Evil Dead 2 (25th Anniversary Edition)

Evil Dead 2 is one of those films that have a near-perfect blend of everything.  The story is somewhat easy to follow (even without seeing the original) and the acting is quality for the most part.  The irony throughout the film is what makes it so fun.  After chopping off his hand, Ash tops it with a stack of books, the top one being A Farewell to Arms.  Brilliant.  Revisiting this film after several years was a  blast.  The blood spraying out of the cabin walls after being shot?  The cabin coming to life to laugh at Ash?  There are so many great moments throughout the course of this film that it's not easy to list them all. I will get to some specifics, though.  This Blu-Ray, along with a companion DVD, were released in November 2011.  After countless editions being released over the past two decades, especially in the last 15 years, these seem to be the most complete that will be available.  The picture, for being a low budget film that's 25 years old, looks especially clean and sharp.  There are some moments of grain, but those may have been newly found scenes or badly damaged prints.  Overall the quality of this remaster is something the studio should be very proud of.  Once I get moved in a couple of weeks, I'm going to watch my older Anchor Bay DVD of this and see how the picture has improved from the previous transfer.  That's always been a hobby, tracking down multiple prints and editions of films.  I love seeing how things improve as technological advances in mastering bring quality higher and higher.  Back to the Blu, though.  This belongs on every horrorphile's shelf, no matter how many copies of the film are already owned.  Evil Dead 2 is one of those masterpieces that somehow brings everything together needed to appeal to nearly anyone.  There's plenty of humor, charm, but also genuine scares and tons of gore.  Not just red, but black and green as well.  My favorite scenes are the tree vines dragging Bobby Joe through the woods, the cabin coming to life, Jake dying in a massive blood explosion, the very impressive physical comedy scene with Ash and his hand, and the always praised chainsaw/loadout scene.  I could watch those again and again.  In closing, I will again suggest that everyone who doesn't have this should pick it up, I found it for under $10, at that.  This will be the reference quality edition, I don't see how anyone or anything could improve over this package.