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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 date; UK critics are listed first)
Bubble View | 1 2 3 >> >|
Arrange By:Fresh | Rotten | Comments | Name | Source | Date
 
 
Reviews
Tomatometer Critic Review Category
tomato
5/5

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: | comment Comment | Sep., 21 2007 03:25 PM

Empire Magazine

tomato

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

Full Review Source: | comment Comment | Sep., 21 2007 03:24 PM

Channel 4 Film

tomato

Delirious, demented and diabolically funny.

Full Review Source: | comment Comment | Jan., 26 2006 03:16 AM

Time Out

tomato
4/5

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

Full Review Source: | comment Comment | Apr., 17 2001 02:26 PM

BBC

tomato

Keith H. Brown

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: | comment Comment | Jan., 01 2000 12:00 AM

Edinburgh U Film Society

tomato

Rob Humanick

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

Full Review Source: | comment Comment | Oct., 28 2007 02:39 PM

Projection Booth

tomato
3/4

James Berardinelli

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: | comment Comment | Sep., 21 2007 03:23 PM

ReelViews

tomato
3.5/4

Maximum visceral impact is what this film is all about -- and it delivers.

Full Review Source: | comment Comment | Sep., 21 2007 03:22 PM

TV Guide's Movie Guide

tomato

Variety Staff

A flashy good-natured display of special effects and scare tactics so extreme they can only be taken for laughs.

Full Review Source: | comment Comment | Sep., 21 2007 03:21 PM

Variety

splat

Pat Graham

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: | comment 24 Comments | Sep., 21 2007 03:20 PM

Chicago Reader

tomato
9/10

Alex Sandell

Best slapstick seen in a horror flick. If Charlie Chaplin were alive today and into terror, he'd be directing this movie. Okay, maybe not -- but at least he wouldn't be dead.

Full Review Source: | comment Comment | Oct., 14 2005 05:22 AM

Juicy Cerebellum

tomato
5/5

Scott Weinberg

Evil Dead 2 is a grade-A masterpiece of morbid mayhem. Find me a horror geek who doesn't agree and I'll take a chainsaw to a body part of your choice.

Full Review Source: | comment 2 Comments | Oct., 04 2005 08:53 AM

DVD Clinic

tomato
3/4

Fernando F. Croce

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

Full Review Source: | comment Comment | Sep., 27 2005 09:06 PM

Slant Magazine

tomato
4/4

Walter Chaw

A marvel for its invention and fury.

Full Review Source: | comment Comment | Sep., 19 2005 08:29 PM

Film Freak Central

tomato
3/5

Emanuel Levy

No review available.

comment Comment | Aug., 15 2005 01:41 PM

EmanuelLevy.Com

tomato
4/5

Clint Morris

Horror sequels don't come any bigger or better!

comment Comment | Apr., 25 2005 12:44 AM

Moviehole

tomato
4/5

Ken Hanke

More a rethinking than a sequel and the best of the series.

comment Comment | Sep., 27 2004 09:50 PM

Mountain Xpress (Asheville, NC)

tomato
3/5

Linda Cook

No review available.

comment Comment | Aug., 04 2004 08:55 PM

Quad City Times (Davenport, IA)

tomato
5/5

Rob Vaux

It will change your life in deep and meaningful ways.

comment Comment | Apr., 23 2004 09:23 AM

Flipside Movie Emporium

tomato
4/5

Ryan Cracknell

No review available.

comment Comment | Apr., 09 2004 09:43 PM

Movie Views

 
 
1 - 20 (sorted by date; UK critics are listed first)
Bubble 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...

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