Evil Dead II (1987)

The fact that it has “II” in the title and people still confuse it for a remake of the first one shows how poorly it connects to it and how much it mirrors its plot. Still, this is a great horror flick that somehow manages to amp up the ridiculous gore of its predecessor while also adding lots of delightful absurdist horror-comedy that always keeps you on your toes and thoroughly entertained (see the possessed hand bit, laughing home decor). One-liner-spouting Ash is glistening and great.

7

The Evil Dead (1981)

Fittingly rough around the edges; the bumpy tracking shots and ramshackle editing is the perfect wrapping paper for the campy acting and over-the-top gore and jump scares that emerge from the classic dumb-young-adults-on-a-pleasure-trip premise (the only thing that didn’t fit was the unpleasantly dark tree rape scene). The wild third act and its ridiculous gore (bountiful buckets of blood and other unidentified fluids spilling and spewing and oozing out of everywhere) is truly amazing to behold.

6

JWM SPOOKATHON 2017: Army of Darkness (1992)

A man is accidentally transported to 1300 A.D., where he must battle an army of the dead and retrieve the Necronomicon so he can return home. (IMDb)

I was hoping for some campy horror goodness and was not disappointed: The stop-motion skeletons, creepy books, and aggressive old witches (and let’s not forget the murderous mini-mes and body double growing out someone’s shoulder) are only amplified in their goofy spookiness by the cliche medieval setting and entertaining zoom-happy camerawork. Would’ve liked to see a few more memorable characters, but the cheesy macho Ash is a solid, quotable lead (“Good. Bad. I’m the guy with a gun”).

7.5/10 (Really Good)

CREEPY QUOTE: “The book awoke something dark in the woods, something evil.” – Ash

SPOOKY STILL: