Before we get started, there has long been the question as to whether this movie is a remake or a sequel to Sam Raimi's original classic. Though every fiber of my brain tells me that it's a loose remake, my personal head canon says that it's a sequel and Ash, being Ash, just completely forgot about the events of the first movie. For some reason, that makes a lot more sense to me, and so I always approach it with that in mind. However, regardless of which side you fall on, it's pretty obvious that Evil Dead 2 is a bonafide classic in its own right, and the perfect synthesis of Sam Raimi and Bruce Campbell's love of all things Three Stooges. It is a slapstick masterpiece, a career defining performance for its star and remains the ultimate standard by which the horror/comedy genre is measured. Let's put it this way; Return of the Living Dead is one of my favourite movies and I'd still say Evil Dead 2 was better. Get it? Got it. Good.
When I say that this movie features a career defining performance for Bruce Campbell, it's the farthest thing from hyperbole. While he was certainly a highlight of the original, here he's given more of an opportunity to improvise with reckless abandon, which he does in spades. A particular highlight from early on is his little dance that he tries to do in time with all the other weird happenings in the cabin. The bending knees never fail to get a charge out of me, nor does his excellent work fighting his own hand. While I consider John Ritter the unparalleled king of this sort of broad physical comedy, I do believe that Campbell is at least on par with him here. He also manages to bust out some seriously maniacal facial expressions, particularly during the "who's laughing now" sequence involving said hand.
Campbell's performance is so overpowering here that it actually does a disservice to the supporting cast, though, to be fair, I'm fairly certain they knew whose show it was. They're all serviceable, though, and each makes at least a solid attempt to convey the horror of being thrust into the situation they find themselves in. I actually feel bad for them, because acting opposite Campbell's manic characterization was probably quite difficult, but each do a good job and for that they should be applauded. Meanwhile, the movie LOOKS superb, and I think the real stars (aside from Campbell, of course) are set designer Elizabeth Moore, Art Director's Randy Bennett and Philip Duffin, the entire special effects and makeup department and, DOP Peter Deming and editor Kaye Davis. I'm actually surprised Davis didn't do much after this movie, because her cuts are amazing and really help keep the whole thing coherent. Sam Raimi obviously deserves a lot of credit for not only hiring these folks and directing the picture, but also for being able to reinvent something he'd basically just invented while still finding time to poke fun at himself.
The bottom line here is, if you've seen Evil Dead 2 a few times, you haven't seen it enough. This will always be one of my go to flicks when I'm looking for a distraction, a laugh, or just a good old fashioned eyeball on a string flying into someone's mouth. 8.5/10