Bruce Campbell brings the fun to 'Ash vs. Evil Dead'
When the hero makes his first appearance in the TV series “Ash vs. Evil Dead,” it’s not exactly, uh, heroic. Ashley (Ash) Williams is putting on his morning face by sliding in a dental plate and stuffing his torso into a contraption of leather and straps to hide his middle-age spread.
“One more for Papa,” he coos as he tightens the device.
That introduction is fine by Bruce Campbell, the 57-year-old Royal Oak native who's returning to his iconic role from the 1981 cult classic "The Evil Dead."
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“He wears a man girdle!” booms Campbell over the phone, doing yet another interview on behalf of the new 10-episode, half-hour series for the Starz network that premieres on Halloween night, of course.
Other horror films may come and go, but “The Evil Dead” keeps breeding new spawn. So far, there have been two big-screen sequels, 1987’s “Evil Dead II” and 1992’s “Army of Darkness,” plus a 2013 remake (minus Campbell as Ash), a thriving presence at comic book and horror conventions, a parody "Evil Dead — The Musical" (now playing at Detroit’s City Theatre) and, last but not least, numerous online fan sites.
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Now, finally, there's the TV incarnation. “Ash vs. Evil Dead,” which Campbell describes as a love letter to fans, has all three “The Evil Dead” founding fathers, that famous trio of friends from metro Detroit, in place.
Campbell is the star and an executive producer. "Spider-Man" trilogy director Sam Raimi, who helmed "The Evil Dead" (and met Campbell in junior high in Birmingham), and Rob Tapert, the original's producer (and Raimi's friend since their Michigan State University days), also are executive producers.
In addition, Raimi directed the first episode and developed the story with two other writers, including his brother Ivan, a frequent collaborator who's a metro Detroit doctor.
The Starz series also enlists two franchise veterans: editor Bob Murawski from “Army of Darkness," who worked on the first episode; and Detroit-born composer Joseph LoDuca, who worked on the three “Evil Dead” movies.
"Ash vs. Evil Dead" stays true to the so-called "splatstick" style of the "Evil Dead" franchise, mixing horror and humor to exquisite effect. The trailer, for instance, reveals an epic leap that Ash makes to catch his trademark chainsaw (which attaches to the stump left after he chopped off his possessed hand in "Evil Dead II").
But this time, the selfish, wisecracking, blowhard, yet ever-so-groovy Ash is in a new place: the autumn of his life. And as Starz teases in its promotional material, this time Ash must fight his personal demons as well as the terrifyingly literal sort unleashed 30-plus years ago in the original movie.
So far, Campbell likes playing much older Ash. ”You never see your heroes go on this journey. I think a lot of people watching it are going to relate to it,” he says.
(Note: Trailer contains graphic violence and adult language.)
There has long been buzz about a possible “Evil Dead 4" film that, unlike the 2013 reboot, would be devoted to Ash. The Raimi brothers were working on the story for it when Tapert, who's launched fan-favorite TV series like "Xena: Warrior Princess" and "Spartacus: War of the Damned" raised the idea of a TV adaptation.
The project needed a home that would accept the weirdness, over-the-top gore and outrageous spirit that comes with the franchise. Enter Starz, a premium cable channel that essentially agreed to let "Evil Dead" be "Evil Dead."
In “Ash vs. Evil Dead,” Campbell is front and center as aging Ash, who’s living in a messy Airstream trailer and working as a stock boy at a downscale big-box store, Value Stop, that sells everything from small appliances to light bulbs to dolls. (Spoiler alert: Keep a careful eye on those sweet-looking dolls).
As the series begins, Ash has seemingly left behind his fight against the Deadites, those demonic creatures unleashed by the Necronomicon Ex Morti, aka "the Book of the Dead,” that was found in a cabin in the woods in "The Evil Dead."
Still a ladies man, Ash has a dalliance with a woman he meets in a bar on a rainy evening. The one-night stand unleashes some sort of demonic activity that threatens the world and sends him scrambling to figure out what’s happening.
He finds unlikely partners in hell-fighting in two fellow Value Stop employees, Pablo (Ray Santiago), an undocumented immigrant who's good with electronics, and Kelly (Dana DeLorenzo), a rebellious cynic. These millennials are just bored and brave enough to sign up for a supernatural mission.
There’s also a Michigan State Police officer (Jill Marie Jones) who thinks Ash is responsible for the gruesome attack on her law enforcement partner. Another recurring character is played by Lucy Lawless, who is married to Tapert and is an international star from “Xena” and “Spartacus.”
According to Craig DiGregorio, an executive producer who is the day-to-day showrunner of the series, the “Ash vs. Evil Dead” team has aimed for a crazy, funny, scary experience marked by big moments. But the small touches are just as noticeable, like the dialogue that reveals Ash's idiotic side.
"If we get this done quick enough, we might be able to stop for churros. That's not a racist thing, Pablo. That's just a great dessert," says Ash in a preview clip. "You know I'm not Mexican, right?" asks Pablo. Says Ash, "That's the spirit!"
The initial reviews have been positive, with special praise for Campbell. "The rare horror comedy that truly makes you shriek — with laughter accompanying every ridiculously graphic jolt. Campbell's self-mocking swagger only gets better with age in a gloriously gruesome, badacious grind-house comeback," said Matt Roush of TV Guide.
Although the show is filmed in New Zealand, also the location site for “Xena” and “Spartacus,” it’s set in Michigan, or, as the production notes put it, “a mythologized yet contemporary place that could be Michigan.”
As a sign of the “Evil Dead” trio’s continued allegiance to their home state and region, there are all sorts of Michigan and hometown shout-outs sprinkled through the episodes. For instance, Ash drives a 1973 Oldsmobile Delta 88, the same car seen in previous films and all Raimi productions.
"That was the car that we used in our Super 8 movies," says Campbell, recalling the earliest projects he made with Raimi back in their high school days.
Ash’s vintage record player is used for albums that include Detroit rock essentials like Iggy and the Stooges. And Michigan products like Better Made potato chips are among Ash’s snack foods.
Also, in the first episode, Campbell goes to work to pick up his paycheck and mentions plans to be in Saginaw by nightfall. Later, a TV news report covers a gaping sinkhole outside the bar he visited, which is described as being on 9 Mile.
Campbell says that’s just the beginning. “You’ll also see Faygo Redpop stuff. We’re trying to get some Coney Islands in there."
These sort of fond references and inside jokes are a staple of Campbell’s friendship with Raimi, which dates back to Birmingham's West Maple Junior High and continues to be a source of great amusement for both of them.
In a recent interview with Entertainment Weekly, Raimi talked about how much he enjoyed torturing Campbell with scenes that bash and batter his character.
“I’m really the vessel — the innocent, wholesome, clear vessel to give the audience what they need, and they need to see him suffer,” Raimi told the magazine. “I think their entertainment is proportional to the amount of suffering Bruce does, and Bruce understands that now. I hit him with a stick every once in a while to prod him along a little for his own good and to get the performance we need out of him.”
It’s a dynamic that goes way back to the early days when Campbell would pitch in as an assistant to Raimi’s magic act.
“If I got something wrong, he’d hit me, and he noticed he’d get laughs when that happened. That was back in 1975. It just stuck around from there,” says Campbell.
Campbell is best known to some TV viewers from his long run as Sam Axe on the USA hit "Burn Notice." He's guested on TV dramas and sitcoms, starred in many genre flicks, authored a best-selling memoir, "If Chins Could Kill: Confessions of a B Movie Actor," and become a major figure on the fan convention circuit.
In July, at the mega-huge Comic-Con event, he gave fans a sneak peek of the character he’ll play on this season of FX’s “Fargo.” Campbell will put his strong jaw and charismatic charm to use as the 1979-era Ronald Reagan, who intersects with the story line via a presidential campaign stop.
But “Ash vs. Evil Dead” is something special. Only now, with the expansion of platforms for consumers, he says, would television be ready for the independent, undiluted style that’s so important to an "Evil Dead" project.
“People want it all now from TV, including genres that haven't been done before. They’re like, 'I want to watch this show, I want to watch on this device, I want to watch it right now.' And broadcasters never provided that range before,” he says.
In fact, you could say that “Evil Dead” helped to create the TV landscape of today, where shows like AMC’s “The Walking Dead” and NBC’s “Hannibal," FX’s creepfest “American Horror Story” and the CW’s campy “Scream Queens” spill their blood without protest from their broadcast and cable outlets.
Campbell hesitates to take too much credit for that. ”I think we may have paved the way for some of those shows, but at the same time, those shows pave the way for us.”
And with "Evil Dead," the word "us" always includes the fans, whom Campbell regards with much good humor and great appreciation.
“They’ve been very loyal to me over the years,” he says sincerely. When Halloween arrives, he is hoping “Ash vs. Evil Dead” will be the treat they’re anticipating.
Contact Detroit Free Press writer Julie HInds: 313-222-6427 or jhinds@freepress.com.
'Ash vs. Evil Dead'
Series premiere: 9 p.m. Sat.
Starz
