Bruce Campbell Reveals Why 'Nasty' Evil Dead Franchise Had to Change (2024)

Bruce Campbell

Bruce Campbell Reveals Why 'Nasty' Evil Dead Franchise Had to Change (1)

By James Melzer

Thread 1

Your changes have been saved

Email is sent

Email has already been sent

You’ve reached your account maximum for followed topics.

Manage Your List

Follow

Followed

Follow with Notifications

Follow

Unfollow

Link copied to clipboard

Sign in to your MovieWeb account
Bruce Campbell Reveals Why 'Nasty' Evil Dead Franchise Had to Change (2)

Released in 1981, Sam Raimi’s The Evil Dead was a cut above the rest of the horror slashers that were saturating the market following the success of Halloween three years earlier. It was relentless in its presentation, with over-the-top gore and a standout performance from star Bruce Campbell, which wasn’t exactly what low-budget films of the time were known for, with many opting instead to focus on body count over acting quality (we’re looking at you, Friday the 13th). That being said, there was a noticeable tonal shift when Evil Dead II: Dead by Dawn premiered six years later, something that Campbell says was vital to its survival.

In a fun interview with Variety (seen below), Campbell took the time to explain the pivot between the two movies, which saw Evil Dead 2 lean into its comedic elements and present a more lighthearted horror film that people could laugh at, while also keeping its gory components. The results were a spectacular genre piece that to this day is considered a classic that’s stood the test of time, and one that Campbell says was born out of necessity due to not only the audience reaction to the first movie, but because he and Raimi didn’t want to be pegged as the "horror guys" for the remainder of their days.

"We coined the phrase 'Splatstick' from Evil Dead 2. It’s horror and comedy, but it’s a tricky dance. We only got into comedy, adding it to horror films, because we were tired of seeing people faint at the first Evil Dead. I mean, there’s some nasty stuff in that. It’s an unrated movie.

"And so we thought, 'Is that us? We’re horror guys for the rest of our lives?' But we were huge fans of The Three Stooges. So we thought, let’s start putting some of that in there. Stuff gets too serious. Writers get too serious. They get too serious about their own words. 'Don’t change my perfect words.' Some of the best lines of dialogue were never written in a screenplay."

Evil Dead Has Been Dividing Fans Lately

Fortunately for Campbell, he has been pegged as the "horror guy" throughout his entire career, which has allowed him to have a long and healthy stint in Hollywood, and become a favorite of many who still quote from the original Evil Dead trilogy, and cosplay as Ash Williams at conventions. One can argue that his success happened solely because Raimi’s sequel/remake made the shift to comedy and became a more mainstream hit that entered the pop culture zeitgeist, which also led to the equally comedic Army of Darkness in 1993.

That being said, 2013s Evil Dead and 2023s Evil Dead Rise have propelled the franchise back to its horror roots, something that has been a bone of contention for many fans who have come to expect their gore laced with a fair bit of comedy. Though both were box office sensations due to not only being great movies, but because it had been so long between entries, Deadites everywhere felt something was missing. Campbell himself has gone on record saying that "he likes it a little lighter," but despite serving as an executive producer on both films alongside Raimi, the decision was made to once again return to outright horror, which fit better with the styles of directors Fede Álvarez and Lee Cronin.

Related

Bruce Campbell Reveals the One Thing He Never Liked About Filming The Evil Dead

Bruce Campbell had to endure a lot while filming his Evil Dead movies...a lot of blood that is.

Currently, there are two more Evil Dead films in development with Sébastien Vaniček and Francis Galluppi set to direct, so it will be interesting to see which direction they go in. We’re expecting Vaniček’s movie to be yet another outright horror film given his track record with movies like Infested and Mayday, while Galluppi’s entry could once again feature at least a little deadpan comedy, as he’s hot off the success of the remarkable flick The Last Stop in Yuma County, which provided a healthy mix of laughter and suspense.

Bruce Campbell Reveals Why 'Nasty' Evil Dead Franchise Had to Change (4)
Evil Dead 2

R

Release Date
March 13, 1987
Director
Sam Raimi
Cast
Bruce Campbell , Sarah Berry , Dan Hicks , Kassie Wesley DePaiva , Ted Raimi , Denise Bixler
Main Genre
Comedy
Bruce Campbell Reveals Why 'Nasty' Evil Dead Franchise Had to Change (2024)
Top Articles
Latest Posts
Recommended Articles
Article information

Author: Zonia Mosciski DO

Last Updated:

Views: 6207

Rating: 4 / 5 (51 voted)

Reviews: 90% of readers found this page helpful

Author information

Name: Zonia Mosciski DO

Birthday: 1996-05-16

Address: Suite 228 919 Deana Ford, Lake Meridithberg, NE 60017-4257

Phone: +2613987384138

Job: Chief Retail Officer

Hobby: Tai chi, Dowsing, Poi, Letterboxing, Watching movies, Video gaming, Singing

Introduction: My name is Zonia Mosciski DO, I am a enchanting, joyous, lovely, successful, hilarious, tender, outstanding person who loves writing and wants to share my knowledge and understanding with you.