10 Movie Sequels That Turn Wimps Into Total Badasses
3. Ash - Evil Dead II
Evil Dead is an interesting franchise. The original 1981 film was meant as a straight-up horror, but over the years it's gained a reputation as a horror-comedy that delivers more laughs than scares.
That's largely due to its dated special effects and patchy acting - see the scene where Ash repeatedly beats an infected Linda round the face - which makes it feel like it was shot in one weekend by a group of amateur college students.
For the sequel, director Sam Raimi embraced the more ridiculous, humorous side of the Evil Dead universe, and in turn, transformed Bruce Campbell's Ash from a confused, terrified victim into an insane, bloodthirsty killer with a chainsaw for a hand.
And as you'd expect, this comes with a major personality change too. In the original film, he pulls a gun on the aforementioned Linda - who's been possessed by an evil spirit - but cannot pull the trigger, choosing to drop the weapon instead.
However, in the sequel... he has no such issues. He chops off his own hand, murders someone with an axe, and dismembers a long-necked monster with a chainsaw. Mercy is firmly off the table.
Ash's newfound violent streak was superbly enjoyable to watch, and ensured Evil Dead 2 did not suffer from the identity crisis that plagued the first. This was a crazy film about a psychopath murdering the undead, and Raimi embraced that.