Ranking high amongst those movies that have achieved cult status is “The Evil Dead.” It jump-started the careers of director Sam Raimi (“Spider-Man”) and the greatest B-Movie actor of all time Bruce Campbell. It was followed up by two sequels, a video game, action figures, and has legions of fans throughout the world. All this from a little movie shot on a shoestring budget. What was that? WHO is Bruce Campbell and what was the Evil Dead Trilogy???? If you don’t recognize the name, please… please… stop reading now. If you HAVE any “Evil Dead” friends, I guarantee you won’t ever be joining in their “Evil Dead” games. There are those of us who hail Campbell as the King of B-movie Actors and immediately know the name, the face, the chin and the hysterically sarcastic nature that is Bruce Campbell. Of course, if you want to get in good with your “Evil Dead” friends, I can only suggest that you get your hands on all of the films, as well as the two books that Campbell has since written, “Confessions of a B-Movie Actor” and “Make Love the Bruce Campbell Way.”

The movies are great and the books make for a hysterical read.

As for the Trilogy itself, it was the brainchild of director Sam Raimi. Now, a few years ago Raimi was in the same boat as Campbell, and his was far from a household name. As a director he moved up from the “Evil Dead” series to direct”Darkman”, and “The Quick and the Dead.” The he began to find himself attached to more mainstream films like “For the Love of the Game” and “The Gift.” But whether in be in the low budget arena or with movies that allowed a bigger budget, he consistently proved himself to be one of the best visual directors around. His use of extreme camera angles is amongst the most original in Hollywood. No one sets up a shot like Sam Raimi. Of course, now most theater audiences know him as the ‘big-shot’ director of “Spider-Man” and “Spider-Man 2”, arguably two of the best superhero movies ever produced.

But getting back to The “Evil Dead” films, there have been several DVD versions of all three from this classic horror-fest, but back in 2002, Anchor Bay Entertainment offered up what had to be the definitive version of the first film for fans everywhere. It had plenty of extras, including commentary tracks by Raimi and Campbell and behind the scenes footage. Of course Campbell’s hysterical and often self-deprecating commentary alone was worth multiple viewings. Added to that was “Discovering Evil Dead”, which at the time was an all-new featurette tracing the film’s history from low-budget fright flick to horror classic. For hardcore fans there was an expanded still gallery, and never before seen TV Spots. There was even a short film included that was shot by Campbell called “Fanalysis.” But none of that could compare to what Anchor Bay had done with the packaging. All of these items came neatly packaged in your very own ‘Book of the Dead.’

That’s right… it was no ordinary DVD case. It was designed and created by Tom Sullivan, the special effects artist for “The Evil Dead” and creator of the original book for the movie. The outside had a molded rubber covering, complete with the face on the front, and a… gulp… ear… on the back. It felt oddly like… human flesh. Inside you could find meticulously recreated pages from the Book of the Dead. There was even a smaller book insert with pictures and back-story. Anchor Bay had gone all out on this one and let me tell you, it was hands down, the coolest packaging of any DVD ever!

Until now… Anchor Bay is finally following up this great DVD release, with an all-new release of “Evil Dead 2,” also packaged in its own version of ‘The Book of the Dead.’ The design of the book changed from each film, and this new DVD case is fashioned to look like the book from the first sequel. It also comes complete with its own set of pages and artwork, plus… the designers opted to add another rather unusual feature. If you poke the left eye... the book screams. (I’ve now done this about 45 times, much to my delight… and the annoyance of my wife… hee hee.)

There aren’t as many DVD special features this time around, but they are all still very worthwhile. The commentary by Raimi, Campbell, Co-writer Scott Spiegel and effects artist Greg Nicotero (of KNB) has been available on earlier releases of the film, but if you’ve never had a chance to hear it, you have to take the time. It’s quite the yuck-fest. You’ll also find another featurette that was previously available. However, there is an all-new special effects featurette hosted by Tom Sullivan (the guy who designed the books for the films as well as these cases) that was produced just for this release.

I’ll grant you that titles like this are generally only marketable to a select audience, but I’m hoping that by releasing the film in such a cool collectible package, DVD aficionados might pick it up and give it a watch. All three films in the series are B-Movie masterpieces and a heck of a lot of fun to watch. Al you need is an imagination, a sense of humor and the willingness to try something new.

Directed by: Sam Raimi
Starring: Bruce Campbell, Sarah Berry
Extras: Audio Commentary with Writer-Director Sam Raimi, Star Bruce Campbell, Co-Writer Scott Spiegel and Special Make-Up Effects Artist Greg Nicotero, Evil Dead 2: Behind-The-Screams - Brand-new Featurette, The Gore The Merrier Featurette, Theatrical Trailer, Talent Bios
Specifications: Widescreen
Studio: Anchor Bay
Release Date: 9/27/2005
Region 1
MPAA Rating: R
Website

We'll give Evil Dead 2: The Book of the Dead 2 an A.