While there are a lot of things that Evil Dead II did better than the first, there were things that the first did better than the second. For one thing, the horror elements were executed a better, the Deadites were a lot more intimidating, and though it took itself more seriously, it did so very well.
The Evil Dead (1981)\n\n The Evil Dead is a fantastic introduction into the franchise, showing the skill that its soon-to-be-iconic director (Sam Raimi) has with the camera, making an unforgettable movie (albeit one that would be much improved upon with future outings) on an extremely limited budget.