There have been numerous DVD releases of the cult-favorite Evil Dead films (the first Evil Dead, Evil Dead 2, and Army of Darkness), and this release of Evil Dead 2 is unique (mostly) for the packaging.  The DVD is packaged as a rubber book that looks exactly like the Book of the Dead featured in the films (including pages of demons and writing echoing what’s in the film) and if you press on the right eye it screams.  The first film was recently released in this Book of the Dead Limited Edition packaging and now comes this second film.  The extras are basically the same from the last DVD release of the film, with just one new extra featured here.

Evil Dead 2, released in 1987, is not so much a sequel as it is a remake of the first film with a bigger budget.  The plot is very similar to the first one (with the same lead character) and it is also quite simple.  A guy named Ash (Bruce Campbell) takes his girlfriend to a very isolated cabin in the woods.  He finds an old book and a recording of the cabin’s owner, a professor, translating the text of this book, called the Book of the Dead.  The words spoken on the recording unleash an evil that overtakes Ash’s girlfriend’s body and turns her into a zombie.  She goes right after Ash and he is forced to lop her head off and bury her body (I mean, wouldn’t you?).  But the evil just keeps coming after him and Ash tries to escape, but the one road out is now impossible to go over as the lone bridge is destroyed by the evil. 

The professor’s daughter, Annie (Sarah Berry), shows up with her boyfriend and a couple of local hicks who helped them find the cabin despite of the bridge being out.  Annie, thinking she’d find her father and mother there, finds herself trying to stay alive with Ash against this unrelenting evil.  It’s not long before most of them are killed in some way or another.  Whether it’s from the evil turning them into zombies or the woods coming alive and taking them, they have no where to hide.  Annie begins to understand what has been unleashed from this Book of the Dead and she holds the key to sending the evil back.  But the evil, which materializes in ghouls, trees, zombies, and dancing skeletons to name a few, keeps after her and Ash relentlessly.  Ash’s hand gets infected with it and he ends up chopping it right off.  The blood, guts and gore (as well as the laughs) reaches a fever pitch.  It’s up to Ash to fight back with a vengeance and help Annie vanquish this evil forever.  He straps a chainsaw to his handless arm and uses a sawed off shotgun with his one good hand, and goes to work on them.  But will he be able to destroy it before it destroys him and Annie?     

CRITIQUE

Evil Dead 2 is the best of the films in this cult-favorite series and is a classic in the horror genre.  The film is a berserk and hilarious send up of the genre as well, using a unique combination of physical comedy, visual inventiveness and genuine horror moments to create remarkable energy and loose fun.  It is one of the most original, clever and stylized horror films in history and it is spectacularly directed (and written) by Sam Raimi (Spiderman 2).

The film mixes in physical comedy, that is truly inspired with lunatic moments straight out of Looney Tunes cartoons or The Three Stooges, with out and out scares through classic horror mechanisms (like building tension to a climatic scare and the use of special effects for zombies, ghouls and other creatures of evil).  It keeps the film full of energy and intensity, giving it a mad genius.  The playful bounces back and forth from true horror to brilliant comedy make this film unique.  It is also much more fluid and tight than the first film, and the quality is leaps and bounds above the first one.

Raimi hit his stride as a creative and innovative director here, showing a mastery of camerawork and direction, piecing together such a taut and energetic film using a loose and wild style.  The use of the camera as the POV of the evil in the woods, rushing towards its victims or throughout the cabin, was an ingenious and brilliant strategy that paid huge dividends for him.  If not for this film and those genius ideas he was able to indulge, he probably would have never been given the reigns of the Spiderman series.  This is Raimi at his best and most inventive.

And Raimi found his muse as well in the most unlikely person, the hilarious Bruce Campbell.  Campbell will always be remembered as Ash, combining bravado in an outlaw style with a mastery of manic physical comedy.  He was like an out of control, hilariously frantic Clint Eastwood.  There have been rumors of an Ash comeback vehicle and here is hoping it happens.  This is one of my favorite characters in horror, a B-movie icon.  The supporting cast is not even in the same ballpark, in fact, the rest of the cast is actually pretty horrible.  The one big downside of the film would be the supporting cast.  The special effects are now extremely outdated, which actually adds to the lunacy and fun now. 

THE VIDEO

The transfer is presented in 1:85.1 anamorphic widescreen and it is probably the best the film will ever look.  But that doesn’t mean the film looks great.  The film is really not meant to look great and there are still many clarity issues.  I did not notice any improvements from the last DVD release, but again this is probably the best it is going to get.

THE AUDIO

Evil Dead 2 is presented in Dolby Digital 5.1 Surround Sound and the presentation is quite good.  The surround is active and dynamic; the scenes with the evil charging through the woods are truly pulse-pounding.  The dialogue is never muffled and the balances are terrific.

THE EXTRAS

There aren’t many extras in this special edition but they are quite good and fun, all except one were on the last DVD release.  But the packaging is priceless and if you do not own a prior release of the film on DVD, buy this one.  If you do already own a release, you’ll have to decide if the packaging is truly worth it to have pretty much the same content (considering the price, you’ll probably opt not to).

Audio Commentary with Director Sam Raimi, Bruce Campbell and other crew members – This is actually a very well known commentary track.  In discussing the best commentary tracks this one always comes up, and now I can see why.  This is one of the funniest, most entertaining and interesting commentary tracks I’ve ever listened to.  For the most part, they are just ripping on one another through the whole thing; Raimi is making fun of Campbell’s acting and Campbell ripping on the film quality and so forth.  It’s just a blast to listen to.

The Gore The Merrier featurette – This featurette, running about 30 minutes, is a pretty standard making-of featurette included in the last DVD release.  There is a lot of behind the scenes footage of cast and crew and it goes heavy into the special effects.  A very cool part of it is that it has footage of the prosthetics being put into use.  Worth a look.

Evil Dead 2: Behind-the-Screams – This is the new featurette made for this special edition release that is mostly about the creatures in the film.  It uses set photos and drawings to show the conceptualization and then actual film use of the different demons and zombies in the film.  It also goes into some more areas of making the film and it is narrated by the film’s producer.  This feels like a tacked on extra just to include something new in this release.

Rounding out the extras is the Theatrical Trailer and Talent Bios.

FINAL THOUGHTS

Evil Dead 2 is a classic film of the horror genre, a cult favorite, that is unique for its mix of gut-busting physical humor and bravado from Bruce Campbell, truly scary horror scenes and creatures, and a loose and creative directorial style from Sam Raimi (hitting his creative stride here).  This limited edition doesn’t add much except very unique and interesting packaging, so if you already own it you don’t need to spend the extra dime but if you do not own the film on DVD this is the edition to buy.