The Madness Continues with Evil Dead 2: Dead by Dawn

Spoiler Alert: This is a review of a sequel. If you have not seen the first one, Evil Dead, then you best go watch it now because this review gives away the ending to that.

Go ahead. We'll wait.

You back? Well, you'll be dead by dawn! Dead by Dawn! You see, Evil Dead 2: Dead by Dawn picks up exactly where the first left off. A different actress is playing Ash's girlfriend, but since she ends up getting cut to pieces and buried early on, this matters little.

Ok�â'¬ï¿½ so Ash has cut up all the evil demons, girlfriend included, and buried them. Now he tries to leave the scary woods but finds he can't. Oh noooo! Back to the cabin for our hero, where his dead girlfriend digs herself out and kinda reassembles her body...sorta... and proceeds to do a seductive dance for him. Not schlocky enough for ya yet? Keep watching!

We're gonna suck your soul! Suck your soul!

Now, you may get sucked into thinking that this time, armed with a bigger budget, Raimi decided to make the serious horror flick that he failed on last time. This would be correct... clear up until the infamous hand scene. Raimi may have gone for horror at first, but again it ended in comedic gory schlock. Ash's severed hand flips him off in one scene. We were rollin! Right after he cuts off his own possessed hand, he moves some books to get to some bandages and the camera pans to the book pile... on top is "Farewell to Arms'. Still think this was meant to be serious horror?

And yes folks, fear not, the woods once again do get laid... and the book is again the culprit, but this time it also holds the key to opening a portal to get rid of the evil forces.

Bruce Campbell is once again Ashley 'Ash' J. Williams... the guy who made the mistake of heading out for the abandoned cabin. This time Ash himself gets periodically possessed, but mostly it's his evil hand, which he cuts off at one point (see above)... which sets up the schlocky scene of the century. Campbell plays this one just as campy as the first one, possibly even more so. He pretty much does all his own 'stunts' in this... if you could call them stunts.

Suck this!

Kassie DePaiva, billed as Kassie Wesley, plays Bobby Jo, who really has no reason to be there except that they needed more victims for the demonic forces. Now, I mention her only because I recognized her face from something, but couldn't quite figure it out until the end... She is One Life To Live's Blair Daimler Cramer Buchanan Manning Holden, and was the Guiding Light's Chelsea Reardon. Actually, she can almost act. Almost. Poor Bobby Jo is the benefactor of the wood's attention this time, but not near as graphically as the first one.

Sam Raimi is once again the director, and co-writer. Although he does really try this time for horror, he again realizes that it aint gonna happen and just ends up having fun with it, even using the ending to set-up Army of Darkness, the last installment of this set and the most fun of the bunch. Raimi has also done For Love of the Game and Darkman.

The DVD
*Wide screen or standard

*Featurette: the Gore the Merrier.. do watch this!

*Commentary by Raimi, Campbell, Scott Spiegal (co-writer) and the special effects artist Greg Nicotero

*length is 85 minutes

Rated R in the cut version, non-rated in the uncut version. Lots of gore here folks, but it's really schlocky... like they purposely made quite a bit of the blood green or blue to try to get by the ratings folks. If you can watch it with your kids and point out the fakeness, let them watch this one. The rape scene isn't near as bad, no crotch shots this time that I recall. If you are uptight and think that hearing the word fuck will turn your child into a mass murderer, then don't let them watch. heh.

Evil Dead 2: Dead by Dawn is a wonderful must have addition to any horror collection, along with the first one and the next one. There is no reason not to have this set. You can find them for around 6 bucks apiece just about everywhere.