Evil Dead II

Name: Evil Dead II
Genre: Mystery, Thriller, Fantasy, Horror, Comedy
Released: March 13, 1987
Duration: 84 min
Rating: 72
Cast: Bruce Campbell, Sarah Berry

1987

METASCORE

Generally favorable reviews based on 18 Critic Reviews

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USER SCORE

Universal acclaim based on 246 Ratings

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8.2

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8.2	User Score Universal acclaim based on 246 Ratings

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Movie Details & Credits

Rosebud Communications Releasing | Release Date: March 13, 1987 | X

Starring: Bruce Campbell, Sarah Berry

Summary: Ash (Campbell), the sole survivor of "The Evil Dead," continues his struggle with the forces of the dead, with his girlfriend Linda. The two discover a mysterious tape recorder and hear the voice of Professor Knoby reciting passages from the Necronomicon, or Book of the Dead. The professor's words invoke a spell that unleashes the spirit ofAsh (Campbell), the sole survivor of "The Evil Dead," continues his struggle with the forces of the dead, with his girlfriend Linda. The two discover a mysterious tape recorder and hear the voice of Professor Knoby reciting passages from the Necronomicon, or Book of the Dead. The professor's words invoke a spell that unleashes the spirit of evil alive in the remote forest surrounding them. Watch in terror as the plot sickens and the supernatural demons invade the cabin on a gory crusade for human victims. In desperation, Ash attempts to escape his horrific fate by battling with the gruesome ghouls with the help of some unexpected visitors. However, he discovers that he is no match for the unspeakable creatures lurking behind every door, and waiting beyond every corner. (Anchor Bay Entertainment)… Expand

Director: Sam Raimi

Genre(s): Mystery, Thriller, Fantasy, Horror, Comedy

Rating: X

Runtime: 84 min

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Critic Reviews

100

Empire William Thomas

The gaudily gory, virtuoso, hyper-kinetic horror sequel/remake uses every trick in the cinematic book, and confirms that Bruce Campbell and Raimi are gods. Read full review

100

Jeremy Zoss

Thanks to Sam Raimi’s inventive style and Bruce Campbell’s hysterical performance, the horror-comedy genre has grown into a legitimate genre, but Evil Dead 2 will forever be the king. Read full review

Kevin Thomas

Evil Dead 2: Dead by Dawn never lets up, continually introducing new characters and adding new thrills and chills right up to the last frame… A terrific trip, although admittedly not one that everybody would enjoy taking. [13 Mar 1987, Calendar, p.6-14]

Dave Kehr

Evil Dead 2 is, pardon the expression, consistently lively--a ghoulish splatter comedy that uses wildly excessive gore to provoke the kind of shock that lies between a laugh and a scream. [10 Apr 1987, Friday, p.M]

Fernando F. Croce

Sam Raimi’s sequel/remake is full-on gore slapstick, more Tex Avery than Dario Argento. Read full review

Staff (Not Credited)

More an absurdist comedy than a horror film, Evil Dead II is a flashy good-natured display of special effects and scare tactics so extreme they can only be taken for laughs. Read full review

Pat Graham

The effects are just as delirious this time around, but the nightmare poetry has vanished, along with the sense of archetypal purpose and narrative inevitability that held the jack-in-the-box original together. Read full review

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User Reviews

PvtJackson

Jun 16, 2014

Evil Dead II: Dead By Dawn is a breathtaking part 2, worthy of expectations from both fans and critics about the sequel of the original renowned movie. Bruce Campbell returned as a sole survivor after the event in The Evil Dead, and this time he is even better with unpredictable, fearsomeEvil Dead II: Dead By Dawn is a breathtaking part 2, worthy of expectations from both fans and critics about the sequel of the original renowned movie. Bruce Campbell returned as a sole survivor after the event in The Evil Dead, and this time he is even better with unpredictable, fearsome performance, which precisely matched Ash's mysteriously dangerous psychological behavior when he had his arm chopped and his girlfriend decapitated. Concisely speaking, Sam Raimi's terrifying direction, successfully combined with Campbell's breathtaking acting, produced a somewhat better horror cult classic with a higher level of blood, gore and visual elements that would leave viewers forever scared ****… Expand

1 of 1 users found this helpful10

eboyle12

Dec 29, 2020

The second one might be the better one and is in the pantheon for how to do sequels right. This movie kills it and is so ahead of its time. A instant classic and just amazing movie. So good and so entertaining even today.

1 of 1 users found this helpful10

j30

Nov 9, 2011

Horror films don't get much better than this. Perfectly balances slap-stick comedy and horror. It's hard to believe the director of Spider-man Sam Raimi got his start here. My favorite horror movie by far.

8 of 8 users found this helpful80

oliver1h

Mar 18, 2013

Funny and sometimes cheesy (intentionally), yet with Campbell in the lead this movie is just a cult classic. Raimi made a perfect blend of horror, haunted-house and dark-comedy movie, with a really nice atmosphere and special effects. Overall recommended.

1 of 1 users found this helpful10

Kyle39

Sep 9, 2012

Compelling horror/comedy sequel to the intense, terrifying original. The acting could be better, but the effects are top knotch and the direction is brilliant. Bruce Campbell is a comedic genius. His physical comedy is inspiring and entertaining to watch.

1 of 1 users found this helpful10

Diptanshu

May 7, 2020

Groovy!Good sequel not as great as 1st one!Music and sound-effects were amazing and chilling,screenplay was good,story was good but felt little bits and pieces of prequel.acting was good but sometimes it felt horror spoof!visuals were not that great and most importantly jump scares andGroovy!Good sequel not as great as 1st one!Music and sound-effects were amazing and chilling,screenplay was good,story was good but felt little bits and pieces of prequel.acting was good but sometimes it felt horror spoof!visuals were not that great and most importantly jump scares and silence both were amazing just like 1st one but in this it felt repetitive,starting was good right into business the setup was good and it was surprising to watch nice addition to characters but they felt little off whereas in 1st one the side characters felt important.as we move in story at half time it felt way to over the top the scares were good but the camera angles and reactions and repetitive attack didn't work out to me.the book and hero of past at climax felt amazing end to story. some scenes were amazing like head into hand and hand cutting scene,eye ball into mouth it was extreme,the recreation of wife's head-shot at start and jump scares,overall overrated compare to 1st one but good sequel and entertaining horror flick!… Expand

1 of 1 users found this helpful10

CalibMcBolts

May 30, 2016

Let's start of by saying i absolutely hate ''The Evil Dead'' (1981), so i didnt start watching this movie with high expectations (they were rock-bottom actually) and still, did i too, hate this movie. ''Evil Dead 2: Dead by Dawn'' is no different than ''The Evil Dead'', because they'reLet's start of by saying i absolutely hate ''The Evil Dead'' (1981), so i didnt start watching this movie with high expectations (they were rock-bottom actually) and still, did i too, hate this movie. ''Evil Dead 2: Dead by Dawn'' is no different than ''The Evil Dead'', because they're practically the same movie, only with slightly better effects and SOME interesting things, maybe 1 or 2. That's why i gave it 1.5/5 in stead of 0.5/5

Since ''The Evil Dead'', and ''Evil Dead 2: Dead by Dawn'', are practically the same movie (It isnt a sequel, it's just a remake with a slightly bigger budget.) my exact critcisms apply for this movie too. I, yet again, thought this movie was neither funny nor scary at all. (Except, again, the awfully cheap jump scares, which is just a talentless way of scaring the audience) The acting is horrendous and hammy (yet again), there is no atmospheric tension (yet again), and the movie's scares solely rely on jump scares and gore, which is the worst kind of horror, the plot is extremely simple yet it has many plot holes (Less than the first one however), the solution to the film's main problem is abominable (It made even less sense than in the first one), the structure/ outline of the story is pretty bad too. It is cheesy, silly and poorly made, with awful acting and many filming and continuity errors.

I have nothing more to say, except that i'm even less excited for ''Army of Darkness'' than i was after watching ''The Evil Dead''… Expand

0 of 7 users found this helpful07

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