Evil Dead II: Dead by Dawn

Sam Raimi’s 1987 sequel takes everything that made the original Evil Dead so strange and terrifying and turns the dial all the way up: one isolated cabin, one very bad night, a possessed girlfriend, a chainsaw, an infamous shotgun, a room full of things that probably shouldn’t be moving — and Bruce Campbell giving one of the great physical performances in horror.

Part horror film, part slapstick comedy and completely its own thing, Evil Dead II is the kind of movie that built a cult following because people kept coming back to it. It’s inventive, ridiculous, genuinely creepy and packed with the kind of practical effects and manic energy that are even better when you’re watching it with a room full of people who know exactly what’s coming.

If you’re seeing Alberta Theatre Projects’ Evil Dead The Musical this season, this is a pretty great excuse to keep the night going.