Keeping in the spirit of Halloween, this week’s Superior Sequels discussion is centred around one of my favourite horror franchises of all time!
The Evil Dead (1981) vs Evil Dead II: Dead by Dawn (1987) vs Army of Darkness (1992).
The Evil Dead is one of, if not the first horror film that scared the living crap out of me growing up. I remember so clearly watching it for the first time as a kid!
When I watched the sequel though I was somewhat confused as to why this guy who went through literal hell in the first film would return to the same cabin that all those horrors happened at with his new girlfriend...??
Well, I later learned that the sequel retconned the events of the original film and drew on the director’s love of comedies like The Three Stooges.
Also, according to Bruce Campbell who plays the chainsaw-handed hero “Ash”, Sam Raimi (director) didn’t own the rights to his own film so he “had to shoot a recap with different actors, which ended up becoming a different story”.
Now that that’s all cleared up, let’s get down to business.
Personally, the seriousness and originality of the first film wins over the comedy of the second and third every time for me, but what do you think?
Is Ash’s first stay at the clearly dodgy-looking secluded cabin superior, or was it surpassed by its comedic, yet still horror-oriented sequel/remake and subsequent third medieval instalment?
Have your say below.
P.S. If you have The Evil Dead on dvd I highly recommend watching it with Bruce Campbell’s commentary turned on. It’s both hilarious and educational.