Evil Ed (1995) Reviews

• The best awful film in the world

  simon_tyers2006-06-02

  You know those films that are blatantly awful but you can't help but love them? Well that's what Evil Ed is, possibly the best awful film in the world. The sound is rubbish, the dubbing is crap, the screenplay is nonsense and the special effects are pap. However, I can't help but love this film dearly and I have recommended it to at least 50 people over the years. Sam Campbell (or the guy who plays him) should be featured on the Actor's Studio series as he is that memorable. Possibly the greatest movie villain not named Tony Montana. Seriously, if you don't expect a lot then you won't be disappointed. Keep a light-hearted approach to watching this film and you'll soon rate it a ten afterwards.

• Intellectual? No. Funny? Yes!

  m0rg162003-01-21

  I didn't really rent this movie expecting a intellectual, philosophical movie. I expected a funny, gory splatter film, and I got just what I asked for. Edward works for some television studio and cuts out violent stuff from movies and such. That's his job. But when he gets to watch an entire film series of "Loose Limbs" and cut out blood and gore. But after awhile he can't handle it anymore and simply goes insane. He starts to see visions of monsters and persons from the films, and in his dreams a bandaged figure tells him to start killing off the "unpure". It just so happens that everyone seems to be unpure. After this Ed goes after several persons in his murderous rampage, including his wife, his daughter, a delivery guy, two thieves and a SWAT team. The film can be pretty damn gory at times, yet hilarious beyond boundries. Like the doctor scene! Holy crap, that scene is so damn hilarious its just... Hilarious! Its sick too, by the way. Edwards boss (Samuel Campbell is his name, a homage to Bruce Campbell and Sam Raimi) is also pretty funny with some funny lines. But Edward is the one with the real one-liners! THey are truly unforgivable! Anyway, I cannot praise this hilarious movie enough. It gets 8 out of 10 from me!

• Swedish splatter movie

  martymaster2001-08-09

  This movie is like nothing before in the Swedish movie making business. This is the first and maybe the last swedish splatter movie and therefor a must have for splatter fans. This movie is not as gory as Peter Jackson's Bad Taste and Braindead,but this one also got some gory scenes. This is a low budget movie and that explains why there isn't so much gore and spesial fx. The budget was actually only 250 000 swedish kroner. Even though the budget was low they have still managed to make a good splatter/horror movie. The things that make it funny is that it parodies many famous horror movies like The evil dead,Gremlins and many more It starts of like a normal movie and it takes a while before it really gets entertaining. And at the end is the best gore scenes. This is a good contribute to the splatter genre,and a milestone in the swedish movie history.

• Twenty Years Later, Still One of the Best Horror Films Out There

  gavin69422007-05-15

  Ed (coincidentally an editor) is hired to cut horror films down to be favorable in Europe (where standards are much more rigorous). But he finds the films very mind-destroying and starts going a little bit mad. Okay, "a little bit" might be an understatement. When you think of horror films, you may not think of Sweden. And if you are thinking of the goriest ones, maybe even less so. Which is all the more reason why "Evil Ed" exists and why it is both a great gore film and a brilliant satire. Sweden's State Cinema Bureau existed from 1911 until 1996, not officially disbanding until 2011. This made it the oldest film censoring organization in the world. Which explains Ed. While the film takes place in the United States, the job Ed has is clearly a reflection of what censors in Sweden actually did. (The United States has never had an official censorship bureau, though it feels that way sometimes if you want your film to get a R rating rather than an NC-17.) Regarding the film itself, let it just be said first of all: best. opening. scene. ever. A man in an office who blows up his head with a grenade. His boss then says -- with a straight face -- "you're fired". The entire film does not keep up this level of intensity, but it certainly tries. And anyone who likes their gore with a heaping spoonful of comedy will be enamored. Take the shotgun scenes, the decapitation, the clips from fictional film-within-a-film "Lost Limbs" (which one wishes were a real film). The writer-director of "Evil Ed" (Anders Jacobsson) thought up the idea of a woman who gets raped by a beaver and then immediately after gets shot in the face with a bazooka. That is something you won't find in any other movie (at least, unless there is a scene in "Zombeavers" that escapes the memory). This film's biggest flaw is the quality. The picture is not as crisp as a 1995 film should be, and the sound could be touched up (though it is not bad). Because of the production value, you might feel like you are watching a 1980s film. Although, this criticism may also be one of the film's strengths -- "Evil Ed" also has the 1980s style of writing and directing in it: a sense of fun and giving the audience a little something extra over the top. We all miss those days. The 3-disc Arrow Video Blu-ray is ridiculous, but this is the sort of title that deserves it. We have an introduction by writer/director Anders Jacobsson and editor Doc. An extensive making-of documentary featuring interviews with cast and crew, a featurette looking at the early filmmaking endeavors of the Evil Ed crew and a companion piece where the filmmakers discuss their careers following Evil Ed. There are deleted scenes and bloopers... But the real gem here (other than the new, extended cut of the film) is "Lost in Brainland", a never-before-seen extended three-hour making-of documentary. Holy smokes, could there possibly be anything left to say about this film after all these interviews and three hours of investigation?

• What a great splatter movie!

  zombiesnake172001-06-19

  The box at my video store is why I rented this one. It looked cool from the guys face axed in half so of course I had to give it a try. I was pleasantly surprised when I actually watched it being an "Evil Dead" fan. The Swedish makers must of been fans as well as they included lots of references in this masterpiece. A criminal tries to break into the house Evil Ed was editing the movies that ultimately drive him insane in and says "groovy" as he looks at his weapon quite like Bruce Campbell does when he finishes his chainsaw hand in Evil Dead 2. There is also many posters of that movie scattered around the house and office in the movie. They don't just spoof Evil Dead, as there is a Gremlin style puppet monster that cusses at Ed in his refrigerator. My personal favorite is when he chases his wife around the house and says "I'm coming to get you Barbra" which in case you did'nt know is Barbra's brothers main line in "Night of the Living Dead". This movie pretty much has it all good plot, cool characters, funny stuff (Gremlin puppet),scary stuff (demon doctor), excellent effects (exploding head) and a fair amount of female nudity. I only gave it a 9 because its kind of slow before Ed goes insane but its well worth the wait. So if you liked "Evil Dead 2" or any of the other movies I mentioned above you gotta rent and watch it with a freind, and when your done try "Brain Dead" because I hear it is similiar to this masterpiece.