Quirky ‘Evil Dead’ flick still a force 40 years later
Forty years ago, the horror movie “The Evil Dead” had a tough time connecting with American audiences.
“We could not get a distributor in the United States,” said actor Bruce Campbell, who starred as protagonist Ash Williams, a college student vacationing in Tennessee who, after happening upon a book ominously titled the “Book of the Dead,” becomes the target of supernatural forces emanating from a surrounding woods.
Ellen Sandweiss and Betsy Baker costar in the film, which was written and directed by future “Spider-man” filmmaker Sam Raimi — but the low-budget, alternately silly and grisly film was a long way from a sure bet.
“Nobody was interested,” said Campbell, 63. “We got a company, Palace Pictures, over in the UK. It was sold to them through this great foreign sales agent we had, Irvin Shapiro, who took us by the hand.”
After becoming a hit with audiences overseas, “The Evil Dead” found its way to American screens with a limited release in 1982. The film acquired devoted fans thanks to that release as well as a robust presence on home video.
Now, in recognition of its 40th anniversary, “The Evil Dead” will return to theaters nationwide on Oct. 7. In Greater Columbus, Easton 30, Lennox 24 and Polaris 18 will be showing the movie, which includes a filmed introduction by Campbell.
“The irony is we're in more theaters 40 years later than we were when it originally got released,” Campbell said. “Wow — what a world out there.”
The road to cinematic immortality was not an easy one, though.
In a recent interview with The Dispatch, Campbell, a native of Royal Oak, Michigan, recounted a tumultuous filming process in rural Tennessee. When asked for the low points, he was blunt.
“From the beginning to the end — they were all low points,” he said. “You were in a cabin that had not been occupied in decades, and had no power (or) running water; no sewage; no nothing. It was kind of like camping out for 12 weeks, but meanwhile you're trying to do a movie.”
Acting in such an environment might sound next to impossible, but Campbell said it wasn't much of an issue.
“There wasn't much acting required: You were cold, you were miserable, you were covered in blood,” he said. “Some actors have to run around in circles, do push-ups, slap yourself in the face to get ready. We were miserable all day long; we were good to go.”
A crew of nine dropped to six. Meanwhile, after wrapping the initial 12-week shoot in 1979, only two-thirds of the movie was in the can; periods of additional photography followed.
“It took two years to make the damn thing,” Campbell said. “We'd shoot it, raise money, shoot a little more, raise money, shoot a little more.”
By the time the movie was unveiled for a crowd of 1,100 at a historic theatre in Redford, Michigan, neither cast nor crew quite knew what they had come up with.
“There was a lot more laughter than we thought, because of the over-the-top violence, because of the kooky dialogue, the cheesy acting,” Campbell said. “(The audience) laughed at all kinds of stuff, and we were very happy about that.”
And, although the original movie was ultimately popular enough to generate two sequels, one reboot and a TV series, Campbell said that it wasn't until recently that he's come to fully appreciate the artistry behind the horror.
“It's low-budget, it's got rough edges,” Campbell said, but cinematically, it remains a tour de force.
“There are parts of that movie,” he said, “that are visually stunning.” tonguetteauthor2@aol.com
A 40th-anniversary presentation of “The Evil Dead,” featuring a filmed introduction by actor Bruce Campbell, will take place at 7:30 p.m. Oct. 7 at Easton 30, 275 Easton Town Center; Lennox 24, 777 Kinnear Road; and Polaris 18, 1071 Gemini Place. For tickets and more information, visit www.fathomevents.com.