As I remarked the last time we got a Blu-ray edition of Re-Animator (it wouldn’t surprise me if there have been more since), there are times when the task of reviewing a ‘new release’ of an old genre favourite feels arbitrary in the extreme. For anyone who knows their movies, there are some titles that really need no introduction, so integral are they to the structure of the cinematic landscape. And if I consider that true of Stuart Gordon’s 1985 splatter spectacular, it must be doubly (triply? Quadruply?) true of Sam Raimi’s 1987 sequel to his notorious breakthrough horror classic. Evil Dead 2 is a film I’ve discussed at length before; the film, the franchise as a whole, and its lead protagonist are all very, very firmly established as cornerstones of modern horror. There’s very little debating its significance; in genre circles and beyond, Evil Dead 2 is held up as a masterpiece, and one of those select few sequels that almost certainly surpasses its predecessor in every respect. Nor am I just going along with the consensus in saying this, as Evil Dead 2 is easily one of my top ten, probably even top five all-time personal favourites.
With this said, I do find myself uncertain whether I can come up with much fresh insight into the film for this look at this new edition from Studiocanal, which sees Evil Dead 2 released to 4K Ultra HD for the first time in the UK. Still, far be it from me to assume that all readers are as familiar with the film as I am, so the bulk of what follows is primarily for the benefit of those who might need a bit more of an introduction. (As for the rest of you; I rather doubt you need me to say anything more to give you an incentive to buy this. It’s Evil Dead 2, and it’s never looked and sounded better. Shut up and give Studiocanal your money.)
The first important thing to note if you’ve never seen Evil Dead 2 is that it doesn’t matter one iota if you haven’t seen the original Evil Dead either. Indeed, in a way it might actually be helpful if you haven’t, as in most respects the film is more remake than sequel, and seems specifically designed to be accessible to the uninitiated. The opening scenes play out as a condensed retread of the events of the first film, with Bruce Campbell’s Ash – now a square-jawed twentysomething, as opposed the puppy-fat sporting teen of the original – drives up to a remote cabin in the woods with his girlfriend Linda (Denise Bixler) for a romantic weekend getaway, which promptly goes to hell when the couple come under attack by some unseen demonic force which turns Linda into a bloodthirsty deadite. Somehow managing to stay alive, yet unable to escape, Ash holes up in the cabin where he comes to endure all manner of bizarre torments. However, help is on the way in the form of Annie (Sarah Berry), daughter of the historian whose research into the fabled Necronomicon is indirectly responsible for this dreaded deadite outbreak.
The original Evil Dead was surely the best known title caught up in Britain’s infamous Video Nasty panic; banned outright for most of the 1980s, it was only released uncut in 2000, and the sequel too initially had trouble with the censors, only getting an 18 after a few seconds of cuts. As such, it might raise some eyebrows that this fully uncut version of Evil Dead 2 is now rated 15. However, by contrast with its deliberately outrageous predecessor – and, for that matter, with the franchise’s similarly envelope-pushing TV offshoot, Ash Vs Evil Dead – Evil Dead 2 is far less interested in prompting shock and awe than it is in simply thrilling, delighting, and tickling the funny bone. While there’s certainly plenty of bloodshed, it’s presented in such a cartoonish manner that it can’t possibly be taken seriously, and more often than not green slime and/or black goop take the place of your standard red gore. Beyond a single F-bomb, swearing is largely absent too, and while the sequel does revisit the original’s still-controversial ‘tree rape’ sequence, it makes a point of downplaying any sexual overtone this time around. Indeed, Evil Dead 2 is so low on explicit content that in some households it might even pass for family entertainment.
The result is not so much ‘the ultimate experience in gruelling terror’ (the Stephen King quote around which the legend of the original Evil Dead was built), but rather a fairground haunted house attraction, with puppets and people in masks jumping out and yelling ‘boo!’ in such a way as to both alarm and prompt laughter at the same time. As I think is pretty well established, audience reactions to comedy and horror aren’t really that far removed, and Evil Dead 2 plays in the grey area betwixt those two arenas to arguably greater effect than any film before or since. This is largely thanks to the partnership between two truly remarkable artists doing what almost certainly stands up as the best work either have ever done: director Sam Raimi, whose hyper-kinetic camerawork, plus use of editing and sound, redefined the visual vocabulary of horror (and beyond); and leading man Bruce Campbell, whose screen presence and physical comedy chops truly are second to none.
I can also safely say that I’ve never seen Raimi’s vision look better than I have in this new edition. Whilst I should stress that I didn’t look at the 4K edition (sorry tech heads, I’m still a comparative luddite), the Blu-ray looks and sounds absolutely great, with far greater nuance and detail visible than in earlier DVD editions, and from the looks of things more than a couple of digital touch-ups: some previously visible wires appear to have been wiped away. It’s also a great package in terms of extras, although again most of these have been reproduced from earlier editions: amongst others, we have the commentary track and featurettes from the original Evil Dead 2 DVD, plus 2011 feature length documentary Swallowed Souls: The Making of Evil Dead 2, and French documentary Bloody and Groovy, Baby!, which sports a wide variety of filmmakers discussing the film and its impact.
It really isn’t overstating matters to say that Evil Dead 2 is one of the greatest, most significant horror movies of the last four decades which belongs of the shelf of any self-respecting collector, so this is absolutely the edition to get your hands on if you don’t already own it, as well as being a wholly deserving trade-up for existing owners who want it in higher-res. Enough of my yammering, go buy it.
And would you believe it made it all this way without once saying “groovy?”
Evil Dead 2 is out now in a 4K Ultra HD & Blu-ray combo edition, plus Blu-ray and DVD, from Studiocanal.