Review #107: The Evil Dead 2: Dead by Dawn (1987)

Cast/Notable Credits:
Sam Raimi (Director): Evil Dead
Bruce Campbell (Ash): Evil Dead
Kassie DePaiva (Bobbie Joe): One Life to Live soap opera

The Evil Dead Link

Trailer:


Plot:

The sequel to T.E.D. (The Evil Dead) picks up right after the first movie. Kind of. If you don't know the background and story, it actually is pretty confusing. Since director Sam Raimi lost the legal rights to T.E.D., he could not show any footage from the first film. Instead he recreates a brief short summary of what happened in the first movie in the film's first 7 minutes and 7 seconds. It pretty much just shows Linda getting possessed and the Evil Force trying to enlist Ash into it's services. It doesn't even show everyone else. Pretty simple, short and to the point.

Ash has been unable to escape the woods and cabin, essentially being held captive in the cabin by the Evil Force. The bridge that leads over the ridge is out and crumbled into a shape of a claw. Ash has no choice but to return to the cabin and wait it out. Ash battles visions, nightmares and attacks by the Evil Force who is trying desperately to get to Ash.

Ash's dead girlfriend, Linda, dead body returns from the grave and attacks Ash who then dismembers her head from the body. But that does not stop her from attacking. Kind of like a psycho ex-girlfriend. Unfortunately during one of Linda's attacks, her possessed head bites Ash on the right hand, transferring the Evil Force into his hand. This leads to his hand being possessed. Ash's hand tries to kill him and he eventually cuts it off with a chainsaw, but the possessed hand still lives and torments Ash.

Meanwhile, the archaeologist's (who had found the book in the first movie) daughter, Annie, and boyfriend, Ed, has returned from a dig with "lost" pages from the Necronomicon and travels to the cabin to find her father and mother. They arrive to find the bridge is out and enlist the services of two local rednecks, Bobbie Joe and Jake. Jake tells Annie of a secret trial that leads to the cabin, and she pays him to take them there.

Just before Annie and company's arrival, Ash is attempting to shoot his "evil hand" with a shotgun. He shoots at the door and accidentally hits Bobbie Joe (Kassie DePaiva pictured left). The four of them wrestle Ash down and lock him in the cellar, thinking that he has murdered Annie's parents. Annie finds the tape recording her father made and they realize that her father accidentally summoned the Evil Force, which then possessed her mother, Henrietta. Her dad then killed her mother and buried her in the cellar.

As we learn about Henrietta's fate and whereabouts, she rises from the grave and attacks Ash who is currently locked in the cellar. The four save Ash from the attack and keep Henrietta locked in the cellar. And then the movie pretty much replays itself from the first, with all characters getting possessed one by one and attacking the survivors.

Annie translates the "lost" pages and passages of the Necronomicon. She and Ash learns that there are two enchantments for the Evil Force in the passage. The first enchantments when read will: Bring the Evil back to life. The second: Opens a portal of time sending the Evil back where it came from. Annie also reads to Ash about a story in the 1300's of a foreseen prophet who defeats the Evil Force, saving man kind. Hmm...foreshadowing?

Eventually Annie and Ash are last men standing battling the Evil Force. Annie goes on to read the second enchantment as Ash battles the Evil Force. She successfully opens the portal as Ash's evil hand stabs her in the back and the Evil Force is sucked into the portal along with Ash and his car sending them to the 1300's...which leads to...Army of Darkness.

For all intense purposes, the second installment of T.E.D. is just a "filler" movie. It's basically a replay of the first movie with the addition of some background to the Necronomicon and the Evil Force. It also sets up the third movie. Other than a few bits and pieces, I didn't really enjoy it too much. Been there. Done that. T.E.D. 2 was more of a polished T.E.D. 1.

On a side note: this movie was voted in Yahoo's 30 most terrifying horror movies by the fans. I feel pretty ashamed of that. There were plenty of entries left off the list or ranked lower. It's a cleaner carbon copy of the first. And it even was ranked higher than the first! WTF!? People are idiots.

Misc. Movie Trivia:
-Film opened on March 13, 1987 and made $5.9 million and the Box Office ($807K opening weekend)
-Freddy's glove is hanging in the tool shed