Search - Evil Dead 2: Dead by Dawn [Widescreen] on DVD

MPAA Rating: R Content Advisory: Violence, Not For Children, Adult Language, Gore Movie Release: 1987 DVD Release: 10/13/1998 Format: DVD - Enhanced Wide Screen Letterbox for 16x9 TV Audio Tracks: English SwapaDVD Credits: 1 Number of Discs: 1 Run Time: 1 hrs 25 mins Studio: Anchor Bay Members Wishing: 22 Genres: Horror, Parody/Spoof, Horror Comedy See Also: Evil Dead 2: Dead by Dawn [Widescreen/Fullscreen], Evil Dead 2: Dead by Dawn [Limited Edition], Evil Dead 2: The Book of the Dead 2 [Special Edition], Evil Dead 2 [UMD for PSP], Evil Dead 2: Dead by Dawn [Blu-ray]

This high-octane semi-sequel to Sam Raimi's cult hit The Evil Dead has nearly eclipsed its predecessor's reputation thanks to an endless barrage of hyperkinetic camera acrobatics, rapid-fire editing and "splatstick" gore effects ... not to mention a truly goofy performance by Bruce Campbell. Nearly the entire storyline of the previous film has been re-shot and presented in a drastically condensed form within the first few minutes: rock-jawed but clueless "hero" Ash (Campbell) now visits the mountain cabin only with girlfriend Linda (played here by Denise Bixler). Upon arrival at the cabin, Ash discovers the Sumerian Book of the Dead, the ritual dagger and a reel-to-reel tape containing the professor's translations of the book's hieroglyphics. The incantations summon an unseen, growling spirit from within the woods, which bursts into the cabin and takes possession of Linda's soul. Ash is forced to decapitate her with a shovel, after which he buries her in the forest. At first dawn, Ash tries to make his escape, but is promptly set upon by the spirits, given a solid thrashing and nearly possessed himself, saved only by the arrival of sunlight. Cut off from the outside world, Ash is forced to hole up in the cabin and wait for the next demonic onslaught -- which arrives sooner than expected, led by Linda's rotting corpse. After being bitten by Linda's chatty decapitated head, Ash's hand becomes independent of his body and begins pummeling him repeatedly. The story then jumps to a local airport, where the professor's daughter Annie (Sarah Berry) and her partner Ed Getley (Richard Domeier) have just arrived with the missing pages to the Necronomicon. They employ a cranky pair of local rednecks, Jake (Dan Hicks) and Bobbie Joe (Kassie Wesley), as guides to lead them through the dense woods to the cabin ... where, at that very moment, Ash is removing his belligerent hand with a chainsaw, creating yet another ambulatory foe. Driven to the brink of insanity, Ash fires blindly at a noise outside, unaware that the new arrivals are Annie and company. Bobbie Joe is injured by the gunshot, which incurs the wrath of Jake, who knocks Ash senseless and locks him in the fruit cellar. Believing her father was murdered by Ash, Annie plays the rest of the professor's recording to learn the truth, and discovers her possessed mother was buried in the same cellar -- and not exactly resting in peace. This touches off a string of unbelievably gruesome (and hysterically funny) events, including Henrietta's transformation into a stop-motion creature (reminiscent of a Ray Harryhausen creation), Ed's sudden metamorphosis into a toothy, levitating ghoul, and Ash's climactic confrontation with the forest demon itself. The obvious glee with which Raimi and company present this cavalcade of slime-drenched monstrosities and Three Stooges pratfalls makes it impossible to take seriously as a horror film, but Evil Dead 2 is nevertheless essential viewing among connoisseurs of truly demented cinema. The film's sardonic coda opened the way for a slightly less successful sequel, Army of Darkness. ~ Cavett Binion, All Movie Guide

Bruce Campbell - Ash, Ashley J. Williams
Sarah Berry - Annie Knowby
Dan Hicks - Jake
Kassie Wesley - Bobby Joe
Theodore Raimi - Possessed Henrietta

Follow deadite stooge Ash (Bruce Campbell) back to the woods if you dare in this hilariously horrifying sequel to Sam Raimi's low-budget horror masterpiece Evil Dead (1982). Presented letterboxed at 1.85:1 and in Dolby Digital two-channel audio, fans of the gory series will laugh, jump, scream, and maybe lose their lunch as Ash is submitted to a grueling night of agony by the tortured souls within the woods. Will he find the Necronomicon in time to banish the forces of evil forever, or be sucked into the portals of time to forever wage battle against the relentless legions of the dead? Only fans who have see this energetic entry into the Evil Dead series hundreds of times know for sure -- and they're not telling! ~ Jason Buchanan, All Movie Guide