Evil Dead II (1987)

Bruce Campbell, pretty much a big-jawed rubbery-faced cartoon himself, battles stop-motion-animated horror like this Evil Dead sequel is a Tom and Jerry cartoon: it doesn't matter that the back-and-forth between Ash and the H P Lovecraft-inspired horrors of the cabin-in-the-woods is senseless because the ordeal is inventive ghastly fun and is never anything less than visually arresting.

★★★★☆

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Army of Darkness (1992)

This third movie of the Evil Dead series looks like it was a hoot to make with the big-chinned hero, Ash Williams, this time battling the stop-animated demons of the Necronomicon in 14th Century England, a task he undertakes with a cocky swagger but the movie, while great fun, doesn't quite live up to the deranged originals set in that creepy cabin in the woods.

★★★☆☆

CINECAL: ONE SENTENCE REVIEWS