Nearly 2 decades ago Bruce Campbell played a part in a low budget horror film that totally changed the genre, eventually gaining a huge cult status with it's unique camera work, special effects, & gore galore. The EVIL DEAD pushed the envelope leaving a trail for many other films to follow and I think that it's safe to say that no other low budget film of this genre (or any genre for that matter)has had as tremendous response and cult following as The Evil Dead.
Since his splatter days, Bruce has worked on such films as: CONGO, TORNADO, TEXAS BLOOD MONEY (From Dusk Til Dawn pt II), & TV series: HOMICIDE, BRISCO COUNTY JR., ELLEN, & more recently HERCULES with long time pal Sam Raimi. Heck, there has even been a couple of action figures made fos ome of Bruce's characters.
In interviewing him I found that his personality is not that distant from the
characters that he portrays, the cocky & confident "Ash" inparticular,
always hamming it up with humor & cockiness but he's definitely a man of
originality & values. None the less he'll always be known to me &
thousands of others as the blood soaked "Ash".
CORNFLAKE OVERDOSE-If
you really were trapped in another time dimension (like in ARMY OF DARKNESS)
what would you miss most about this era?
BRUCE CAMPBELL-Gadgets. I like the
internet. Heck, without it, I wouldn't be able to insult you or your readers....
COD-When I talked to Tom Sullivan (makeup FX for ED) he had a ton of funny
stories to tell about the making of Evil Dead, including one where he saw a car
on fire and thought that it was you guys burning alive....it freaked him out.
What is your most memorable moment from those days?
BC-Drying off one of
Ash's blood-soaked shirts near a rented kerosene dryer, then trying to put it
back on and the arm snapped off....damn fake blood.
COD-When you go to rent
a movie what do you look 
for, for an evening of great entertainment? Cheesy B-movies? Epics?
BC-Epics are pretty good. I like stuff that has a little age to it-30 years
or so....flicks weren't so market driven then.
COD-If there was one
experience in your life that you could relive, what would it be?
BC-None.
I've had too many good and bad times to pick one thing out. gotta be here
now....whether I like it or not!
COD-As far as horror and gore go in movies,
is there anything that you would draw the line with?
BC-Well, for
example....if I were offered Evil Dead today, I would have passed on the
project. Our sensibilities change as we age and mellow. Evil Dead definitely
pushed the envelope.
COD-Tom Sulllivan showed me several of the short films
that you and Sam had made together, with just
you and your friends, and I must add that they were hilarious. Are
there ever times when you miss just experimenting with the film and creating it
all with strictly your friends? Without the crowd of all the crew memebers in
the bigger budget films?
BC-Sure. I'm now a member of three unions. I have
plans to do some really low-budget stuff again. Some folks, used to all the
toyrs, can't go back....
COD-Sometimes when people "hit it big" or become
famous they change and suddenly obtain these egotistical trips or put themselves
on a high horse so to speak. Do you feel that Sam Raimi or yourself have changed
in that sense at all since the amateur film making days?
BC-That's not for
us to say. You'd have to ask our high school pals. I have to say however, if I
had become Mr. Snot Nose I wouldn't be answering questions for you now would I?
COD-Some people when viewing the original Evil Dead for the first time deem
it as being funny or ridiculous while others (myself included) find it rather
frightening. If you weren't involved in the film in anyway and watched it by
yourself how do you think that you would perceive it?
BC-As both. There are
bits of poorly performed melodrama in the film and there are things that are
really scary. That's what you get when filmmakers are young.
COD-Your a great physical actor Bruce, and Evil Dead is one of
my all time favorite horror movies. Personally I can think of no one that could
play a better "Ash", but if you had to choose someone that would play the role,
who do you think would make a great "Ash" for the Evil Dead trilogy?
BC-Ed
Begley Jr.
COD-Do you sometimes have a hard time understanding why so many
people admire Evil Dead, with it being so low budget and all?
BC-No, not
really. The film is very extreme. Any time things are extreme, they make an
impression, either good or bad. I think that's why folks like/hate it.
COD-In closing I'd like to ask this: I realize that your asked repeatedly
about a possible Evil Dead 4 and that there are no plans as of now for one, but
could you give all the Evil Dead fans out there something new to look for, any
news at all? Maybe a directors cut of one of the films, a documentary, a book,
anything to give us hope that we may enjoy? & do you have any closing
comments that you would like to add?
BC-The trilogy is coming out on video
some time this fall, including the laser version of Army with new footage. Stay
tuned.... (keep in mind folks that this interview is about a year old and all of
this is old news by now).
You can visit Bruce's site at: http://www.bruce-campbell.com/