Return of the Evil Dead (1973)

This is the second film in the Blind Dead series and isn’t so much of a sequel as it is just another story with the reoccurring “monsters” of the undead Templar Knights.  The origin is retold slightly differently in this movie with the knights being caught and killed for worshipping the devil.  Before being put to death the Knights have their eyes being burned out by the local villagers.  Some 500 years later during the festival held to celebrate their demise the Knights rise from the dead intent on killing all the descendants of those that put them to death.  After most everyone is killed the survivors barricade themselves in the church.  But thru their own attempts at escape, including that of the town’s sneaky and underhanded mayor, they get picked off one at a time.  Does anyone survive the night?  I suppose you will just have to watch and see for yourself.

And I do recommend that everyone check this movie out.  The story is very tight and entertaining without any slow spots.  The movie is filled with action from beginning to end.  Not only that but the characters are well written and developed.  Which of course makes their eventual fates all the more interesting and fun to watch.  The bad guys get their comeuppance and the good guys; well I don’t want to ruin it for you.  One thing that this movie does that the first really didn’t is having some funny dialogue and characters.  It is still a serious movie, but the attempts at humor fit and only added to my enjoyment of the movie.  The best advice I can give going into the movie is that fans of the first film have to forget about it and realize this is an entirely different story with different rules for the undead knights.  Gone is the need to drink blood to sustain themselves, now they rise for revenge and kill for the sake of killing. 

The makeup effects in this movie are exactly the same as from the first film, the Tombs of the Blind Dead.  That is a good thing, because the knights looked really scary slowly rising from their graves to shuffle around after people.  Also back are the zombie horses that of course one of the characters tries to escape on, this time with slightly better results.  Finally Return of the Evil Dead again uses that incredible score with the creepy as hell chanting music that is instantly recognizable as being from one of these films.  Not only that but the nifty little trick of making all the sounds associated with the Blind Dead much louder and echoing works just as well here as it did in the first movie. 

This is a great movie that I recommend everyone check out.  Return of the Evil Dead is the second of the four Blind Dead films.   It is preceded by the Tombs of the Blind Dead and is followed by The Ghost Galleon and Night of the Seagulls.  For more information check out the Blue Underground website at www.blue-underground.com/

3 ½ out of 4

reviewed by John Shatzer

© Copyright 2009 John Shatzer