Ash vs. Evil Dead

[Glebe]

Surely Ash had to (ultimately) be the hero in Army of Darkness to fulfil the prophecy[nb]The picture of him in the Necronomicon[/nb]?

*fume* Oh okay, then.

Actually, re: Hellraiser, the first film is great, Hellbound is a bit iffy but it at least develops the themes of the first movie and features some terrifying, imaginative stuff, while the third one is fucking awful and had no involvement from Clive Barker... apart from watching a little bit of a later one on telly, I haven't seen any of the other sequels and don't want to. Glad to hear Barker is actually writing the remake... and that Doug Bradley will return as Pinhead, apparently?

Speaking of Pinhead, I haven't read The Scarlet Gospels, but I think it's a pity that Barker has apparently continued to develop him as a truly evil character. I thought the cenobites were supposed to be kind of 'just doing their job', horrific as it is.

[EDIT]Sorry SMBH, weird new-page conniptions when I edited me post:

I found one in a charity shop last year but can't say it smelt particularly. I did plan to keep it but then discovered they sell fairly well on ebay, so did that.

Thanks for that, it's interesting if annoying info to hear.

I'm fondest of EDII too, possibly as I saw it first but also because I like the humourous element. And whilst I'm not as harsh on Army As Darkness as you I do remember coming out of the cinema a bit disappointed, and wished there'd been a bit less slapstick and more gore.

[Claude the Racecar Driving Rockstar Super Sleuth]

I love Army of Darkness but, when I finally saw it on DVD, it was not the film I'd imagined for years, after seeing the VHS case in Woolworths when I was little.

[Steven]

Actually, re: Hellraiser, the first film is great, Hellbound is a bit iffy but it at least develops the themes of the first movie and features some terrifying, imaginative stuff, while the third one is fucking awful and had no involvement from Clive Barker... apart from watching a little bit of a later one on telly, I haven't seen any of the other sequels and don't want to. Glad to hear Barker is actually writing the remake... and that Doug Bradley will return as Pinhead, apparently?

I like Hellbound a lot, but the fact Pinhead becomes 'redeemed' and then him and the Cenobites get murdered by Chanard is a rather iffy bit, it removes a lot of the mystery about the characters. It's the imprecise element of being aware of a small aspect of their character - love of judgement and torture - to the ineffable matter of their origin or purpose, and the even larger questions that allows the mechanics of their existence.. that huge swathing gap in knowledge gives the brain a much vaster and scarier darkness to concede.

"Jesus wept."

[madhair60]

Are there any other films like the first Evil Dead?  Hyperviolent, almost cartoonish carnage?

[phantom_power]

Are there any other films like the first Evil Dead?  Hyperviolent, almost cartoonish carnage?

Have you seen Brain Dead or Bad Taste? Early films from Peter Jackson. Incredibly violent and very funny

[phantom_power]

I remember being obsessed with the poster for ED2 in the video shop when I was younger and was incredibly excited when I finally got to see it. It completely lived up to my expectations from the poster, and probably the trailer on another Palace Pictures video.

[Garam]

Are there any other films like the first Evil Dead?  Hyperviolent, almost cartoonish carnage?

I recently watched this Norwegian film 'Dead Snow 2: Dead vs Red', about Nazi zombies in Norway on the rampage, and the Soviet zombies that are resurrected by the Norwegian/American protagonists to combat the Nazis.

It was silly and gory. Haven't seen the first one. Closer in tone to Evil Dead 2 though.

[Claude the Racecar Driving Rockstar Super Sleuth]

There's also Slither, by Guardians of the Galaxy director James Gunn.

[Glebe]

There's also Slither, by Guardians of the Galaxy director James Gunn.

Watched that on Film4 awhile back. Didn't realize just how cheaply made it was. Good natured, but nothing extraordinary.

[Glebe]

Watched the first two episodes last night (thanks, Internet!). Overall great fun, funny, gory and some great little moments. First episode kicks off in style, though I'm not sure I wanted to see Ash

Spoiler alert

getting it on in a bar toilet (although yes, it was funny!)

[close]

and

Spoiler alert

practically sexually harassing a fellow employee!

[close]

. Also, I know it's not a serious drama or anything (No? Really?!), but

Spoiler alert

the cop with the shotgun in the first episode was pretty cheesy ("I thought this would be a shit-shoot," etc.)

[close]

. Also,

Spoiler alert

the girl forgetting about all the zombie horror to settle down for dinner with the folks was a bit wha?!, although it's a fun scene and as someone mentioned, nice to see Mimi Rodgers hamming it up

[close]

.

But yeah, otherwise good stuff. Campbell is in top form, like how he kinda becomes 'Classic Ash' when it all kicks off... loved

Spoiler alert

the killer doll, Rami's 'Evil Dead-cam' attacking the trailer, and Ash's deadite neighbour standing behind the curtain

[close]

, not to mention the groovy soundtrack. So thumbs up, on the whole.

[Small Man Big Horse]

Thought the third episode was a bit routine and by the numbers, there was the odd nice line (

Spoiler alert

"First off you don't look anything like your photo, so you might want to update that"

[close]

made me chuckle loudly) but action wise it was a bit flat. Moved the plot on a little bit but, I don't know, I hope it gets a bit more gorier and crazier every so often.

[NoSleep]

I think you're being a bit harsh. That was the

Spoiler alert

best summoning of a demon

[close]

I've ever seen. Loved it.

[Mini]

Are there any other films like the first Evil Dead?  Hyperviolent, almost cartoonish carnage?

Lee Hardcastle's stuff is very Raimi-esque.

https://www.youtube.com/user/leehardcastle/videos

[Steven]

I think you're being a bit harsh. That was the

Spoiler alert

best summoning of a demon

[close]

I've ever seen. Loved it.

The

Spoiler alert

summoning was alright, the actual demon was a bit cack

[close]

though.

[Glebe]

Are there any other films like the first Evil Dead?  Hyperviolent, almost cartoonish carnage?

Look no further than Peter Jackson's Braindead, which is very blatantly ED inspired, but so full of wit, invention and ingenious low-budget FX it manages to stand out on it's own, despite the obvious influence.

[Rev]

Look no further than Peter Jackson's Braindead, which is very blatantly ED inspired, but so full of wit, invention and ingenious low-budget FX it manages to stand out on it's own, despite the obvious influence.

But switch it off at the halfway point, when it runs out of ideas and descends into a huge extended fight with no sense of pace to it, just like Bad Taste did.

[Steven]

But switch it off at the halfway point, when it runs out of ideas and descends into a huge extended fight with no sense of pace to it, just like Bad Taste did.

Come to Mummy, Lionel!

[Noodle Lizard]

But switch it off at the halfway point, when it runs out of ideas and descends into a huge extended fight with no sense of pace to it, just like Bad Taste did.

You're having a laugh.  The final 20 minutes of Braindead (/Dead Alive) are hilariously good fun.

Regardless, the film is worth watching for this bit alone:  https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=qFhs5LCNTFY

Peter Jackson was great back then.

[Steven]

I remember getting loads of shlocky 80s horror movies as a kid, I can barely remember half of them. One was a sort of comedy and featured a scene of a man's head being crushed and his eyeballs popping out, I remember the VHS cover actually featuring the scene as a poster of the head with the eyeballs popping out in perspective towards the viewer. Any ideas?

[Default to the negative]

The thing that's bugging me is that we already know how to unsummon/banish the Deadites. Ash did it in the first film.

Burn the Necronomicon!

[NoSleep]

Ash did it in the first film.

He did it in the 2nd film, actually (with the help of Professor Knowby's daughter). The first ended with another attack from them.

[Default to the negative]

He did it in the 2nd film, actually (with the help of Professor Knowby's daughter). The first ended with another attack from them.

He does it in the 1st film, resulting in the whole decaying Deadite sequence with rice pudding special effects.

2nd film ends with the daughter reading out a passage from the book. It doesn't get burned.

[NoSleep]

So why does he get attacked after the book is burned? Probably because, as mentioned in the latest episode, the book is only a gateway to Hell. Clearly, it didn't banish them, merely held them back for a little while.
In the 2nd film she summons the spirits then banishes them into the vortex.

[Default to the negative]

Well, this is pure speculation on my part, but I think the book-burning banished 99% of the Evil. The camera demon at the end had somehow managed to linger on, but I doubt it could travel far from the cabin, and it would probably fade away soon.

[NoSleep]

They got a whole 2nd film and a brand new copy of the book out of it. And they had to summon and banish the evil on top of that.

[Default to the negative]

Well, there's no point in looking for serious continuity between the first and second films.

Also, I would argue that the POV demon in the first film is not the same one we encounter in the second. Here's why:

1) Evil Dead 2 demon doesn't say "join us", or speak at all.

2) Evil Dead 2 demon can burst into the cabin and chase Ash through the halls. Whereas Evil Dead 1 demon can't enter the building; it retreats into the woods as soon as someone closes the cabin door.

[NoSleep]

Whereas Evil Dead 1 demon can't enter the building; it retreats into the woods as soon as someone closes the cabin door.

Apart from the last one, which hurtles through the building and seizes Ash who is walking away from the front door (toward his car or the path).

[Default to the negative]

Apart from the last one, which hurtles through the building and seizes Ash who is walking away from the front door (toward his car or the path).

Ah crap, I forgot about that - probably because it's so inconsistent with what came before. If the demon can enter the cabin, then why didn't it do that at the very beginning?

My own theory is that the Deadites gain a limited amount of strength from each summon. If you read from the Necronomicon, they'll have maybe two or three days of eldritch puissance. After that, they dwindle away. The POV demon in the woods is a leftover from the first summoning by the professor. It's weak, but it's gradually regaining its strength.

Maybe, after all the sacrilegious killing and gore, the demon became stronger and could finally break through the wards which had been holding it back. Therefore able to enter the cabin.

But this is overthinking-it wank, obviously.

[NoSleep]

It's actually (taking the first film in and of itself) the usual device used in the last scene of virtually all horror films to signify it hasn't been defeated/ended at all.

[Default to the negative]

Yeah, I know it's the equivalent of Jason's hand popping out of the grave, or whatever. I was just trying to make some kind of "lore" about the Deadites.

I was grasping.