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Bruce Campbell’s 6 Most Memorable Horror Movie Roles

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Evil Dead

The ratio of heroes and protagonists in horror tends to favor women by a wide margin. We celebrate final girls like Laurie Strode, Nancy Thompson, Ellen Ripley, and more on the regular, but not nearly as many men reach the end credits of a horror film; even less often are they the ones who save the day. Beloved actor Bruce Campbell is a pioneer in that respect.

The definitive scream king, Bruce Campbell has played so many characters that have been put through the ringer in horror, saving the world time and time again from demonic armies, ancient mummies, vengeful dead, witches, and various other creatures. It’s difficult to think of any other actor working in horror who has been consistently dealt such physically demanding roles, and Campbell manages to make it all look effortless every time. His talent for physical comedy surely helps.

Campbell has reached a major milestone, turning 60 today, so in honor of his birthday we look back at 6 of his greatest contributions to the genre.


Joe Fasulo – The Woods

Lucky McKee’s 2006 supernatural film isn’t as celebrated as it should be. Starring Agnes Bruckner, Patricia Clarkson, and Rachel Nichols, this is primarily a female driven horror film set in an isolated all-girls boarding school in 1965. Agnes Bruckner plays lead Heather, a rebellious teen sent to Falburn Academy when her parents no longer can deal with her destructive ways. Falburn Academy, however, is a front for a coven of witches that intend to use the students for their nefarious plans. Campbell plays Heather’s father, Joe. Truthfully, he isn’t in it very much, but his role is crucial to Heather’s story and his scenes important. It’s also a different side to Campbell than what we’ve seen from the actor’s work before; his portrayal of a devoted but broken dad is great.


John Loftmore – Waxwork II: Lost in Time

This underappreciated sequel once again finds protagonists Mark Loftmore (Zach Galligan) and Sarah Brightman travelling through alternate worlds, each a self-contained horror film inspired segment. Campbell appears in a black and white segment that’s an homage to The Haunting. Or rather, if The Haunting was a comedy thanks to the comedic chops of Campbell. His character, John Loftmore, is the lead of the investigation team sent into the haunted house, and to say that the poltergeist activity gets dangerous would be an understatement. Especially for poor John Loftmore. Fans of Campbell’s humor should not miss this one.


Elvis Presley – Bubba Ho-Tep

I’m not sure really anything else needs to be said other than Campbell plays an elderly man living in a retirement home in Texas, claiming to be Elvis Presley. If you need more than that, then just know that it was written and directed by Don Coscarelli (Phantasm series), and that Elvis Presley teams up with President John F. Kennedy to save the residents of the retirement home from an ancient Egyptian mummy. Their battle is far tougher than it sounds considering they need motorized wheelchairs to get around. It’s also as hilarious as it sounds.


Himself – My Name is Bruce

A horror comedy that stars Campbell and directed by Campbell, My Name is Bruce features the actor playing himself. While “Bruce Campbell” is on set filming a B-horror movie, he’s mistaken for the character Ash and forced to fight a real monster invasion. In other words, this is a movie made specifically for Bruce Campbell fans by Bruce Campbell himself, filmed in his hometown. There’s an added level of humor to an already goofy horror comedy with in jokes aimed squarely at Campbell fans. Example: Ellen Sandweiss plays a character named Cheryl, a wink to the Evil Dead.


Jack Forrest – Maniac Cop 

This action horror film written by Larry Cohen and directed by William Lustig is fun for a lot of reasons, but foremost for bringing horror’s two best scream kings together in one film: Tom Atkins and Bruce Campbell. When a killer dressed as a cop begins slaying people in New York City, Officer Jack Forrest (Campbell) becomes the number one suspect. By his own wife, no less. Granted, his suspicious behavior is because he’s having an affair with another officer. Campbell gets to play both the suspect seeking to clear his name and one of the lead protagonists going toe to toe with the real killer.


Ashley J. Williams – The Evil Dead series

One of horror’s most beloved characters, and one that fans have refused to let go of since the release of the 1981 film that started the journey, Ashley J. Williams is a true horror icon. From the DIY spook fest of The Evil Dead to the third season’s conclusion of Ash vs Evil Dead, Campbell has evolved Ash from a quiet university student with romance in mind on that fateful weekend away in the woods to a wise-cracking screw up discovering he’s a dad. He also happens to be the prophesied hero that falls from the sky to save the world from the deadites, time and time again. From barely surviving his youth to an older, wiser(ish) antihero, Campbell made every step of Ash’s journey memorable. More importantly, he made it a blast to watch. After three films and three seasons of a television series, Campbell has officially retired from the role. Considering all that Ash has been through over the decades, Campbell has earned his rest.

Horror journalist, RT Top Critic, and Critics Choice Association member. Co-Host of the Bloody Disgusting Podcast. Has appeared on PBS series' Monstrum, served on the SXSW Midnighter shorts jury, and moderated horror panels for WonderCon and SeriesFest.

Editorials

‘Leprechaun Returns’ – The Charm of the Franchise’s Legacy Sequel

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leprechaun returns

The erratic Leprechaun franchise is not known for sticking with a single concept for too long. The namesake (originally played by Warwick Davis) has gone to L.A., Las Vegas, space, and the ‘hood (not once but twice). And after an eleven-year holiday since the Davis era ended, the character received a drastic makeover in a now-unmentionable reboot. The critical failure of said film would have implied it was time to pack away the green top hat and shillelagh, and say goodbye to the nefarious imp. Instead, the Leprechaun series tried its luck again.

The general consensus for the Leprechaun films was never positive, and the darker yet blander Leprechaun: Origins certainly did not sway opinions. Just because the 2014 installment took itself seriously did not mean viewers would. After all, creator Mark Jones conceived a gruesome horror-comedy back in the early nineties, and that format is what was expected of any future ventures. So as horror legacy sequels (“legacyquels”) became more common in the 2010s, Leprechaun Returns followed suit while also going back to what made the ‘93 film work. This eighth entry echoed Halloween (2018) by ignoring all the previous sequels as well as being a direct continuation of the original. Even ardent fans can surely understand the decision to wipe the slate clean, so to speak.

Leprechaun Returns “continued the [franchise’s] trend of not being consistent by deciding to be consistent.” The retconning of Steven Kostanski and Suzanne Keilly’s film was met with little to no pushback from the fandom, who had already become accustomed to seeing something new and different with every chapter. Only now the “new and different” was familiar. With the severe route of Origins a mere speck in the rearview mirror, director Kotanski implemented a “back to basics” approach that garnered better reception than Zach Lipovsky’s own undertaking. The one-two punch of preposterous humor and grisly horror was in full force again.

LEPRECHAUN

Pictured: Linden Porco as The Leprechaun in Leprechaun Returns.

With Warwick Davis sitting this film out — his own choice — there was the foremost challenge of finding his replacement. Returns found Davis’ successor in Linden Porco, who admirably filled those blood-stained, buckled shoes. And what would a legacy sequel be without a returning character? Jennifer Aniston obviously did not reprise her final girl role of Tory Redding. So, the film did the next best thing and fetched another of Lubdan’s past victims: Ozzie, the likable oaf played by Mark Holton. Returns also created an extension of Tory’s character by giving her a teenage daughter, Lila (Taylor Spreitler).

It has been twenty-five years since the events of the ‘93 film. The incident is unknown to all but its survivors. Interested in her late mother’s history there in Devil’s Lake, North Dakota, Lila transferred to the local university and pledged a sorority — really the only one on campus — whose few members now reside in Tory Redding’s old home. The farmhouse-turned-sorority-house is still a work in progress; Lila’s fellow Alpha Epsilon sisters were in the midst of renovating the place when a ghost of the past found its way into the present.

The Psycho Goreman and The Void director’s penchant for visceral special effects is noted early on as the Leprechaun tears not only into the modern age, but also through poor Ozzie’s abdomen. The portal from 1993 to 2018 is soaked with blood and guts as the Leprechaun forces his way into the story. Davis’ iconic depiction of the wee antagonist is missed, however, Linden Porco is not simply keeping the seat warm in case his predecessor ever resumes the part. His enthusiastic performance is accentuated by a rotten-looking mug that adds to his innate menace.

LEPRECHAUN RETURNS sequel

Pictured: Taylor Spreitler, Pepi Sonuga, and Sai Bennett as Lila, Katie and Rose in Leprechaun Returns.

The obligatory fodder is mostly young this time around. Apart from one luckless postman and Ozzie — the premature passing of the latter character removed the chance of caring about anyone in the film — the Leprechaun’s potential prey are all college aged. Lila is this story’s token trauma kid with caregiver baggage; her mother thought “monsters were always trying to get her.” Lila’s habit of mentioning Tory’s mental health problem does not make a good first impression with the resident mean girl and apparent alcoholic of the sorority, Meredith (Emily Reid). Then there are the nicer but no less cursorily written of the Alpha Epsilon gals: eco-conscious and ex-obsessive Katie (Pepi Sonuga), and uptight overachiever Rose (Sai Bennett). Rounding out the main cast are a pair of destined-to-die bros (Oliver Llewellyn Jenkins, Ben McGregor). Lila and her peers range from disposable to plain irritating, so rooting for any one of them is next to impossible. Even so, their overstated personalities make their inevitable fates more satisfying.

Where Returns excels is its death sequences. Unlike Jones’ film, this one is not afraid of killing off members of the main cast. Lila, admittedly, wears too much plot armor, yet with her mother’s spirit looming over her and the whole story — comedian Heather McDonald put her bang-on Aniston impersonation to good use as well as provided a surprisingly emotional moment in the film — her immunity can be overlooked. Still, the other characters’ brutal demises make up for Lila’s imperviousness. The Leprechaun’s killer set-pieces also happen to demonstrate the time period, seeing as he uses solar panels and a drone in several supporting characters’ executions. A premortem selfie and the antagonist’s snarky mention of global warming additionally add to this film’s particular timestamp.

Critics were quick to say Leprechaun Returns did not break new ground. Sure, there is no one jetting off to space, or the wacky notion of Lubdan becoming a record producer. This reset, however, is still quite charming and entertaining despite its lack of risk-taking. And with yet another reboot in the works, who knows where the most wicked Leprechaun ever to exist will end up next.


Horror contemplates in great detail how young people handle inordinate situations and all of life’s unexpected challenges. While the genre forces characters of every age to face their fears, it is especially interested in how youths might fare in life-or-death scenarios.

The column Young Blood is dedicated to horror stories for and about teenagers, as well as other young folks on the brink of terror.

Leprechaun Returns movie

Pictured: Linden Porco as The Leprechaun in Leprechaun Returns.

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