Editorials
[Editorial] Can the ‘Evil Dead’ Franchise Continue Without Bruce Campbell?
The biggest horror news of last week sadly paved way for the biggest horror news of this week, with this past Friday’s cancellation of “Ash vs. Evil Dead” leading to star Bruce Campbell officially hanging up the chainsaw-hand this week. According to Campbell, he’s done playing Ash Williams, setting his sights instead on other fish he wants to fry.
So where does that leave the Evil Dead franchise, to which Campbell is inextricably linked? Could it continue beyond Campbell, or does it die along with his retirement?
The good news for Evil Dead is that there’s certainly no shortage of other characters to take up the mantle, and Fede Alvarez’s exceptionally grueling remake already proved that Evil Dead doesn’t *need* Ash. Lest you think such a statement is sacrilege, check out what Campbell wrote this week, in his official announcement about his Ash retirement:
“Is Ash dead? Never. Ash is as much a concept as a person. Where there is evil in this world, there must be one to counter – man or woman, it matters not.”
In other words, in Bruce Campbell’s own words, “Ash” is merely the hero who stands up against evil in the world of Evil Dead, and Jane Levy’s Mia already proved that back in 2013. Ash himself may be the “chosen one,” tasked with vanquishing Deadites and saving the world, but Mia proved that Ash isn’t the only one who’s cut out for that particularly unpleasant line of work. And though nothing is in the works at this time – we reached out to Fede Alvarez over the weekend, who told us that he hasn’t heard a peep – we’d *love* to see Mia return in a sequel to Evil Dead. Granted, what we all wanted was an Ash/Mia team-up film, but a Levy-lead remake franchise sounds just as good to me.
Let’s not forget that Mia, like Ash in Evil Dead 2, lost a hand in her first battle with the Deadites, so she could even be affixed with a chainsaw hand to truly become a new Ash!
But Mia isn’t the only Evil Dead character who suggests a promising future for the franchise, as “Ash vs. Evil Dead,” though it may have only lasted three seasons, gave us three main characters who we’d love to see back in action either individually or together, perhaps even with Mia by their sides. I’m of course talking about Kelly Maxwell and Pablo Simon Bolivar, Ash’s two sidekicks throughout the entire run of the Starz series, as well as Brandy Barr, Ash’s teenage daughter who we first met (as did Ash) in Season 3.
Kelly, played by Dana DeLorenzo, is a badass, take no shit fighter who would herself be a worthy replacement for Ash going forward, as she’s become the most fan-favorite character introduced in the Starz series. As for Pablo, played by Ray Santiago, he rose to his destiny as “Brujo Especial” in Season 3 of “Ash vs. Evil Dead,” essentially making him the first superhero in the Evil Dead universe (sorry, Ash). Imbued with both good and evil powers, Pablo is perhaps even more equipped to protect the world from the evils of the Book of the Dead than Ash himself, so there’s endless potential there.
And then there’s Brandy, played by Australian actress Arielle Carver-O’Neill. Brandy unfortunately didn’t get all that much to do in Season 3 of “Ash vs. Evil Dead,” and one of the biggest bummers of the series being cancelled is that Brandy was just coming into her own as a great character in literally the final two episodes. Brandy has finally embraced who she is – the daughter of the “Chosen One,” meaning she’s going to have to carry on her dad’s work – and we really would’ve loved to see Brandy and Ash fighting side-by-side in Season 4. With Campbell retired as Ash, that’s looking very unlikely in any iteration of the Evil Dead franchise’s future, but it’d be fun to see Ash’s daughter continue on in her old man’s stead. She’s the only other Williams there is, after all.
But perhaps the most exciting potential for the future of Evil Dead is that the stage has been perfectly set for the blood-soaked insanity to continue, in some form, with three ass-kicking females at the helm. The thought of Mia, Kelly and Brandy joining forces to continue Ash’s work is nothing if not a hugely exciting one, as it’d allow for the remake and original franchises to be blended together in a really fun way. Such a mash-up could go down in a variety of ways, either with a sequel to the Evil Dead remake or perhaps even a sort-of continuation of “Ash vs. Evil Dead” on a platform like Netflix or Amazon. You can’t have “Ash vs. Evil Dead” without Ash, this much is true, but a simple name change could allow for the spirit of the series to carry on in a different form. “Kelly vs. Evil Dead” has a nice ring to it, and DeLorenzo is certainly deserving of top billing.
No matter what the future holds, one thing is for certain: Bruce Campbell will always be greatly missed in any project bearing the Evil Dead title that he’s not a part of. But with a strong roster of other characters at their disposal, the franchise’s creative forces certainly have a lot to work with if they choose to continue on without the guy with the gun.
Here’s hoping the last of Ash doesn’t mean the last of Evil Dead.
Horror was permanently changed in 1984 when Wes Craven’s A Nightmare on Elm Street unleashed Freddy Krueger on the world. This brutal boogeyman pushed horror to exciting new places, but so much of the character’s impact is the result of Robert Englund’s quintessential performance.
Englund has a long and storied career as a performer that’s covered far more than horror alone. However, there’s such a sublime, sinister synergy between Englund and this heightened genre that’s made him one of horror’s most revered names.
Englund is set to scare audiences again as a malevolent reimagining of Jiminy Cricket in Pinocchio Unstrung, but he’s also been responsible for many more macabre monsters.
The Cricket (Pinocchio Unstrung)
Winnie the Pooh: Blood and Honey has somehow spun a morbid experiment in public domain exploitation into its own cinematic universe, the Twisted Childhood Universe. There’s been increasing promise in the TCU’s various films, which has also led to a growing list of capable horror guest stars, such as Roger L. Jackson, Richard Brake, and now Robert Englund. Englund is by far the most impressive name to attach himself to one of these movies, and Pinocchio Unstrung certainly doesn’t squander the opportunity to have him on board as its terrifying take on Jiminy Cricket. Englund’s performance as “The Cricket” in Pinocchio Unstrung becomes a sinister subversion of the classic character who is meant to function as Pinocchio’s conscience and moral compass.
Englund’s Cricket is instead the ultimate instigator who perpetually pushes Pinocchio into greater violence that condemns humanity and its many misgivings, rather than idolizing all the “real boys” in the world. Pinocchio Unstrung is a love letter to practical effects and old-fashioned animatronics and puppetry. This means that Englund just provides the voice for Cricket, but it’s still a deeply sinister performance and one of the most unnerving characters to appear in the Twisted Childhood Universe. Once again, Englund is careful not to just repurpose his Freddy Krueger persona, and he instead develops an original voice that plays into past renditions of the character. There’s a palpable rage and disdain in Englund’s Cricket that turns him into a threatening loose cannon and makes the audience forget that he’s only a few inches tall.
The Phantom of the Opera (The Phantom of the Opera)
The Phantom of the Opera is a foundational horror story that’s still being explored over a century later. 1989’s cinematic adaptation of Gaston Leroux’s 1910 classic doesn’t always get the respect that it deserves, despite it containing one of Englund’s most nuanced horror performances. Directed by Dwight H. Little, who previously helmed the underrated Halloween 4, The Phantom of the Opera operates as a gorier take on Leroux’s source material that feels like a lost Hammer Film picture. The titular Phantom is the perfect role for Englund following A Nightmare on Elm Street, and his participation in the picture was initiated by Englund promising his agent that he’d do another horror project after Elm Street’s success.
Englund was excited to tackle an iconic character who had previously been portrayed by formative horror legends like Herbert Lom, Claude Rains, and Lon Chaney. Englund beautifully fits the mold and is sublime casting for this ‘80s take on the character. Englund taps into a powerful dichotomy between the Phantom’s brutal and tragically sympathetic nature. It’s a role that’s significantly deeper than Freddy Krueger and better explores Englund’s range as an actor, which helps get him away from cheesy one-liners. It also doesn’t hurt that Little concocts a uniquely twisted take on the Phantom’s disfigurement, which was achieved by sewing human skin onto Englund’s face. The modern-day sequences that bookend the film were meant to tie into a planned sequel, The Phantom of the Opera 2: Terror in Manhattan, which unfortunately never came to fruition.
Victor Creel (Stranger Things)
Love it or hate it, Stranger Things assembled some impressive guest stars that took advantage of their respective legacies as ‘80s genre legends, such as Linda Hamilton, Matthew Modine, Cary Elwes, and Robert Englund. Englund’s turn as Victor Creel in the streaming hit’s fourth season is one of the series’ best performances and a role that rises above the mediocrity around it. Victor Creel is an opportunity for Englund to actually subvert expectations and play against type. It’s brilliant casting that initially conditions the audience to be wary of Creel and view him as a frightening threat. This perception is reinforced when Creel is encountered in a psychiatric ward and horrifically blinded.
Creel’s disturbing eye-gouged appearance is revealed to actually be a symptom of his tragic life and the psychological torment he received from Vecna. Creel is hard to look at, but there’s nothing to fear about him. He’s led a sad life that’s filled with inescapable guilt. He’s more like one of Freddy Krueger’s victims than Freddy himself. Englund goes above and beyond as Victor Creel, and the emotional monologues that he delivers are among some of the actor’s best work and proof that Englund’s still got it.
Marquis de Sade (Night Terrors)
Tobe Hooper’s Night Terrors is a particularly forgettable ’90s horror film that faced a litany of production problems and changes that certainly didn’t do it any favors. The story is a mess, even for a Cannon Video production, but it provides the novelty of Englund pulling double duty as the cruel Marquis de Sade and his modern day descendant, Paul Chevalier. Night Terrors banked on the novelty of Hooper directing Englund as one of history’s greatest monsters, and his performance is easily the best thing about this movie.
There’s an unabashed glee to Englund’s work as the Marquis de Sade that’s reminiscent of Freddy Krueger’s twisted jubilation over his creative murders, yet it doesn’t just feel like a carbon copy of Englund’s iconic role. There’s an appreciated degree of restraint going on before the film goes off the rails and incorporates supernatural elements and abstract dream sequences. Chevalier and his modern cult worship the Marquis de Sade as a deity of torture and liberation. The nightmare sequences that involve the Marquis de Sade are the most chilling and make this figure look as frightening on the outside as he is on the inside. There’s enough to latch onto here, even if the film as a whole is a mess, and Englund doesn’t squander the opportunity to play two sides of the same creepy coin.
Scarecrow (Injustice 2)
Robert Englund is no stranger to voiceover work, and he’s voiced his share of macabre and memorable characters over the years. That being said, one of his most inspired roles is the work that he did in NetherRealm’s dark DC Comics-based fighter, Injustice 2, where he plays Jonathan Crane, better known as the Scarecrow. There’s a certain tongue-in-cheek brilliance to having Englund voicing the Batman rogue who is the self-appointed “Master of Fear.” There’s certainly a meta quality to Englund’s casting here, right down to how some of his dialogue explicitly references Freddy Krueger one-liners like “Welcome to your nightmare” and “Now I’m playing with power.”
Englund doesn’t just phone in this performance or replicate his work as Freddy. The actor cultivates a unique voice for Scarecrow that cuts to the core of this character in a menacing manner. Englund’s Scarecrow is raspy, erratic, and honestly one of the better takes on Dr. Crane. It makes one wonder what he’d be able to accomplish if he were playing the part in live-action. He takes a simple role and breathes fresh life into it. Curiously, it’s not his first time playing a Batman villain. He does comparably interesting work as The Riddler in The Batman and the more obscure sorcerer, Felix Faust, in Justice League.
Evil Bloodthirsty Brian (The Hughleys)
There’s a surprising relationship between horror icons and sitcoms, with Robert Englund being no stranger to adding a devious dose of terror to a farcical comedy. Englund shows up as a playful take on Lucifer in Married…with Children, but he also provides a genuinely chilling performance in the first season of The Hughleys. Season one’s “Storm O’ the Century” is centered around the Hughleys and Rogerses getting stranded at a seemingly haunted hotel during an intense blizzard.
“Storm O’ the Century” functions as a proper love letter to horror fans, with genre guest stars that include The Addams Family’s John Astin, The Shining’s Shelley Duvall, and Robert Englund as the comically-named Evil Bloodthirsty Brian. The episode certainly prioritizes its comedy, but it manages to also be legitimately creepy thanks to a locked-in performance by Englund. He’s used sparingly, but always to punctuate a particular scene and function as a jump scare. Evil Bloodthirsty Brian sports a ghastly scar and has a look that’s just frightening enough to be included on a ’90s sitcom. Anyone who is curious about Englund’s performance can check it out for free on Tubi.
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