This is discussion archived from a time before the current discussion method was installed.
BritBllt: I've just gotta say, that is one awesome pic and caption.
BritBllt: I think this description's a bit biased...
Surprisingly Improved Sequel: The first film was seen by very few people, and was noted only for its ratings issues. When proposing a sequel, the filmmakers hesitated to call it Evil Dead 2 knowing that most of their audience had never even heard of the original. The sequel proved to be scarier, funnier, better produced, and focused on the now-iconic Ash character. Army of Darkness broke into national consciousness with its wisecracks and hyperactive action scenes, galvanizing the series into a cult classic.
The first film premiered at the Cannes Film Festival, got a lot of hype from Stephen King's glowing endorsement, drew critical praise for its innovative camera work and atmosphere, and was a pretty big cult classic - enough so to convince Dino De Laurentiis to finance the sequel. I'll leave the trope itself up, though, since it's indisputable that the other movies had much bigger budgets, better receptions and set the style of the series.
