Bruce Campbell Reveals Why ‘Nasty’ Evil Dead Franchise Had to Change

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.

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.