Thursday, July 12, 2012

Eric's Horror Alphabet:E is for "Evil Ed" (1997)

By Eric Polk-
Honestly, when I was searching for a horror movie starting with the letter 'e', I had a tough choice- Tobe Hooper's follow-up to Texas Chainsaw Massacre, Eaten Alive(featuring a certain Robert Englund) or this little Swedish meatball import. In the end, this awesome box cover trumped any and all alligator munching.

A meticulous film cutter is transferred to the splatter and gore division of the film company he works for. The thought of working on a series of splatterfests known as Loose Limbs repulses him but he performs the task as professionally as possible. As he continues to work on these Academy Award winners, he slowly goes insane thanks to the waking hallucinations he experiences. Thanks to a pure grade SOB of a supervisor, ol' Ed finally gets his head into a twist so much so he twists his boss'.

From there, it's hack, slash. and beatdowns galore for Terminator Ed. Impervious to any and all weapons, Ed apparently becomes the thing the mainstream, anti-horror contingent fears people like us will become when we watch too many horror films. In the end, despite the run-in by troops from the world famous Swedish army, it takes a shotgun to finally put in an end to Eddie Boy's reign of terror.

This is a movie, had it been made in America, wouldn't have flown back then. Yet, the cult of Edward grows and today, we come to know and almost love the man. It's silly, scary, and gory which is a hard trick to pull off if you want it done right. My only beef is with the ending and shotgun. Ed survives being shot on multiple occasions but bites the bullet? C'mon. Nevertheless, a fantastic movie that is in the vein of Troma!

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