Evil Dead 2: Dead by Dawn (1987)

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General		Extras
Category	Horror	Main Menu Introduction Main Menu Audio & Animation Scene Selection Anim & Audio
Rating
Year Of Production	1987
Running Time	81:07
RSDL / Flipper	RSDL (56:38)	Cast & Crew
Start Up	Language Select Then Menu
Region Coding	2,4	Directed By	Sam Raimi
Studio Distributor	Universal Pictures Home Video	Starring	Bruce Campbell Sarah Berry Dan Hicks Kassie DePaiva Ted Raimi Denise Bixler Richard Domeier John Peaks Lou Hancock Snowy Winters Sid Abrams Josh Becker Scott Spiegel
Case	?
RPI	$19.95	Music	Joseph LoDuca

Video		Audio
Pan & Scan/Full Frame	None	English Dolby Digital 5.1 (448Kb/s)
Widescreen Aspect Ratio	1.85:1
16x9 Enhancement
Video Format	576i (PAL)
Original Aspect Ratio	1.85:1	Miscellaneous
Jacket Pictures	No
Subtitles	Dutch	Smoking	No
		Annoying Product Placement	No
		Action In or After Credits	No

    Evil Dead II, available now for the first time in Australia on DVD, is probably the most popular choice for the best film in the series. Unlike the first film, which was relatively serious horror, or the third, Army Of Darkness (my personal favourite), which eschewed its horror heritage to be an out-and-out comedic fantasy piece, this second film has a large comedic element, while still retaining the horror base. The story is simple (almost to the point of transparency): a young man named Ash (Bruce Campbell) takes his girlfriend Linda (Denise Bixler) to a cabin where he finds an ancient book and a tape recorder containing a translation of said book. When he plays the tape, an evil awakes in the forest, turns his girlfriend into a white-faced zombie, and puts Ash into a battle for his life.

    Those who know the series will know that this plot synopsis is pretty much identical to that of the first film. In fact, watching this for the second time without any prior knowledge would be downright confusing, as Ash heads off to the same cabin, with a new girlfriend of the same name, in the same car, plays the same tape (how downright stupid is he!) and fights the same Evil Dead. Of course, the reason for all this repetition is that Evil Dead II, rather than being a true sequel, is more a remake of the first film, just with a bigger budget. Director Sam Raimi decided to essentially make the same film again, but fixing everything he didn't like about the first excursion - and there are plenty of marked differences. For starters, the story is actually slightly different, as the opening ten minutes are really just a re-cap of the first film (which, obviously, explains the previously mentioned sameness), followed by "the next day". There is a different group of "other characters" (as opposed to our hero Ash) to gradually be consumed by the Evil Dead, and most obviously, there is a hefty chunk of humour running through the movie.

    The humour in this film is mostly of the physical nature, and while it starts slowly, by the time Ash is fighting with his own, evil-possessed hand, there can be no doubt that Raimi is going full-on for laughs rather than scares. The ultimate climax of the comedic comes where the entire living-room in the cabin is laughing along with Ash in an hysterically funny scene that is more Bugs Bunny than depraved horror. The second half of the film - from the point where the outsiders impose upon Ash's solo battle with the Evil Dead - tones the comedy down, and starts to ratchet up the horror, and this is what makes the film so good. Mere minutes after the audience is rolling on the floor with laughter, they are suddenly holding their collective breath for fear of Ash's life (and no - they don't really care about the "other characters"), and more importantly for fear that he may at last fall victim to The Evil Dead.

    A true horror classic, and a film respected by almost all who have seen it, Evil Dead II's appeal is still as strong today as it was on release back in 1987. The brilliant play of horror-on-comedy, combined with the incredible visual style of Sam Raimi, have served only to grow the film's following over the years, and the stature of Ash's alter-ego Bruce Campbell to stratospheric levels. The huge, and loyal, following these films have built up over the years is so impressive that film executives are actually seriously taking about introducing Ash into the world of Freddy and Jason, with Freddy vs Jason vs Ash already having been mooted as a possibility. Whether that happens, and if it does, whether it is any good is something only time will tell, but in the meantime, anyone serious about horror needs to have this film in their collection, as does anyone who considers themselves a film fan. They didn't give Sam Raimi the job of calling the shots on Spider-man and its myriad sequels for no reason - watch this film and find out why.

Video

    Presented at the original theatrical aspect ratio of 1.85:1, this transfer is 16x9 enhanced.

    Sharpness is generally good, and the transfer shows a surprisingly large amount of fine detail. There is a relatively high level of background grain, but that is really to be expected given the source, and it is generally kept well under control. The exception to this rule however, is the final sequence of the movie from 76:08 to 77:58 which seems to be trying to crawl off the screen. There is also some heavy grain on shots of the sun from 7:52 until 8:19, but nothing approaching the level displayed in the final sequence. Despite the grain, the clarity of the image is extremely good. Shadow detail is sufficient, although certainly nothing spectacular, but enough detail shows through during the darker sequences (which, surprise surprise, make up the majority of the film) to give a clear representation of the actions being carried out. There is no low level noise present.

    Colours are a little muted, but that is more the age of the film playing its part than any fault of this transfer. Aside from that, they are well represented, so fear not that the rivers of blood will flow with any lessened virility.

    Compression artefacts are limited to some pixelization during the sequences of very heavy grain, and given the level of some of that grain, this transfer has been handled extremely well indeed to avoid far worse. Film artefacts also mar the image on a relatively frequent basis, although far less frequently than might have been expected. There are only a very few occasions where they are heavy enough to become noticeable, such as on the "book of the dead" sequence from 1:05 to 1:23. On the upside, there is no aliasing present in the transfer.

    The only subtitles on this disc are in Dutch.

    This is an RSDL formatted disc with the layer change taking place at 56:38 between Chapters 15 and 16. It is not particularly well placed, and is somewhat noticeable.

Video Ratings Summary

Sharpness
Shadow Detail
Colour
Grain/Pixelization
Film-To-Video Artefacts
Film Artefacts
Overall

Audio

    There is a single audio track present on this disc, being the original English dialogue in Dolby Digital 5.1 (at 448 kbps).

    Dialogue is clear and easy to understand at almost all times, with only one or two short sequences (such as around 54:03) suffering from muffled dialogue, or reduced fidelity. Another bonus is the audio sync, which is spot on throughout the transfer and never causes any issues.

    The score is the work of long-time Raimi collaborator Joseph Lo Duca, and it is well suited to the action. It does suffer from sounding a little too much like an 80's horror film at times (although that is a little more forgivable, as this is an 80's horror film), but not enough to reduce enjoyment.

    Surround activity is predictably limited to those situations in which it is most effective. When the "evil" sounds are whirling around Ash, the sound is likewise whirling around the speakers. At other times, the surrounds remain dormant. While not perfect, this is still very good for a remixed soundtrack, unlike so many others.

    The subwoofer use is very effective, adding menace and impact to the sounds of the Evil Dead moving through the forest, and backing up the various thumps and bumps that go on around the cabin.

Audio Ratings Summary

Dialogue
Audio Sync
Clicks/Pops/Dropouts
Surround Channel Use
Subwoofer
Overall

Menu

    The Region 4 version of this disc misses out on;

• Audio Commentary featuring Bruce Campbell (actor), Sam Raimi (director/co-writer), Scott Spiegel (co-writer) and Greg Nicotero (special make-up effects) - available in all other regions, although Special Edition only feature for US and UK.
• Making of featurette The Gore The Merrier - available in all other regions, although Special Edition only feature for US and UK.
• Stills Galleries - available in all other regions, although Special Edition only feature for US and UK.
• Poster Replica and 48 page booklet - available only in the (now out of print) limited edition tin-packaged Region 1 edition.
• Two half hour interview featurettes - one with Sam Raimi and one with Bruce Campbell - only available on the 2-disc Region 2 French collectors edition.

    The video quality is not exactly stellar, but given the constraints of the film's low budget and late teen-aged status, it is very good indeed. This is the best this film has ever looked, and both fans and the casual viewer will not be disappointed.

    The audio has received a surround sound make-over, and is quite effective, using the surround channels well where called for. It provides clear dialogue, and is of high quality throughout.

    The only disappointment with this release is the extras. Compared to the many feature-rich international editions of this film, the local bare-bones release looks rather lazy on behalf of Universal.

Video
Audio
Extras
Plot
Overall