Director: Sam Raimi
Cast: Bruce Campbell, Sarah Berry, Dan Hicks, Kassie Wesley
Have I Seen it Before: A couple of us guys watched it late one night in High School. When you’re taking in movies at that age, you’re more susceptible than at any other point in your life* than to have contrary opinions about movies, just for the sake of having contrary opinions about it.
I didn’t like the film. You would have thought that I had pledged my life to Al-Qaida. For years after that, I wondered if I had taken the stance because I too felt that need to not enjoy something everyone was.
I honestly haven’t watched the film since.
Did I Like It: Well…
I really wanted to. As you—or at least, as I—head north of forty, there’s a temptation to like something more than its reputation or your own memory would suggest. Star Wars - Episode I: The Phantom Menace (1999) becomes a unique symbol of the auteur, and a children’s film making the bold choice to be mostly about trade policy. Batman & Robin (1997) is a heartfelt action adventure film, if you can get over most of the writing and cheap staging. I’ll defend The Shadow (1994) despite an array of flaws weighing it down.
It’s time for me to give Evil Dead II another chance.
And yet.
Something about this film just doesn’t connect with me. It’s nothing more than a cheap array of horror gags. Perhaps more polished than the original The Evil Dead (1981), but never concerned with being as satisfying as Army of Darkness (1992). All of the pieces of Raimi’s brilliance are here, but they don’t cook together. The gore sprays. The monsters groan. Campbell mugs. Rinse and repeat. Campbell is a charming enough presence, but there’s a reason that he was never a big enough star to be the lead in Darkman (1990) or the villain in an eventual sequel to Spider-Man (2002). I think he might agree, and indeed has made a career based on this very same image, but Campbell isn’t much more than a B actor.
*Some people never get over it.