Evil Dead 2

The best of comedy horrors. This movie wastes no time, essentially recapping all the set-up of the first movie in less than 5 minutes, and from then on it's just schlock and great set-pieces... The possession and Ray Harryhausen inspired reanimation dance of Ash's girlfriend. The possession of Ash's hand. The laughing of inanimate objects. The workshed. The attack of the trees. The descent into the basement. And a hilarious 'Confederate Yankee in King Arthur's Court' of an ending... It's all so over the top. Director, Sam Rami, called this a Three Stooges picture with blood and guts instead of custard pies. The slapstick is spot on here and Bruce Campbell makes the perfect hero - the kind of B-movie macho with a great chin and by the end of the movie silver wings, but somehow undercut by a rubber face and comic performance that feels like an inspiration for Jim Carrey. For a good chunk of the movie he is on his own - being driven crazy in isolation and he is always entertaining and compelling. For me, the next film in the franchise, 'Army of Darkness,' takes the slapstick a little too far, occasionally spoiling the fantastic premise, but here the balance feels right. It's not parody - it's just joyful in its gore. The effect-work throughout is kind of astonishing. Sure, you can feel the budget, but the use of miniatures, stop-motion modelling, simple camera tricks, prosthetics, copious amounts of fake blood and perhaps most notably a camera on a stick run low along the ground is iconic and effective. It's even more impressive when you realise most of the movie was filmed in a high school gym. Endlessly quotable: "I'll swallow your soul." "Swallow this" "Groovy" "Woodshed" "Who's laughing now!" "Then let's head on down into that cellar and carve ourselves a witch" It has influenced a lot of films over the years. Beyond the extended Evil Dead franchise, if you enjoyed this, I'd recommend Braindead (aka Dead Alive)(1992), Drag me to Hell (2009), Bubba Ho Tep (2002), Cabin Fever (2002) and Cabin in the Woods (2011)