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Originally Posted by Kandarian Demon
You'll probably never meet a bigger Evil Dead fan than me - I own the movies in several different packagings with different bonus material, I have a book about the movies, t-shirts... I have a huge Evil Dead poster that covers most of one of my living room walls... I even own a jar of dirt from the ground where the original cabin stood. In short: I'm a fan :D
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You are awesome. *bows*
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Originally Posted by Kandarian Demon
Although I do love Evil Dead II, and have a very different opinion about the quality of the movie, I have always felt that the original Evil Dead was superior in every way. I too don't get why the second movie is getting so much praise in comparison (it IS the preferred movie in the trilogy of many Evil Dead fans).
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ED II has always been in a constant battle with the original on my favorites list.
Usually, it's ahead of the original, but at times the original beats it out. I believe there was a period in the 90s where it was #1, but typically it's around #3, with The Shining and The Exorcist at the top.
I can tell you maybe why ED II is typically ahead of the original on my list. First off, I saw it before seeing the original, and completely fell in love with it. When I later saw the original, it was awesome, but I suppose expectations were set by ED II, and the original being so different, it came as a slight disappointment on first viewing. It was missing some of the things I loved about ED II. Of course, it blew me away in other ways, and it might have been the first splatter I'd ever seen. Now that time has passed and things have evened out, I see them as very different movies, and similar to your experience, I watch one or the other, depending on what mood I'm in.
The second reason is because Bruce's physical comedy in ED II is ridiculously amazing and unique, especially the parts with his possessed hand. Also, the way he jerks around and uses his eyes -- to me, this was some of the best stuff I had ever seen. It was funny, but also visceral and scary. I was floored, and thought there was nothing like it.
Finally, I'm a huge Skinny Puppy fan, and at the time, I had no idea that so many of their samples came from Evil Dead II. "May God forgive me for what I am about to unleash upon this earth." "Who's laughing now?" (A song's even named after this.) I believe there are more. I also loved Ministry/Revolting Cocks ("Groovy"), and it seems like a lot of other bands (especially industrial) have sampled this film. Because of this, the film gained instant cult status for me.
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RE: "What is the reason for such stark differences between each film's plot?"
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Originally Posted by Kandarian Demon
I don't really think there's a greater reason either. But, it never bothered me. Evil Dead, the original, is in my opinion completely seperate from the two others... they're not really in the same "universe".
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That's the most concise way I've ever heard anyone explain it. I totally agree.
Thanks for sharing your thoughts, KD. Something tells me that you could write a book on this. I'd read it. :)