Evil Dead II

Sam Raimi and Bruce Campbell got back together to make this sequel six years after the original, and it's obvious that their confidence in their own craft had increased greatly. Campbell has bloomed into a highly charismatic, drawing presence on the screen, and the character of Ash has transformed from a mostly normal guy to a more hardened person who may or may not be totally insane. Raimi matches his enthusiasm with a much more chaotic style of filming for most of the picture. It feels less homemade and much more stylized, although I hesitate to call it higher budget. It definitely is, but not in a way that comes close to what that concept usually means for sequels. The money shot is probably where whatever's behind the camera chases Ash again, but instead of stopping at the door it pursues him through the entire house as he scampers through every nook and cranny just running for his life. These movies are just filled with little touches that put you inside the mind of a disturbed individual.

Evil Dead II is part sequel to the first movie, part remake. The first seven minutes are a simplified recapping of the first part of the story, done because they didn't have the rights to show footage from the first film, and it's pretty clear that the subsequent events all take place afterward. Still, several elements of the plot aren't reestablished until after the recap, and the plot of several people trapped in a cabin overnight is pretty much exactly the same, so it's a somewhat unusual situation. The movie easily avoids feeling like a retreat though by the huge increase in Stuff Happening that is Totally Nuts. Ash's hand goes evil and he has to remove it. Gallons of blood pour from the walls. Objects in the house start talking to him. It's never quite clear if it's all in his head (besides the hand which is totally real), and the movie is more maniacal than scary at every turn. Eventually Ash and a fellow survivor find a way to possibly send the source of the evil away so they can get back to civilization, and the preparation scene where he gets his famous look is one of the most brilliant things I've ever seen. Things don't go quite as planned, and another sequel is set up. Except this time, it's in the Middle Ages! Wowee wow wow! So... yeah. Good movie.