THE DANMAN CAN

My least favorite Evil Dead  film so far, Evil Dead Burn (2026) is about 15 minutes too long (at 109 mins it's the longest ED ), has that drab grey look that too many modern horror movies do, is yet another horror-movie-as-trauma allegory (yes, I know many, even older, horror films are as well, but they didn't feel so on the nose about it), and uses far too much CGI (the finale is particularly poor, in that sense, and just in general). EDB is not without merit though—it contains a lot of great gore gags (many of which appear to be practical effects?), some innovative camerawork, and I enjoyed it just fine. Solid overall, but here's hoping  Evil Dead Wrath (a prequel set in 1972) is better. You can find my reviews of the other films in the series here , here , here , here , and here . Evil Dead Franchise Films Ranked

Sam Raimi 's  The Evil Dead   (1981) is full of flaws, cheap sets, bad makeup, and more, but it's so inventive, so unique, and so steeped in low budget charm that none of that matters. The one and only  Bruce Campbell  was still finding his footing here in his commercial debut, but he left his mark as Ashley Williams—put through the wringer, smashed, beaten up, splattered with guts, dumped with buckets of blood, and tormented by the titular forces, all to Raimi's delight. The young director infused his debut film with energetic gusto, extreme dutch angles, and insane POV shaky cam, in the process making one of the most influential independent horror films and one of the most beloved cult films ever made. It's one of my  Top 100 Films —I've seen it dozens of times and it never fails to impress me every time I watch it (this time with an audience, which made it a different kind of fun). Sam Raimi Feature Films Ranked Evil Dead  Franchise Films Ranked

Despite the buckets of blood and gallons of grue in Fede Álvarez ’s 2013 Evil Dead reboot, there’s something too pristine about this version. Both in the cast with their perfect skin and immaculate looks and in the crisp, clean cinematography.  Arriving 10 years after the solid 2003 Texas Chainsaw Massacre reboot (and the same year as the abysmal Texas Chainsaw 3D ), ED ‘13 doesn’t feel that far removed from Marcus Nispel ’s film (both in look and tone). It gives me that same sense of shoulder-shrugging “Yeah that was decent, but was it necessary?” that I so commonly experience with reboots. None of the characters are particularly compelling. Sure, it’s grosser and has a bigger budget, but part of the charm of the first two Evil Dead films [my reviews of those here and here ]—for this viewer at least—is the homegrown quality and lack of finesse (along with the humor).  This was my third viewing of ED ‘13, which I saw in its theatrical release and again when it arrived on ...

The callbacks are (mostly) not too on the nose, the gore is sublime, there's the right blend of gravitas and humor, and I liked it more than the 2013 reboot  [ review ]. I liked the Art Deco building setting, the characters were decent, and enough was updated to make it feel fresh. I was pleasantly surprised by how much I enjoyed this. Overall, Evil Dead Rise (2023) is groovy. Evil Dead Franchise Films Ranked

For his quasi sequel/remake,  Evil Dead II  (1987),  Sam Raimi  upped the insanity, the slapstick comedy, the frenetic camerawork, and the gallons upon gallons of blood. The second  Evil Dead  film benefits from better production values, in particular the moody lighting, the crazy stop motion animation, and the much improved special effects and makeup courtesy of effects wizard  Mark Shostrom , with assistance from the three men that would go on to form  KNB EFX Group  the following year. Though he has some has co-stars and some help along the way,  Evil Dead II  is largely a one-man  Bruce Campbell  show, where he inflicts self-harm like no other actor can and takes whatever Raimi is willing to throw at him (literally). It's here that we first glimpse Campbell (and Ash Williams as a character) become the cocky but goofy action hero—the Bruce that we all know and love—spouting one-liners and kicking Deadite ass. Though I ...

While I prefer the first two films (my reviews here and here ) for their darker tone,  Army Of Darkness  (1992) is a cult classic—fun, funny, and filled with zingers. The Director's Cut is the longest version of the four official cuts (comparison  here ), but I lean toward the Theatrical Version (the version I watched tonight) for the tighter editing and a certain line of dialogue (although there are some bits only in the Director's and International Cuts that are cool). I was surprised to find that it's been more than 17 years (when I started keeping a movie log) since I last watched the Theatrical Version. As far as the endings go, I like both the happy and apocalyptic ones for different reasons. While  AOD  doesn't have the same impact on me that it did when I was a teenager, it's still a good time, and quite groovy. Sam Raimi Feature Films Ranked

For his quasi sequel/quasi remake, Evil Dead II  (1987),  Sam Raimi upped the insanity, the slapstick comedy, the frenetic camerawork, and the gallons upon gallons of blood. The second Evil Dead  film benefits from better production values, in particular the moody lighting, the crazy stop motion animation, and the much improved special effects and makeup courtesy of f/x wizard Mark Shostrom , with assistance from the three men that would go on to form KNB EFX Group the following year. Though he has some has co-stars and some help along the way, Evil Dead II  is largely a one-man  Bruce Campbell  show, where he inflicts self-harm like no other actor can and takes whatever Raimi is willing to throw at him (literally). It's here that we first glimpse Campbell (and Ash Williams as a character) become the cocky but goofy action hero—the Bruce that we all know and love—spouting one-liners and kicking Deadite ass. Though I prefer the Ash in EDII to the mo...

Sam Raimi 's  The Evil Dead   (1981) is full of flaws, cheap sets, bad makeup, and more, but it's so inventive, so unique, and so steeped in low budget charm that none of that matters. The one and only  Bruce Campbell  was still finding his footing here in his commercial debut, but he left his mark as Ashley Williams—put through the wringer, smashed, beaten up, splattered with guts, dumped with buckets of blood, and tormented by the titular forces, all to Raimi's delight. The young director infused his debut film with energetic gusto, extreme dutch angles, and insane POV shaky cam, in the process making one of the most influential independent horror films and one of the most beloved cult films ever made. It's one of my  Top 100 Films —I've seen it dozens of times and it never fails to impress me every time I watch it. You can find my  Sam Raimi Feature Films Ranked  list  here .

While I prefer the Theatrical Version overall (and prefer the first two films for their darker tone), any way you watch it,  Army Of Darkness  (1992) is a cult classic—fun, funny, and filled with zingers. The Director's Cut is the longest version of the four official cuts (comparison here ), but I lean toward the Theatrical for the tighter editing and a certain line of dialogue (although there are some bits only in the Director's and International Cuts that are cool). Some of the f/x in the Director's Cut have not aged well at all either. As far as the endings go, I like both the "happy" and "apocalyptic" ones for different reasons. Other random thoughts: I always forget that Bill Moseley is in this film   and I don't think I ever noticed the skeleton holding Ted Raimi 's severed head before! While AOD  doesn't have the same impact on me that it did when I was a teenager, it's still a good time, and it was enjoyable to see this film...

I rarely write about or review television on my blog, but I felt that I should make an exception with Ash Vs Evil Dead   (2015–2018). The first episode was directed by Sam Raimi and it certainly shows, though I wonder to what degree the future episodes/directors will emulate his style. The first episode,  El Jefe , has everything you'd expect from the Evil Dead franchise: shotguns, chainsaws, hammy dialogue, blood splatters, deadites, and of course the one and only Bruce Campbell   as Ash. Army Of Darkness  (1992) ( review ) is treated as if it doesn't exist in this series, even though the Ash portrayed here is most like the AOD Ash. The action and tone is most akin to  Evil Dead II   (1987) ( review )—  a strong balance of horror and comedy. I do feel that this first episode was a bit of a retread in some regards but not enough to detract from the overall experience. I like  Ray Santiago  as Pablo; he finds a good balance of nerdy and tr...