Evil Dead II

January 5, 2003

It’s not my fault no one wanted to watch Transylvania 6-500!

It took almost an hour to pick the Sunday movie today. After going through every single DVD we own, we decided on this one. Everyone had seen it except my sister-in-law, and – from the look on her face throughout the film, she probably should have kept it that way.

I guess I just came from a different place. When I was in college, everyone loved the Evil Dead movies. At least I thought they did. Maybe my ex was just projecting his ‘lust’ for Ash upon everyone else. In any case, Deadites were definitely ‘IN’ in the 90s. Evil Dead II was even a No Elvis Film Series selection, courtesy of our film professor’s extensive laser disc collection. (I know, I know, heresy – we couldn’t get access to film projectors for a while and had to resort to laser discs and videos.)

Evil Dead II is the sequel/remake of The Evil Dead. The beginning vaguely recaps the first movie, well insofar that it gets Ash to the cabin with a dead girlfriend, though strangely without the friends in the first film. After she’s been chopped up with a chainsaw, the film moves into definite sequel territory, with even more carnage than the first one. The main difference between this film and the first is that the laughs are intentional. There’s no tree rape in this one though. Bummer.

So Bruce Campbell hates the legacy of Ash now. Insert world’s tiniest violin here. There’s something to be said about the cult status he has achieved. There is no shame in being a strictly B-Movie Actor. So he probably won’t be getting an Oscar anytime soon. Cuba Gooding Jr. has an Oscar and he does shit like Snow Dogs. Even Bruce has never gone THAT low.

I got a good drinking game for you – one even more toxic than SMURFS! Watch Evil Dead II and drink everytime Ash gets whacked in the head. You’ll be in the Emergency Room before the credits roll!