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‘The Evil Dead’ Returns in the Form of iPhone/iPad Game!!

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Sam Raimi and Rob Tapert‘s The Evil Dead is getting a new life in the form of an iPhone and iPad game that will bring the gore and campy humor of the cult classic film into the digital age!!

Ghost House Pictures has partnered with Trigger Apps, part of digital marketing firm Trigger, to launch a paid iPhone and iPad game app for the film from the production label’s co-founders. It is one of the early attempts at keeping fans in touch with and making additional revenue off classic movies, which some predict will become a growing business. It also can help classics find new fans.

Details inside!


This is the first time we’ve taken an older franchise and re-created it,” said Jason Yim, president of Trigger. “A lot of filmmakers we have talked to are interested in doing something similar.

Trigger and other companies have mostly focused on current releases to date, such as Green Hornet and The Karate Kid, whose number of downloads to date is in the seven figures, according to Yim.

The Evil Dead app, which will be available for $2.99 for the iPhone and $4.99 for the iPad (once Apple approves it in the coming weeks), is an action-heavy 3D shooter game that allows players to take control of Bruce Campbell‘s character Ash to lead his group of friends to safety while fighting off evil zombies.

Sam, Bruce and I have always been interested in finding ways to bring our 1980’s Evil Dead into the digital age,” said Tapert. “And taking this first step with Trigger has been a great experience.

Giving fans of the campy classic something new and fresh in the digital age was one key driver behind the development of the game. Ghost House has also shown a broader interest in developing new media ways to produce content, including Web series, mobile shorts and portable app games.

The app also provides an opportunity to get new revenue as Trigger offers intellectual property owners a way to create apps on iconic but dormant franchises, around which the firm can create a new revenue stream. Revenue from such apps tends to get split.

The Evil Dead game’s more than 30 levels are spread over two chapters. The first follows the film’s story line, while the second features a new story and new enemies. The app uses the film score, as well as signature weapons from the movie.

The companies worked together on Ghost House projects in the past. “So we knew they were fans of the movie, and would stay true to the feel of Evil Dead, which is essential,” Yim added.

Said the Trigger CEO: “I hope it’s something that audiences who love the movie will embrace, and that it will also introduce and engage new fans, who may discover this amazing series for the first time by playing this app.” He added: “For older movies, this is a chance to keep a property relevant. Evil Dead is 30 years old, but recognized by every fanboy. And this way it can be introduced to new audiences and fans.

Horror movie fanatic who co-founded Bloody Disgusting in 2001. Producer on Southbound, V/H/S/2/3/94, SiREN, Under the Bed, and A Horrible Way to Die. Chicago-based. Horror, pizza and basketball connoisseur. Taco Bell daily. Franchise favs: Hellraiser, Child's Play, A Nightmare on Elm Street, Halloween, Scream and Friday the 13th. Horror 365 days a year.

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Editorials

‘Phantasm’ – Why the Horror Classic’s Exploration of Death Still Resonates 45 Years Later

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As Benjamin Franklin famously wrote, “In this world nothing can be said to be certain, except death and taxes.”

The horror genre offers a controlled environment in which viewers can reflect on their own morality, whether it be via catharsis or escapism, but a personal loss can complicate one’s relationship with horror. Even the most hardened of fans may struggle to find comfort in the genre after experiencing the death of a loved one.

45 years ago today, Phantasm helped viewers confront death head-on while subtly exploring the grief that accompanies it. In the film, 13-year-old Mike (A. Michael Baldwin) convinces his older brother-turned-guardian Jody (Bill Thornbury) and their affable neighborhood ice cream man, Reggie (Reggie Bannister), to investigate a mysterious mortician dubbed The Tall Man (Angus Scrimm).

Phantasm was the third feature from writer-director Don Coscarelli (The Beastmaster, Bubba Ho-Tep). The seed was planted upon witnessing the audience react to a small jump scare at a preview screening for his previous effort, the 1976 coming-of-age tale Kenny and Company. Chasing that jolt of adrenaline, he challenged himself to make a movie that delivers scares regularly throughout.

The independent production was shot in 1977 on weekends over the course of nearly a year in and around southern California’s San Fernando Valley. The 23-year-old Coscarelli shrewdly rented the film gear on Fridays and returned it Monday morning, getting three days of work out of a single day’s rental fee. When all was said and done, the film cost an estimated $300,000.

Unable to afford a full crew, Coscarelli also took on director of photography and editing duties. His father, Dac Coscarelli, receives a producer credit for providing a large chunk of the film’s funding. Additional financing was invested by doctors and lawyers, accruing a total estimated budget of $300,000. His mother, Kate Coscarelli, served as production designer, wardrobe stylist, and makeup artist under different pseudonyms, and she later wrote the novelization.

Hot off the success of John Carpenter’s Halloween, AVCO Embassy Pictures purchased Phantasm for distribution. It was released on March 28, 1979 in California and Texas before expanding to other territories and becoming a box office success. It spawned four sequels, with Coscarelli and the core cast on board throughout, along with a cult following that counts Quentin Tarantino, Rob Zombie, Snoop Dogg, and JJ Abrams (who named Star Wars: The Force Awakens‘ Captain Phasma in its honor) among its ranks.

PHANTASM Remastered

The film embraces nightmare logic – in part by design, as Coscarelli drew influence from Suspiria; partly the result of extensively editing down an overlong first cut to a tight 89 minutes. The it-was-all-a-dream ending is a rare one that doesn’t undermine the entire movie that preceded it. Not every plot point is spelled out for the viewer, and some dots may not completely connect, but the narrative is conveyed in such an engrossing manner that it hardly matters.

A particularly striking pair of back-to-back sequences occur at the conclusion of the first act. Following a late-night graveyard excursion, the camera pulls out on a shot of a sleeping Mike to reveal his bed in the cemetery with The Tall Man poised over him while ghouls attack from their graves. The next day, Mike witnesses The Tall Man affected by the chill of Reggie’s ice cream truck via a spine-tingling slow-motion zoom.

The special effects also shine, from flying metallic spheres that suck the blood out of victims’ heads to lifelike severed fingers that bleed viscous yellow gore. The visuals are supplemented by progressive music composed by Fred Myrow and Malcolm Seagrave, to whom Coscarelli recommended electronica maestro Vangelis and Pink Floyd’s Dark Side of the Moon. Despite its repetition throughout the film, the power of their haunting musical theme is never diluted.

The cast was populated by amateurs, but occasionally hammy performances are far outweighed by naturalistic character moments, best exemplified by the scene in which Jody and Reggie jam on their guitars together. In addition to serving the plot by introducing the tuning fork that plays an integral role in the finale, it allows the viewer to better connect with the characters, thereby making their peril all the more frightening.

It’s character building like this that makes Phantasm‘s exploration of death so effective. The film is ultimately about Mike coming to terms with the passing of Jody, portrayed as the cool older sibling every adolescent wishes they had. Mike confronts his fear by dreaming up a final adventure with his dearly departed brother in which they manage to defeat death itself, represented by The Tall Man. Upon doing so, he’s awakened to the harsh reality that Jody died in a car accident, allowing Mike to reach the final stage of grief: acceptance.

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