Rating summary

Movie		4.0
Video		3.5
Audio		4.0
Extras		1.0
Overall		4.0

Evil Dead 2 4K Blu-ray Movie Review

Reviewed by Jeffrey Kauffman December 10, 2018

Nothing screams “the holidays” like demonic possession, headless (and handless) characters, and Bruce “The Chin” Campbell. Well, to some of us, anyway. That of course is said with tongue planted firmly in cheek, but in a way that’s a perfect way to approach Evil Dead 2, since it has a rather macabre sense of humor itself. If Evil Dead 2 in 4K UHD might be thought of as a potential stocking stuffer, Lionsgate might be accused of passing off a little “coal” in this particular package as well, choosing once again to recycle an older 1080p Blu-ray stateside (the 25th Anniversary Edition from several years ago), while other markets are reportedly getting a new 1080p release culled from a new StudioCanal master that provided the source for the 4K UHD version.

For my thoughts on the film, please see our Evil Dead 2 Blu-ray review.

The original Starz / Anchor Bay release was also reviewed by Martin Liebman in the dawn ("dead by" or otherwise) of the Blu-ray era. Marty's review can be accessed by clicking on the following link: Evil Dead II: Dead by Dawn Blu-ray review.

Evil Dead 2 4K Blu-ray Movie, Video Quality 

Note: Screenshots are sourced from the 1080p Blu-ray included in this package, which in this case is the 25th Anniversary Edition which looks substantially different from the 4K UHD version.

Evil Dead 2 is presented on 4K UHD courtesy of Lionsgate with a 2160p transfer in 1.85:1. This is yet another recent Lionsgate 4K UHD release which has an introductory "select language" menu, as well as a StudioCanal logo, per several recent releases which have featured new (or at least newer) 4K SC upgrades. While there are certain "baked in" aspects to this presentation, including a veritable glut of opticals, I have to say I was pleasantly surprised throughout virtually all of this presentation with its manifest upticks in detail levels, color saturation and (perhaps especially) improved shadow detail. Yes, grain is still rather thick and swarm like, especially in some of the opticals, but it never really descended into the near noisy territory that I've commented on in other Lionsgate 4K UHD presentations. That said, there are moments of fairly unnatural looking grain, as in the brief composite optical at circa 8:07 where Ash greets the sun outside with wide open eyes. But moments that did look pretty noisy in previous 1080p Blu-ray versions, notably the "POV" scenes going toward the cabin, are materially improved here in terms of overall clarity and fine detail levels. The palette is really impressively saturated, especially with regard to the all important reds (the "red ocean" in the opening vignette is just one spectacular example). There are one or two odd moments of weird color anomalies that may simply be the 4K UHD resolution showing some of the "seams" of the opticals, but they're brief and in my estimation not overly distracting. The final "medieval" sequence is somewhat degraded looking, without the same densities seen in most of the rest of the presentation, and in fact the closing moments almost look like a colorized version, but that's just one small niggling qualm in an otherwise largely pleasing looking presentation. The palette to my eyes looked at least somewhat warmer throughout this presentation compared to the 1080p Blu-ray, though many of the optical sequences still have the same kind of "grayish" undertone to them that has always been part of the film's appearance. With an understanding that this was not a hugely budgeted film to begin with, and has always had a somewhat rough hewn appearance due to having so many opticals, my hunch is most fans of this film will be generally very well pleased with the improvements the 4K UHD presentation offers.

Note: One slight if probably unimportant anomaly cropped up as I booted this disc. I got both a Dolby Vision and a separate HDR notification (it's usually just one or the other, at least in my personal experience). The Information tab on my Oppo did clearly show Dolby Vision.

Evil Dead 2 4K Blu-ray Movie, Audio Quality 

This release sports a DTS-HD Master Audio 5.1 mix which to my ears was not significantly different from the one I assessed in our Evil Dead 2 Blu-ray review.

Evil Dead 2 4K Blu-ray Movie, Special Features and Extras 

The 4K UHD disc includes the previously released Commentary track, along with:

• Bloody and Groovy, Baby: A Tribute to Sam Raimi's Evil Dead 2 (1080p; 52:51; SDR) is a French production that features talking heads like Guillermo del Toro and Roger Corman, along with a glut of lesser known folks, talking about what the film means/meant to them. Large swaths of this are in French with English subtitles.

Per my comments above, this package also includes the 25th Anniversary release of the film on 1080p Blu-ray, and that disc of course includes all of the supplements detailed in my Evil Dead 2 Blu-ray review.

Evil Dead 2 4K Blu-ray Movie, Overall Score and Recommendation 

If nothing screams "the holidays" to you like Evil Dead 2, consider your shopping list complete, since this new 4K UHD presentation offers significant upgrades in video quality, with an understanding of the low budget filming and the glut of opticals the final product has. Some may wish that Lionsgate had upped the audio ante as well, but the included DTS-HD Master Audio 5.1 track gets the job done handily enough. I frankly was not that impressed with the French supplement, but other fans' mileage may of course vary. Recommended.