Evil Dead Trap 2 [DVD]

For fans of the first film, be advised that this "sequel" has very little connection to the original. In fact, "Evil Dead Trap 2" is so out of control it should have been titled differently. The story concerns a woman who goes through her pathetic life apparently searching for a male companion and is also a deranged serial killer. The graphic killing sequences and gross-out images of the first film are generally absent here except in the last half hour (if you make it that far). By the time anything of interest starts happening, it is so disjointed from the rest of the film, making little sense on any level, that it is a sure sign of a corrupted screenplay. The three main leads are entirely unattractive and are possibly the worst actors in all of Asian cinema. The film also drags scenes out way too long, an example being a totally useless opening of the main character walking through the city in slow motion. The scene could have been removed entirely and would have spared the viewer precious minutes of their lives. Unfortunately, there are too many of these types of exposition throughout the entire film. I gave the film two stars instead of one based primarily on a few graphic set pieces towards the end that are possible indicators that somewhere in this mess a good movie may have existed. Anyway, "Evil Dead Trap 2" is not a good movie, certainly not worth a purchase or possibly even a rental....view at your own risk.

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How does one go about recommending a movie that the reviewer thoroughly enjoyed but who is at the same time unpretentious in realizing that the greater viewership has & will continue to thumb its nose at it? The answer, I suppose, is that he "doesn't."

So how is it that I have come to appreciate this disturbing "buckets-o-gore" stomach-turner even as everyone else who has viewed it wants to "re-bury" it? (inside joke). Well, it may have something to do with the fact that I had never (and to this day still have not) seen the so-called "prequel" to this film.

Having heard so much positive feedback from multiple sources regarding that first film ("Shiryou no Wana" - aka "Evil Dead Trap"), I decided to find out what I could about the movie before making any purchasing decisions. You see, I often like to make 'chance' purchases of movies I had never seen nor heard of before (as indicated in a couple of my "So You'd Like to..." Amazon reviewer guides), but usually not without at least 'some' story & production information. And what I discovered was that while "Shiryou no Wana" was being praised to the hilt, THIS film ("Hideki" - aka "Shiryou no Wana 2" aka "Evil Dead Trap 2" - the supposed 'sequel') was being "stink talked" to the same degree.

The biggest complaint which stemmed from most of those familiar with both of these films was, for me at least, this film's ("EDT2") best selling point -- that these two semi-similarly titled movies have virtually nothing to do with each other, except for sharing a common theme of extreme gory violence and a rarely-seen antagonist named "Hideki." This revelation fueled my interest in "EDT2" because the premise of the first movie sounded hyper-contrived and entirely bogus, whereas this, the second film, seemed more plausible and sounded much more intriguing & compelling.

My interest in this film was also further aroused by the ambiguity of the female lead character: a shy & somewhat unpretty girl named Aki, who works as a film projectionist at a Korean movie house -- (Is she 'heroine' or 'villain'? 'Perpetrator' or 'victim'?) I was also captivated with the idea of casting a "plump & heavy" girl in the lead role.

Another complaint from viewers of both films was that "EDT2" was not nearly as graphic, gory & sadistic as the earlier film -- which simply has to be a plus in EDT2's favor as far as I'm concerned, since this movie is without question one of the most sickening bloodbath movies I've ever laid eyes upon, and it is certainly the most graphically gruesome of any of the movies in my personal DVD collection, with the exception of "Starship Troopers." I am by no means a raving anti-slice&dice puritan, but I do believe that even "splatter movies" should exercise at least 'some' restraint (as can probably be evidenced by the fact that the only other movies related to this particular genre-- those that DON'T involve monsters, mutants, aliens, demonic possession, 'killbots' or zombies --in my entire movie collection consist only of the original "Friday the 13th," the very first "Chucky" movie, "Psycho" I & II, the "Scream" trilogy, "Urban Legends: Final Cut," "Silent Night, Deadly Night," "Se7en" and "Sleepaway Camp"). Hence, my characterization of "EDT2" as one of my REALLY GUILTY "guilty pleasures."

I am also at a complete and utter loss as to how practically everyone else viewing this movie says they don't understand it or that they can't make any sense out of it. I find this most odd, because it all made near-perfect sense to me -- despite (or perhaps maybe even 'because' of) not having seen "EDT1." As a result, this places me in yet another difficult situation: Do I share what I know in hopes of helping others overcome their confusion? Or do I keep what I know to myself in hopes that others will eventually put the pieces of the puzzle together and decipher the code themselves? I faced this same dilemma when recommending the "Geobreeders" anime; the difference this time, however, is that the "horror" audience is much more fickle than the "anime" crowd -- so, sadly, I digress. And with so much of the consensus speaking of this film in the most negative terms anyway, I could not possibly hope to sway any pre-held opinions on the basis of some clarifying information. The most I can possibly hope for, I guess, is that anyone new coming to this film does so without having had any prior exposure to the first film, so as not to have any advance prejudices going into this one -- then perhaps on that basis "Hideki: Shiryou no Wana 2" ("Evil Dead Trap 2") could find a wider audience of acceptance.

Fans of the first film can forget about this one cause it's nothing like part one. An overweight female serial killer who kills her victims off screen is creeped out when she keeps seeing a young boy in the background of the news broadcasts reporting her murders. Oddly enough the reporter on the TV is also her only friend and she has a guy friend who's interested in the plump girl. How exciting!

After 70 minutes of pointless talking and long, boring scenes of nothing I turned this mess off. Forget it.