Before I begin the review proper, I feel the geeky need to address the strange continuity of the Evil Dead series. Evil Dead 2 bills itself as a sequel, yet its account of the night before directly contradicts The Evil Dead. So is it a sequel, a remake or a retcon? Wikipedia provides no answers, so I personally choose something in between.

About halfway through the movie, I decided that the first few minutes of Evil Dead 2 were like a brief recap of the previous movie and that the prequel itself was more or less the definitive version of what really happened. So long as you make the allowance that Ash, Linda, Cheryl, Scotty and Shelley found the cabin and decided to spend the weekend there — rather than rent the place — there’s really nothing major in the sequel to contradict that version of events. In fact, it would actually make more sense that way, as the original introduces the strange dagger that appears halfway through Evil Dead 2 without any introduction. This theory is slightly gummed up by the scene of Ash discovering that the bridge is destroyed, but I choose to interpret this as Ash’s discovery that the bridge’s destruction was not some illusion created by the Necronomicon. The bridge is still toast and the threat is still alive, so he screamed.

With that out of the way, Evil Dead 2.

If you read my entry on The Evil Dead, you may remember when I said that the last act was my favorite part of that movie. It was pure… I believe the phrase “bugfuck insanity” is the description I used. Amazing special effects and inventive uses of fake bodily fluids in addition to some really scary imagery.

I didn’t know what I was talking about. I hadn’t seen anything yet.

This movie does not wait to bring on the dementia. It hits pretty much immediately and it never, ever stops. This movie is 84 minutes of raw nightmare fuel. Visuals that I never thought I’d see without the aid of hallucinogenic mushrooms. Somewhere around this point, I thought “My god, this must be what hell is like.” If I knew for a fact that hell would be spending eternity in that cabin, going through all the events of this movie, I’d spend the rest of my life going to church every day of the week.

But really, the increased craziness of this movie is just a symptom of a larger cause: Everything about this movie is so much better than the original. The acting is still shlocky — Bruce Campbell has an especially good time chewing scenery — but it’s still a step above that of the original. The camera work is much more polished and a couple of the long “swooping” shots look wonderfully choreographed. The special effects are still shoestring, but there’s a lot more of them here and they all look a ton better than anything in the first movie. The scares and suspense are still cheap, but they’re much better-delivered here.

And then there’s the comedy. The humor is extremely dark, but this is still a very funny movie. The sight gags are wonderful and the film never takes itself seriously. I mean, just look at this (as if you haven’t already). That right there is the moment when Ash goes from a scared and tired college kid, turning into the full-fledged badass known to pop culture at large. But let’s face it: That’s a pretty comical image. Ash has become a character so awesome that his machismo is hilariously exaggerated. Its awesome with a subtle comedic undertone. That, my friends, is Evil Dead 2.

I don’t think I need to say much more because this film speaks for itself pretty damn loudly. Evil Dead 2 is an action/horror/comedy that’s wonderfully campy and a thrill to sit through. Watch The Evil Dead, watch its sequel and don’t you dare watch one without the other.

P.S. I’m expecting to rent Army of Darkness for next week, so watch this space.