EVIL DEAD II

A scholar tried to decipher the Necronomicon, but he met a bad end. The daughter wants to get to the bottom of her father's fate and goes, along with some friends, to the house where he had conducted his studies. She finds the infamous book, tries to translate it herself, and awakens the evil spirits once more… This is essentially the professional version of Raimi's artisanal masterpiece "Evil Dead": the plot is very similar, but the film is not as successful as the previous one: the gory splatter effects of the first episode have given way to much softer computer animations, and suspense has given way to pure entertainment (some scenes are so exaggerated that they are totally grotesque, but really irresistible). Thanks to an inventive and almost experimental use of the steady-cam (including the impressive ram-cam, essentially a cinematic battering ram capable of passing through a car), the film offers pure fun and speed. Raimi avoids any depth; all characters are reduced to their narrative function, in a logic almost like a cartoon. While the previous episode had an atmosphere of terror, tension, and real suspense mixed with subtle and bizarre irony, in this sequel Raimi has been carried away by the desire to entertain the audience, creating a kind of horror comedy. The choice – for fans of "classic" horror – was not very well received, but the result is undeniably good. Trivia: The film was produced by our Dino De Laurentiis.