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Evil Dead II:
Electric Boogaloo
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by Cth (cth@clickcom.com)
This Weeks DVD selection(s) are brought to you by:
The letter "C"
and the number "i"
What you can expect from this review:
- Evaluation
of the "extras"
- General
synopsis of movie with comments
- Overall
presentation (menus, layouts, ease of use, innovation, etc)
- Cover
evaluation
What will not be covered in this review:
-Sound
options [Dolby 5.1, etc, unless someone is willing to sponsor my purchase of
such a setup ;) ]
Disclaimer:
As always,
if there's a DVD you'd like me to review, I'm always willing to do so, just send
it my way and I'll return it to you when finished with my review.
You will get credit in the review for providing the loan, and can help
contribute in promoting something cool for everyone to see. Go ahead and force
me to watch your worst DVD. Do your worst!
And remember, these reviews are my opinions, feel free to use them in
assisting your decision, but not to supplant them.
So without
further ado let's jump into things.
First up
let's take a look at the Evil Dead 2: Dead by Dawn limited edition tin.
"EVIL DEAD 2: DEAD BY DAWN"
Cover: 2/5
(poor shelf presence, colors, subject matter wrong, no focal pt for eye)
Direction/Story:
5/5 (Innovative style; unique;
perfect blend of humor and horror)
DVD Layout:
4/5 (animated menus would have been nice)
Extras: 4/5
(storyboards/script/history all would have been nice; lots of cool features)
Overall: 4/5
(Few flaws, but a recommended purchase that should be in everyone's
collection)
COVER
No offense
to the artist in question, but the color scheme is totally off on the cover.
In addition, there isn't any real "focal point" for your eye to
be drawn towards. If this was
sitting on a shelf, there's nothing to distinguish it from all the other DVDs,
contrast this to the REPO
MAN limited edition tin. Plus,
from the cover, it appears the professor's daughter becomes possessed when the
pose in question is that of her boyfriend.
DIRECTION
Next, we
come to direction.. Evil Dead 2, is to horror what Star Wars is to Sci-Fi.
It's held up as one of the finest examples the genre has produced.
It's long lasting endurance on the cult film circuit is a testament to
just how good this movie is. One of
the first of its kind, Raimi and his cohorts produced a "Splattstick"
…a horror film with comedic overtones. As
stated in the commentary, you can tell the obvious love of comedy that Raimi and
Campbell share in making this film.
Raimi
utilizes many innovative techniques in his films.
From his camera angles, to his choice of camera speed, to the overall
direction…each one adds up to contribute something unique and this film is no
different. For example, to simulate
a spirit chasing Campbell through the woods, Raimi built a wooden box around a
camera and smashed it through objects. Lots
of reverse filming was used, which required a great deal of talent on the actors
and actresses parts to pull off properly. Raimi's
vision alone is well worth viewing this film, but when you add in the comedic
talents of Bruce Campbell, well, you've got the makings of a perfect film.
STORY
The story is
essentially a reinvention of the first film, but with a different cast. The
first film? Ok, supposing you
haven't seen this film before, here's what it's about: A guy goes into the woods
with his girlfriend. The cabin
they're staying in was used by a professor to translate the Necronomicon, which
in doing so, conjured up something in the woods.
It took the guy's ("Ash") girlfriend and then went after him.
Only the dawn of day saves Ash from becoming one of the zombies in the
woods. Ash has until sundown before he reverts back into being a zombie again.
The professor's daughter
comes to the
woods with more pages from the Necronomicon and meets a hillbilly couple along
the way.
This new
group and Ash are forced to contend with threats both outside and from within,
without turning upon one another. Ultimately, their goal being to survive and
escape the cabin.
LAYOUT
The layout. My personal taste is some form of animated menus or something. Without it, you might as well be looking at a slideshow in my opinion. Navigation is easy, and you shouldn't get lost going wandering on the DVD. The looping sequence in the beginning could use a little work however, as it becomes annoying due to the short loop.
EXTRAS
I'll admit
to being disappointed with the booklet included.
I was hoping for notes by Bruce Campbell or Sam Raimi, which weren't
included. The director's commentary
was excellent, illustrating for budding filmmakers how to make due with the
budget you have. The interplay
between Campbell, Raimi, and crew on the commentary track as well as the
featurettes, give you a glimpse at how much fun it must have been to make this
film. A sneak preview of the
upcoming Playstation video game is promised, unfortunately it's only a full
motion video intro sequence. No
actual game sequence is shown or heard (voices, sound effects, animation, etc.
I would have liked also to see some storyboard comparisons similar to
those shown on the Army of Darkness Special Edition
DVD, or the inclusion of the actual script as a DVD-ROM feature, or a history of
the film from cult viewings to multiple DVD editions.
DON'T MISS
When running
through the cabin, you can see where the crew didn't frame the shot properly and
you can clearly see a crew member in the rafters of the cabin instead of a
ceiling. This and many more
"Did You Notice?" moments can be found in the commentary track and on
the featurette "The Gore The Merrier"
FINAL WORD
One of the ‘MUST HAVE’ movies in your DVD collection, but pick up the regular edition (sans tin) instead to save a few bucks. Be careful, though, there are 3 editions, so be sure to pick up the one that features a director’s commentary with Bruce Campbell and Sam Raimi.
Copyright©2000 Cth