NOTE: To celebrate the entire “Evil Dead” film and television experience as “Ash vs. Evil Dead” approaches its series finale Sunday night on STARZ, the following is a reprint of an interview I did with Bruce Campbell in 2002 for the Anchor Bay Entertainment release of the “Book of the Dead” special edition DVD of “The Evil Dead.”
Thanks for all the memories, Bruce, and Hail to the King, Baby!
By Tim Lammers
April 2002
Although some actors despise being associated with one particular role, it doesn’t bother Bruce Campbell in the least that fans continue to kiss his Ash nearly 20 years after the release of the cult horror film classic “Evil Dead.”
“I don’t have a problem with ‘Evil Dead’ — people misinterpret that sometimes,” Campbell told me in a recent interview. “This film gave us the most creative freedom of any movie we’ve ever done in the following 20 years.”
Ash, for those who are familiar the film, is the square-jawed moronic anti-hero who battles his way through a haunted cabin, possessed woods and a trip back to the medieval times in the film and its two sequels, “Evil Dead 2” and “Army of Darkness.”
Although many know him as Ash, Campbell is hardly a one-trick pony. Since the debut of “Evil Dead” in 1982, he’s gone on to act and direct in several other notable projects, including such television gems as “The Adventures of Brisco County Jr.,” “Hercules: The Legendary Journeys,” and “Xena: Warrior Princess.” Sure, the “Evil Dead” keeps coming back to haunt him, but in his case, that’s a good thing.
Directed and produced by longtime friends Sam Raimi and Rob Tapert, respectively, the trilogy of films have developed an enormous following over the past 19 years, culminating in the latest release “The Book of the Dead,” a limited edition DVD of the film that not only chronicles the making of the film, but examines the impact it’s had on fans with Campbell’s documentary short “Fanalysis.”
Even keeping true to the (evil) spirit of the film, the DVDs producer and distributor, Anchor Bay Entertainment, has packaged the disc and other contents in a replica of the Necronomicon from the film. For the lack of a better word (as Ash would say), it’s “groovy.”
But anybody familiar with the movie knows that there’s much more to this “book” than its creepy cover. Shot on a shoestring budget in Tennessee and their home state of Michigan, Campbell, Raimi, and Tapert weave together a bloodstained tapestry of movie magic, madness and mayhem.
Marked by Raimi’s wild, kaleidoscopic point-of-view shots and hyperkinetic pacing (and Campbell’s willingness to playfully and painfully get his butt kicked on cue), it puts that other lost-in-the-woods movie, “The Blair Witch Project,” to pitiful shame.
But more than anything, it’s the end result of a group of friends’ effort to defy all odds and see their dreams and passion to make a movie come to fruition.
“It thumbs its nose at the system and I think a lot of people can identify with it,” Campbell said. “‘Evil Dead’ is completely independent and off the grid. There was no studio financing whatsoever. People get behind it because it’s the David against Goliath, it’s the little engine that could, because it only cost $350,000 to make, but in 1998 when it got released on video, this crappy little movie got to No. 3 on the charts behind ‘Titanic’ and ‘Lady and the Tramp.’ People like to see little things succeed.”
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The continuing success of the film and its sequels, of course, contributed to Campbell’s opportunity to write his critically acclaimed book “If Chins Could Kill: Confessions of a B-Movie Actor.” For those who haven’t read it yet, it takes a few shots at few celebrities, but is far from being a trashy tell-all tome.
“It’s about making low-budget movies and I mention a few people along the way,” Campbell said. “But I don’t go out of my way to trash anybody, and if I did, it’s because I felt that they were idiots. It’s not that I’m not an idiot, it’s just that I thought they were bigger idiots.”
Readers reacted favorably to “If Chins Could Kill,” propelling it to peak at No. 19 on the New York Times Bestseller’s List. The success, as a result, has given Campbell a whole new status in the entertainment industry.
“It’s better, because you get more respect,” he said. “That’s what is hard, is to get any respect. I’m actually tempted to write a novel and try and make it into a movie because it will get read more easily than if I wrote it as a script. It’s bizarre.”
There’s no question that Campbell has earned a massive amount of respect from the fans: His website is wildly popular, and in the past two years, the merchandise relating to the films has been coming out at a fast and furious pace to whet the appetites of those who can’t get enough of the films.
Among them, McFarlane Toys has released three different action figures from “Army of Darkness,” while National Entertainment Collectibles Association has produced a plethora of products ranging from “Evil Dead” and “Army of Darkness” lunch boxes to an Ash “Head Knocker,” which is reminiscent of a bobble-head doll.
And, there’s even more to come: Sideshow Toy, praised for its dead-on (no pun intended) creation of the 12-inch Universal Monsters doll series, will soon be releasing Ash and Evil Ash dolls from “Army of Darkness.”
“Dead” merchandise aside, the ultimate experience for any fan of the films is to get to meet Campbell in person, and the actor has given his followers plenty of opportunities. Although he’s frequented the convention circuit for the past few years, the release of “If Chins Could Kill” in 2001 gave many more “Evil Dead” fans the opportunity to talk with the man. He made tour stops in 65 cities, and is up for it again for future projects as long as he remains in demand.
“As long as people keep buying what I’m doing (I’ll do it),” Campbell said. “I’m an actor, a gypsy, a dog-and-pony show sort of guy. At one point it might be because I’m working on a TV show, or it could be because I’m writing a book or in a movie. It’s nice to have job rotation within the entertainment factory.”
Part of Campbell’s most current rotation came with a small, but memorable role in Frank Darabont’s “The Majestic,” where he played the swashbuckling hero of screenwriter Peter Appleton’s (Jim Carrey) classic-style adventure film “Sand Pirates of the Sahara.” The call for the role came from a high-profile fan: director Frank Darabont.
“Darabont had known of me from the ‘Evil Dead’ movies so he gave me a holler — So Jim got to star in the ‘A’ movie and as always, I got to star in the ‘B’ movie,” Campbell mused.
Of course, anyone who has seen “The Majestic” or Darabont’s prior two films “The Shawshank Redemption” and “The Green Mile,” know the filmmaker has an incredible handle on recreating the atmosphere of the classic films of yesteryear. In the case of “The Majestic,” Campbell believes Darabont’s deft touch was ultimately the downfall of the film, which was a disappointment at the box office.
“There’s a strange demographic change happening,” Campbell said. “Movies never used to be marketed at teenagers, they used to be marketed at adults. So when your marketing changes, your movies are going to change right with it and unfortunately it’s led us into an embarrassing, tragic phase of filmmaking in the last 20 years.”
But there is hope. Campbell and Raimi have teamed together again, if only briefly, in the director’s big-screen version of “Spider-Man” which debuts in theaters May 3.
“It’s a pivotal role, because I give Spider-Man his name,” Campbell said. “You won’t see much of me, but its pivotal.”
No matter the amount of screen time, there’s no question it will be, well, groovy. What else would you expect from a Campbell and Raimi movie?
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