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Movies / On DVD / Evil Dead 2: Dead by Dawn
Evil Dead 2: Dead by Dawn

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Evil Dead 2: Dead by Dawn (1987)

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Reviews Counted:42

Fresh:41

Rotten:1

Average Rating:7.9/10

Consensus: Evil Dead 2's increased special effects and slapstick-gore makes it as good -- if not better -- than the original.

Runtime: 1 hr 35 mins

Genre: Horror/Suspense

Synopsis: In this sequel-remake of the original EVIL DEAD, a group of people are trapped in a cabin while ancient evil lurks outside and threatens a fate worse than death. Can brawny wiseguy Ash save the... In this sequel-remake of the original EVIL DEAD, a group of people are trapped in a cabin while ancient evil lurks outside and threatens a fate worse than death. Can brawny wiseguy Ash save the day, or will his dead girlfriend come back to cause more trouble? An influential comic horror movie from director Raimi. [More]

Starring: Bruce Campbell, Sarah Berry, Dan Hicks, Kassie Wesley

Starring: Bruce Campbell, Sarah Berry, Dan Hicks, Kassie Wesley, Richard Domeier

Director: Sam Raimi

Director: Sam Raimi
Composer: Joseph LoDuca
Screenwriter: Sam Raimi, Scott Spiegel
Producer: Rob Tapert

[See More Credits]

Reviews for Evil Dead 2: Dead by Dawn

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1 - 20 (sorted by critic A-Z; UK critics are listed first)
Text View | 1 2 3 >> >|
Arrange By:Fresh | Rotten | Comments | Name | Source | Date
 
 

The Evil Dead II is the sort of film which it is really impossible to describe or summarise. You simply have to come along and experience it for yourself.

Full Review Source: Edinburgh U Film Society | comment Comment
01/01/00
Keith H. Brown
Keith H. Brown
Edinburgh U Film Society

One of the most visually inventive, relentless, and truly original films ever made

Full Review Source: BBC | comment Comment
04/17/01
BBC
Top Critic Icon Top Critic

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.

Full Review Source: Empire Magazine | comment Comment
09/21/07
Empire Magazine
Top Critic Icon Top Critic

The best in the series and one of the top horror movies of the 1980s.

Full Review Source: Channel 4 Film | comment Comment
09/21/07
Channel 4 Film
Top Critic Icon Top Critic

Delirious, demented and diabolically funny.

Full Review Source: Time Out | comment Comment
01/26/06
Time Out
Top Critic Icon Top Critic

That's just the kind of movie Evil Dead II is. You can't not watch it.

Full Review Source: Combustible Celluloid | comment Comment
01/01/00
Jeffrey M. Anderson
Jeffrey M. Anderson
Combustible Celluloid

More hellish and stylish than its predecessor

Full Review Source: Austin Chronicle | comment Comment
01/01/00
Marjorie Baumgarten
Marjorie Baumgarten
Austin Chronicle

Good acting would not have served the material well, since it would have diluted the comedy quotient and made the campy elements seem cheap and cheesy.

Full Review Source: ReelViews | comment Comment
09/21/07
James Berardinelli
James Berardinelli
ReelViews

While the tone is certainly lighter than in the first film, there are still a few good jump scares intermingled in the film's narrative as well.

Full Review Source: Mike Bracken's Horror Films | comment Comment
02/13/01
Mike Bracken
Mike Bracken
Mike Bracken's Horror Films

A marvel for its invention and fury.

Full Review Source: Film Freak Central | comment Comment
09/19/05
Walter Chaw
Walter Chaw
Film Freak Central

Full-on gore slapstick, more Tex Avery than Dario Argento.

Full Review Source: Slant Magazine | comment Comment
09/27/05
Fernando F. Croce
Fernando F. Croce
Slant Magazine

If you know it's all special effects, and if you've seen a lot of other movies and have a sense of humor, you might have a great time at Evil Dead 2.

Full Review Source: Chicago Sun-Times | comment 5 Comments
01/01/00
Roger Ebert
Roger Ebert
Chicago Sun-Times
Top Critic Icon Top Critic

The pop-up humor and smirkiness suggest Raimi's aspiring to the fashionable company of the brothers Coen, though on the basis of this strained effort I'd say he's overshot the mark.

Full Review Source: Chicago Reader | comment 24 Comments
09/21/07
Pat Graham
Pat Graham
Chicago Reader

The acting is straight out of '50s B movies. The exposition is clumsy, the sound track corny, the denouement silly. Then again, who said bad taste was easy?

Full Review Source: Washington Post | comment Comment
01/01/00
Richard Harrington
Richard Harrington
Washington Post

The Evil Dead remains the stronger film... but this sequel/remake is something of a masterpiece unto itself.

Full Review Source: Projection Booth | comment Comment
10/28/07
Rob Humanick
Rob Humanick
Projection Booth

Genuine, if bizarre, proof of Sam Raimi's talent and developing skill.

Full Review Source: New York Times | comment Comment
05/20/03
Caryn James
Caryn James
New York Times
Top Critic Icon Top Critic

Campbell... is a genius of physical comedy...

Full Review Source: Flick Filosopher | comment Comment
10/31/03
MaryAnn Johanson
MaryAnn Johanson
Flick Filosopher

Outrageous, out-of-control mayhem.

Full Review Source: Q Network Film Desk | comment Comment
02/27/01
James Kendrick
James Kendrick
Q Network Film Desk

This is even better than the last film.

Full Review Source: Montreal Film Journal | comment Comment
09/10/02
Kevin N. Laforest
Kevin N. Laforest
Montreal Film Journal

If you like the bizarre, give it a try.

Full Review Source: rec.arts.movies.reviews | comment Comment
01/01/00
Mark R. Leeper
Mark R. Leeper
rec.arts.movies.reviews
 
 
1 - 20 (sorted by critic A-Z; UK critics are listed first)
Text View | 1 2 3 >> >|
all

Latest News for Evil Dead 2: Dead by Dawn

October 21, 2008: Fourth Evil Dead Still on Raimi's Back Burner Opens in new window
Remember a few months ago, when Sam Raimi hinted that he and his brother Ivan might be sitting down to write a fourth "Evil Dead" movie in August? Well, there still isn't a script. More...

August 15, 2008: Bruce Campbell Talks Evil Dead 4 Opens in new window
Sam Raimi's been teasing the press with comments about a possible Evil Dead 4 lately, and Bruce Campbell has joined in, telling MTV "When he's ready, I'm ready." More...

April 17, 2008: Total Recall: The 20 Greatest Fights Scenes Ever
The long-awaited showdown between Jackie Chan and Jet Li in The Forbidden Kingdom got us thinking; what are the greatest fights ever filmed? We sifted through quite a few... More...

May 05, 2007: Campbell Open to Evil Dead 4 and Bubba Nosferatu
Even though he's in charge of the massive "Spider-Man" franchise and in the running for films like "The Hobbit," Sam Raimi always says he wants to make... More...

See All

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