What? Me crazy? Bruce Campbell stars as Ash, his evil twin and some mini-Ashes in Evil Dead 2: Dead by Dawn (DEG)
Bruce Campbell is the best. Not only did he deliver an Oscar-worthy performance as an aging Elvis in Bubba Ho-Tep (I'm serious about that!) but also he's an all around great guy. When he made his only appearance at Comic-Con a few years ago, he appeared on more panels than any other person ever has. Plus, he was drop dead funny, whether he was describing the kind of stupid lines he had to record for video games or doing a lightening round where he took questions about everything from Tom Cruise to settling the old Freddy vs. Jason vs. Ash rumors. He can think fast on his feet, he's funny, and he's a thorough professional. I'm also a bit biased in his favor because years ago when he came to present a screening of Man with the Screaming Brain he took the time to talk to my ten-year-old son. There was going to be a midnight screening of Evil Dead 2 after Man with a Screaming Brain and my son was worried that Evil Dead 2 might be too scary. So Bruce took my son aside and said, "Don't worry it's splatstick - splatter gore and comedy." This put a smile on my son's face and alleviated all worries. Now that's a nice guy. And that brings me to Evil Dead 2 , which will be kicking off the Midnight Movie Series at its new location of Landmark's Ken Cinema on Saturday June 7. In Sam Raimi's sequel to The Evil Dead , Campbell once again takes on the role of Ash as he battles more supernatural beings, including an evil version of himself. And if there's anything better than Bruce Campbell in a movie it's two... or three... Bruce Campbells in a movie. I remember a friend of mine who's not a horror fan starting to watch this with me and he said, "Hey wouldn't it be funny if someone made a film that had no plot at all?" Twenty minutes into the film he looked at me a bit bewildered and said, "I think this is that film." In a way it is. Evil Dead 2 is all over the place, going any which way Raimi's demented mind would take him. This was not the sensitive, Hollywood blockbuster Sam Raimi of Spider-Man but the indie-spirited, low budget, just dare me to do it Sam Raimi and the results are delightfully twisted, especially when some mini-Ashes attack big Ash. Although this might be more fun at midnight on Halloween, The Evil Dead (I, II or III) is fun anytime. So let's head on down into that cellar and carve ourselves a witch. Groovy!
aaron soto
from tj
June 08, 2008 at 12:34 AM
Hail to the king baby!
