Why Evil Dead II Is Still The Quintessential Horror-Comedy Of The Modern Age

1981’s The Evil Dead was a landmark piece of petrifying cinema and a triumph of independent filmmaking in general. Made for less than half a million dollars, it saw writer/director Sam Raimi, producer Robert Tapert, and star Bruce Campbell expand upon their Within the Woods proof of concept with praiseworthy heart and ingenuity, yielding a cult classic scary movie that almost single-handedly popularized cabin-in-the-woods horror.

Although it wasn’t originally planned to follow its predecessor so closely (more on that in a moment), follow-up Evil Dead II ultimately perfected what its precursor initiated. With about 10 times the budget and a larger and better crew — including both returning SFX artist Tom Sullivan and future KNB EFX Group trio Robert Kurtzman, Greg Nicotero, and Howard Berger — the project ingeniously built upon the lore, carnage, signature camerawork, and surreally sinister vibe of The Evil Dead… read more >