Evil Dead 2 Sam Raimi

Box office

Evil Dead II opened on March 13, 1987, to an unimpressive weekend gross of $807,260, due to its limited release in 310 theaters at the time. However, after spending a little over a month in theaters, it ultimately grossed $5,924,421 worldwide.[29]

Critical response

On the review aggregator website Rotten Tomatoes, 88% of 82 critics' reviews are positive, with an average rating of 7.5/10. The website's consensus reads: "Less a continuation than an outright reimagining, Sam Raimi transforms his horror tale into a comedy of terrors -- and arguably even improves on the original formula."[30] Metacritic, which uses a weighted average, assigned the film a score of 72 out of 100, based on 18 critics, indicating "generally favorable" reviews.[31] Empire magazine praised the film, saying "the gaudily gory, virtuoso, hyper-kinetic horror sequel uses every trick in the cinematic book" and confirms that "Bruce Campbell and Raimi are gods".[32] Caryn James of The New York Times called it "genuine, if bizarre, proof of Sam Raimi's talent and developing skill."[33] Leonard Maltin originally rated the film with two stars,[34] but later increased the rating to three stars.[35]

Roger Ebert of the Chicago Sun-Times gave the film three stars out of four, describing it as "a fairly sophisticated satire, that makes you want to get up and shuffle." He praised the film's sense of surrealism, comedic timing, and "grubby, low-budget intensity." Ebert states that "if you know it's all special effects, and if you've seen a lot of other movies and have a sense of humor, you might have a great time at Evil Dead 2."[36] Richard Harrington of The Washington Post wrapped up his review stating that "the acting is straight out of '50s B-movies. The exposition is clumsy, the sound track corny, the denouement silly. Then again, who said bad taste was easy?"[37] Conversely, Pat Graham of Chicago Reader disliked the mix of horror and comedy, writing in his review that "the pop-up humor and smirkiness suggest Raimi's aspiring to the fashionable company of the brothers Coen, though on the basis of this strained effort I'd say he's overshot the mark."[38]

Entertainment Weekly ranked the film #19 on their list of the "Top 50 Cult Films".[39]

Sight and Sound ranked it #34 on their 50 Funniest Films of All Time list. In 2008, Empire magazine included Evil Dead II on their list of The 500 Greatest Movies of All Time, ranked #49.[40]

J.C. Maçek III of PopMatters wrote, "Equal parts remake and sequel, the second film brought back Bruce Campbell as Ash and was every bit as gory and horrific as the first film with more tree rape and dismemberment and blood splatters than ever. On the other hand, Evil Dead II is also an absolutely hilarious and uproarious intentional comedy."[41]

In 2016, James Charisma of Playboy ranked the film #12 on a list of 15 Sequels That Are Way Better Than The Originals.[42]

Accolades