A highly anticipated addition to the cult favorite Evil Dead series, this flick was somewhat of a disappointment to me. The first Evil Dead was a masterpiece true to its roots with scenes that scared the daylights out of us mortals. Then came along a sequel, which in many ways was similar to ED1 – it’s got Ash, his bimbo girlfriend & that same old cabin in the woods. But wait, this is where the writers decide to take the whole Evil Dead series on a downward spiral by adding an element of slapstick to an otherwise perfectly made sequel. While the idea of slapstick may have worked wonders on the 3 Stooges, it does not lend itself well to the horror movie genre. Viewers expecting a serious scare are in for a big disappointment as the overly comedic tones in AOD simply defeats the purpose of watching it in the first place.

So what happens here?
After defeating the evil forces at the end of the second ED, poor Ash gets himself thrown into an inter-dimensional portal hurling him back to the year 1300 AD where he gets caught up in some wacky medieval hi-jinks involving a peasant wench, an evil book & a legion of undead nasties. The over-apprehensive nature of the folks back then led them to believe that Ash was a member of an enemy clan, resulting in his arrest & attempted execution.

If you thought medieval executions merely involved a simple beheading or a soak in hot oil, you’ll be surprised at what these blood-thirsty peasants have in store for Ash. Shortly after being subjected to a 40 mile forced march, our chainsaw wielding hero is later kicked into a watery pit containing a host of foul zombie-like beasts. Those zombie pit creatures prove no match for Ash who makes mince-meat out of them using his chainsaw attached limb thus gaining the respect of his former captors.

With a quick demonstration of his Michigan-made boom-stick, these primitive medievals were more than convinced into thinking that he was some kind of a god send by the heavens above to fight the evil running rampant in their pathetic little kingdom. Later in the movie, after some naughty time with his newly found wench, we find Ash setting out on a quest to find the dreaded evil book which, unfortunately happens to be the only thing capable of returning him back to the 20th century.

Folks, let me remind you, this is where director, Sam Raimi goes overboard in his attempt to imitate an act made popular by the 3 Stooges. In that creepy old windmill, for example, there’s a scene in which Ash gets tormented by a gang of mini-Ashes who somehow managed to beat the cr*p out of our would be hero. Later after retrieving the evil book, he gets himself poked in the eye, slapped silly then beaten up by an army of skeletons.

Finally, after taking a beating that would knock even someone like Mike Tyson out, Ash makes a triumphant return to the castle carrying along with him the evil book of the dead. Knowing the entire army of the dead will soon be converging upon them like a swarm of angry bees, the peasants, with the help of some modern technology obtained from Ash’s chemistry 101 text, start on their preparation for the final climatic showdown.

Final thoughts:
This movie tries too hard to be funny. There’s an overdose of slapstick comedic elements that would have looked good on an episode of the 3 Stooges, but not here. In fact, I would hardly call this a scary movie. Still worth a look, though if you’re in the mood for some cheesy, eye-gauging antics or if you happen to be Bruce Campbell fan.




Recommended:
Yes

Viewing Format: VHS
Video Occasion: Better than Watching TV
Suitability For Children: Suitable for Children Age 9 - 12