If 'Ash vs Evil Dead' Does Well, Bruce Campbell Wants Freddy Krueger for Season 2
“If you like horror, stop on by. And if you like comedy, stop on by. So, if you like either or, stop on by and see if you can tolerate the other.” Bruce Campbell’s laid-back attitude tells you he doesn’t really need to sell Ash vs Evil Dead. Fans of the Evil Dead series have literally been screaming for a sequel going on almost twenty years now and Campbell and original producers Sam Raimi and Robert Tapert are giving them exactly what they want, finally.
The original Evil Dead series set a new high (low?) watermark for gore, but also brought a sense of humor unlike almost anything then or since. By the third installment, it was as much Three Stooges as anything and the hyperkinetic blend of slapstick and splatter betrayed the independent DIY aesthetic underneath the slick studio sheen.
That can-do spirit is still alive in the new generation of horror actors — or “guinea pigs” as Campbell calls them. Co-star Ray Santiago, while covered in blood, told him it felt like, “A thousand little teeny animals licking him at the same time.” If they can power through the near-constant discomfort of this kind of production “and still be able to joke about it,” Campbell says laughing, “That’s when you know it’ll be OK.”
The Raimi brand of low-budget horror is physically taxing on the young; how does it feel to be doing it 35 years after the original? “I realized halfway through the shoot what an idiot I was to come back and play Ash!” he groans. Co-star Lucy Lawless — herself many years removed from her days as Xena, Warrior Princess — ends her shooting days with acupuncture while Campbell opts for arnica, an herbal version of IcyHot.
They’ve also become experts at communicating with their stunt teams. “We just put the fights into my language,” he says. The stunt people film themselves with their phones, then they figure out where he is actually needed. Campbell and Lawless have built their own teams of Kiwi stunt people down in New Zealand, for which he’s grateful. “My stunt guy is very busy [on Ash],” he says.
Related: ‘What Could Go Wrong?’ Bruce Campbell and Lucy Lawless Taste Test Gross Halloween Candy
So now that they’ve already shot what — in many fans minds — is basically Ash vs Xena, who’s next on the guest star wish list? “So many people from the genre that I would like to get in!” enthuses Campbell. “I would open up the flood gates! Robert Englund [Freddy Krueger from the Nightmare on Elm Street series] as the crabby bartender. Or cast these guys against type a little bit…” If the show is successful, he says, people will be coming to them rather than the other way around.
Season 2 has already been green lit by Starz as early reviews have been glowing. Despite the years and the success of Campbell and Raimi, the Evil Dead franchise still has the same gory, goofy heart. “Starz has no content restrictions whatsoever,” which was important to staying true to the franchise, says Campbell. “Two out of the three Evil Dead movies were unrated; they were bloody messes. Even if this was on cable, we couldn’t do the things that we’re doing right now. We couldn’t say what we are saying; we couldn’t show the things that we’re showing. We’re very, very grateful that we’re with Starz. They’re actually a perfect partner.”
Even all these years later, after a long run on the successful Burn Notice which probably means he could retire comfortably, the heart of a young filmmaker still burns in his chest. Campbell recalls how painstaking it was to shoot and edit movies back in the '80s, long weekends spent hunched over rented equipment, cutting (and being cut by) acetate on physical editing machines, trucking prints back and forth.
His advice for newcomers to the business today? Now that equipment is cheap and plentiful and so much can be done digitally, “I think filmmakers need to stay where they came from. Tell stories from their states that are different. Use different actors that we haven’t seen all the time. Use different locations we haven’t seen all the time. Bring a different perspective.”
And if he were himself still a newbie? “I think I would still do some genre. Comedy or maybe low budget horror.” So, basically: Ash vs Evil Dead.
Ash vs Evil Dead premieres immediately after the Evil Dead marathon Oct.31 on Starz.
