Review #182: Evil Dead II - Dead By Dawn (1987)

This review was originally written in 2022.

Gabe's 100 Bucket List Horror Films Review #37: Evil Dead II - Dead By Dawn (1987)

So, full disclosure: Evil Dead II was my favorite movie for many years. It's not anymore, but I went into this viewing knowing full well I was going to give it a 10/10. It's been a while since I've seen it, and I will say that I found myself looking at it a bit less nostalgically than I expected, but I'm still giving it a 10/10 anyway. Just so you know right off the bat.

The thing about Evil Dead II is that it has a very weird place in its series. Ostensibly it's a sequel to The Evil Dead, but (spoilers) The Evil Dead (sort of) ends with everyone getting killed (maybe?) so it would be really weird to follow that up by continuing the same storyline. My understanding is that they intended for it to pick up immediately where the previous film left off, but with the reveal that Ash wasn't killed, just possessed (which does happen in this film), but they weren't able to get the rights to use the footage from the previous film so they re-shot certain scenes with some details changed around so that they could lead into the possession, effectively retconning the previous film into a five-minute segment at the beginning of this one. As I said that seems to be the intent (Bruce Campbell has even suggested that somebody edit the two movies together so that when he gets possessed at the end of the previous film it cuts right to the possession in this film), but watching the two movies back-to-back today has reinforced my assumption that it isn't that simple. I assert that Evil Dead II is not a sequel by any metric- rather, it's a better remake of The Evil Dead, retelling most of the same story but calling itself a sequel (much like what Return of the Living Dead II would do the following year). I've gotten into arguments about this online- some people insist it IS a sequel, despite the retconned introduction- but I maintain that watching the two in quick succession shows numerous scenes getting repeated (like the tree molestation happening in both films, to Ash having two completely different descents into madness, and so on) and it just feels so much like this is the movie they would have made the first time, had they the experience and budget necessary.

But Evil Dead II has everything. Where the first movie was straight horror, with only the tiniest hints at humor simply being byproducts of the director and lead actor being lifelong fans of slapstick, Evil Dead II goes full-on horror-comedy at times while still maintaining the heights of dread, terror, and gore effects, and the last twenty minutes of the film turns into a straight-up badass action movie, spawning the "chainsaw strapped to my arm" and "shotgun + catchphrases" tropes that have stood the test of time. This movie almost feels like three movies with completely different tones fitted perfectly together, and compared to his incredibly lackluster performance the last time, Bruce Campbell's acting is leagues ahead this time around, descending into madness in the first third, playing around in slapstick land with a possessed hand in the second third, and then becoming the time-travelling badass in the final third. That's why I say this feels like a better remake of the previous film: Bruce Campbell knocks his performance out of the park in a way that the first one clearly wanted him to but couldn't quite make it.

This film is incredibly fun, has amazing practical effects, great performances and makeup all around, and has one of the greatest ending twists in the genre. This movie had its own sequel (called Army of Darkness) that similarly retcons parts of the story, The Evil Dead got a modern movie reboot, and then the series as a whole got a three-season TV follow-up. Also, Ash has appeared in comic books with the likes of Freddy Krueger, Jason Voorhees, and even Marvel superheroes! (Not to mention numerous Evil Dead video games, but I don't think they're very well-regarded.) 

If you like anything Evil Dead, we're living in the best timeline with TONS of fantastic media for you to enjoy!

Go out be groovy, everyone!

Overall Rating: 10/10 Heinous Horror Hags

Additional Media: Did you know there's an Evil Dead musical? It's amazing, and follows the plot of Evil Dead 1 + 2. Apparently the performances used a LOT of fake blood (you could buy white t-shirts at the show that would get drenched in it if you sat in the front row) and you can watch the whole thing on YouTube!