Evil Dead Alive II: Plot Development Of Cult Horror Films

Cult horror films are set apart from traditional horror films for a number of reasons. Unlike traditional horror films which propel the story in a specific direction and can provide a general hunch as to how the plot as a whole will develop, cult horror films are notorious for having little to no civilized plot development. Cult horror films are equipped to take the story in ridiculous directions, and generate a specific audience at midnight showings that consists predominantly of film experts who have mastered the art of successfully decoding the incomprehensible plot development of cult horror films. In contrast, the average film fan would not be awake at this hour or if they were awake for the late night showing they would have made an attempt to …show more content…
A scene in Evil Dead II involves Annie and Ed Getley arriving at the cabin and finding a trail of blood leading to a chainsaw and proceed to attack Ash because they believed he killed Annie’s parents. The film does not follow the route of a traditional horror film, which would have properly explained the motives of Annie and Ed while connecting it to the overarching motives of the film. Instead, shortly after Annie and Ed arrive at the Cabin, the film leads into a gag in which Henrietta’s corpse tears through the cellar floor and nearly kills Ash. This gag provides a unique form of horror style comedic relief to the growing fear and anger among Annie and Ed. The gag was likely originally intended to take viewers by surprise, but it added a sense of humor to the film due to its predictable nature and is similar to the severed hand gag in that it does not nothing to propel the plot and is part of a series of unsuccessful attempts to scare