll 2, there are tons of them out there, and they are some of the best fun you can have with a movie. But what is it that makes them so? Usually I would say it is a form of schadenfreude, or the feeling of of joy at another's pain or failure. We laugh because we can see what they were trying to do, but they failed so horribly it is almost unbelievable, and upon seeing this we can laugh at that failure. This begs the question however, how can Evil Dead 2 successfully fit into this category if its ridiculousness was entirely intended. They were trying to make this more bad, they succeeded, and it is amazing. Thus in lies the paradox of succeeding at failing. logically this movie should not be good, but humans are far from logical beings, and so we have Evil Dead 2.
     Directed by Sam Raimi, who is most commonly known for directing the original Spiderman trilogy,  Evil Dead 2 serves far more as a remake of Evil Dead than a sequel. Both movies have practically identical plots, star the same character, Ash, played by the same actor, Bruce Campbell, and don't acknowledge each other's existence. The only real difference between the movies seems to be budget, the first being filmed at 1/10th of the already meager budget of the second. Regardless, both movies start of in the holy land of horror movies, an abandoned forest cabin. Here Ash and his Girlfriend Linda (Denise Bixler) stay while on a get away when Ash comes across a recording of translated passages from the mythical book of the dead. Of course it isn't some chapter on burial rights, but instead an incantation for summoning a demon. From here Ash must fight of the undead every night as the demon has destroy the bridge that is somehow the only way out of a forest.
     Now this probably sounds like the most generic horror plot of all time. Well that is because it is, but is also were this movie excels beyond belief. Ash fights dancing corpses, possessed allies, killer trees, and my personal favorite, his own right hand. Armed with only a chainsaw and his trusty boomstick Ash goes through one hell of a night (pun intended). The one thing that makes this atrocity work so well is that this movie take itself 100% seriously. It goes all out with the cheap costumes and ridiculous amounts blood and gore, but it never goes tongue in cheek. watching Ash fight his own right hand would be funny if it was just played for gags, but it is made amazing when they full out commit to the joke. In fact, that is what this entire movie is, a joke take entirely seriously. For example, this movie has some of the best cinematography I have ever seen, it uses the camera in way that have never been seen before, the iconic monster point of view chase scenes for example, and it uses these tools to make a schlock horror movie. For christ's sake, even after Ash Straps a chainsaw where his had used to be and starts spitting catchphrases the movie still takes itself seriously, making it all the more hilarious, as well as fairly kick-ass. For this Bruce Campbell deserves  heaps of  praise, which i suppose he did get considering this movie made his career, since his combination of Nicholas Cage levels over acting, serious portrayals of fear, and moments of pure bad-ass, are what hold this movie together.

     Another piece of what makes this movie so good is the understanding it has of both it's genre and film itself. As i mentioned previously, this movie has excellent cinematography, but it also has a profound understanding of "movie magic". Its creative use of cheap props and sloppy stop motion show a great understanding what to show, and what not to show, as well as keeping the mood at a perfect level of camp.
     All in all, if watching Bruce Campbell getting the snot beaten out of him on by his own, demonically possessed right hand sounds like something you might enjoy, go watch this movie right now. If not, maybe gather some friends and what it as part of  a Halloween movie marathon, you should be able to still have a good time with it. If you have read my John Dies At The End review then know that this movie probably inspired that one. Its campy as hell, fun as hell, and funny ass hell I give it four pluses and four minuses, with the understanding that most of categories I gave minuses to were intentionally bad to add to the mood.

Plot	-
Characters	-
Acting	-
Music	+
Cinematography	+
Effects	-
Style	+
Personal enjoyment	+

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