Interviews
‘Evil Dead In Concert’ – Composer Joe LoDuca on Bringing ‘Evil Dead’ to a Stage (and Screen) Near You [Halloweenies Podcast]
When whispers of the Evil Dead in Concert event first floated through Halloweenies HQ, we were intrigued. When we read the press release, we were sold. And most importantly, we knew we needed to go right to the source to get all the deets on what the 50-city Evil Dead in Concert tour entails. The source in question is, of course, none other than composer Joseph LoDuca.
LoDuca is a two-time Emmy–winning composer who has produced some of the genre’s most indelible scores. His first film score ever, the famously scrappy music for Sam Raimi’s Evil Dead, helped establish him as a go-to collaborator for directors who treat and value music as a critical part of the storytelling, not just wallpaper. Over the decades, LoDuca has lent that storytelling sensibility to fun, adventurous projects like Xena: Warrior Princess, Spartacus, Leverage, the Child’s Play franchise, and Brotherhood of the Wolf. And now, LoDuca’s knack for unsettling textures and evocative orchestral palettes can be experienced like never before, as odds are, this very special live Evil Dead experience will be coming soon to a town near you.
For Evil Dead In Concert, LoDuca has reimagined and reorchestrated the original score material for a lean, chamber-style ensemble. As he tells it on the episode, the project grew out of new, expanded suites and remasters, and a persistent belief that “intimacy can be scarier.” Paired with a newly restored print of Raimi’s 1981 classic, this synergistic combo ups the visceral, visual impact in a communal, live space.
During our interview, LoDuca traces the project from a remaster/remix impulse to a live-to-picture concept. He’d previously reworked material and played it at one-off shows. That, plus interest from promoters and his own love for the material, grew into the touring production. He explains that the original Evil Dead cues were tiny by design (the original relied on only a handful of players), and rather than pad the music into something bigger, he doubled down on the smallness.
“ I always had the idea that the score to Evil Dead, there was something really interesting about it in that it was only five string players. I always thought that intimate was even more scary. The way I mixed it, it was recorded in an attic, and I was thinking about the old Hammer films and how they just slathered everything in reverb. This is more in your face. And I think [this live experience] brings the music to the forefront.”
That “in your face” sensation is the throughline of our episode. Live instruments give the film an immediacy that the music bleeding from your speakers simply doesn’t. In this setting, the audience hears the scrape of bows on strings, sees the players working in the moment, and reacts collectively. The laughter, the screams, provide a vibe similar to a Rocky Horror screening, which is a vibe LoDuca makes a point to call out. He also notes that this kind of presentation can help younger listeners discover the power of ensemble performance.
“ There is magic in the music making. I think that the audiences feel that, and I’m happy to see that. In general, it’s harder to get younger audiences invested in classical music and orchestral performances, and this is one way of keeping the flame alive.”
Through our conversation, it quickly becomes evident that Evil Dead In Concert is more than nostalgia bait. This is restoration and reinterpretation and a way to bring people together. The decision to keep the ensemble lean not only honors the scrappy ingenuity of the original Evil Dead, it also re-frames the score as a theatrical, physical force where the listener feels as much as hears.
Of course, we couldn’t let LoDuca leave without chatting a little bit about our very special “friend ‘til the end” and his longtime relationship with Chucky and the world of Child’s Play. LoDuca scored Cult of Chucky, Curse of Chucky, and the entire run (so far) of the Chucky TV series. And, he made it clear he’s not ready to put Chucky back in the box for good. When asked if he’d ever return to the franchise in some way, LoDuca responded with zero hesitation saying, he’d be there “at the drop of a hat.” He also noted that he and creator Don Mancini share “a mutual admiration society” and a shared love of utilizing music as an active storytelling device.
To hear even more from LoDuca, and a few exclusive clips of music from Evil Dead in Concert, check out our full conversation below. Evil Dead In Concert launches a 50-city tour beginning September 22, 2025 (including a multi-night Halloween run in L.A.), so grab tickets now at evildeadinconcert.com and experience a familiar film like never before.
Interviews
The Work ‘Grind’ Is Hell, So Brea Grant & Ed Dougherty Made a Horror Anthology About It [CFF 2026 Interview]
Genre fans rejoice! Chattanooga Film Festival is back for its 13th year in 2026 with a killer lineup and once again offering audiences both in-person and virtual options. After having its World Premiere at SXSW this spring, the horror comedy anthology Grind is playing CFF 2026 opening weekend.
From a screenplay by Brea Grant (Torn Hearts, 12 Hour Shift) and Ed Dougherty (MLM) and segments directed by Grant, Dougherty, and Chelsea Stardust (Satanic Panic), Grind features four interwoven stories that parody the gig economy, hustle culture, and the evils of late-stage capitalism.
The anthology follows weary everyday people juggling side hustles just to survive, while going up against greedy oligarchs, and cleverly uses dark humor and bloody practical effects to portray a world much like our current economic nightmare.
Bloody Disgusting had the pleasure of chatting with Brea Grant and Ed Dougherty about the socioeconomic commentary in Grind, casting Barbara Crampton as a villain, and DIY filmmaking.
Bloody Disgusting: Every segment in this anthology feels relatable because people are actually struggling to survive in the gig economy right now. How did the two of you come up with the idea of creating Grind?
Brea Grant: Like you said, we were trying to come up with a cool idea that seemed relevant right now. The thing that everyone we know is talking about is the economy, the lack of work, and the nightmare hellscape that is late-stage capitalism. It felt like the right time to write something that really featured that as the main horror. As the main thing that people were scared of, this world sort of came to us over the course of a couple of years.
Ed Dougherty: We wanted to make a hit film, and we said, “Let’s make a horror anthology, that’s the most marketable thing there is.” [laughs]
BG: [laughs] Definitely not!
BD: I love anthologies!
ED: We do, too. We feel like it’s kind of an undervalued form of horror film, but it’s a hard sell.
BG: People told us not to make it. They said, “Don’t make an anthology. It’s too hard to sell.” But we did it anyway.
BD: I guess I’m just one of those weirdos who likes anthologies and watches them all.
ED: We believe that there are a lot of weirdos like you out there. It seems like every good horror anthology has a long life, but it’s just getting over the initial hump that’s difficult.
BD: Chelsea Stardust directed some of the segments with the two of you and serves as a producer. How did she first get involved with this project?
BG: The project has a long history. We shot the first segment, which is about multi-level marketing, a couple of years ago. We had decided we wanted to make a full anthology, but it took us about a year after shooting that initial segment to shoot the rest of the movie. When we did that, we knew we needed to bring on a producer aside from Ed and me, since we were directing the bulk of the movie, so that was how she came on board. I’ve been friends with her for a long time, and the one thing I know about her as a friend is that she is very organized, so it felt like a good fit. I just called her one day and said, “Would you want to produce these three segments that we have left to shoot of Grind?” and she came on board.
BD: There are some fun cameos in Grind, but we have to talk about Barbara Crampton. She’s so good as a villainess. Why did you want her for this role, and what was it like working with her on this film?
BG: She’s in her villain era, which is so fun. [laughs] Obviously, we’re huge Barbara Crampton fans, and when we were making MLM, it was a smaller part of the movie that we knew we needed to call on people who could do a good job but were also friendly to us [laughs]. I’m friends with Barbara Crampton, and we’ve done three movies together before this. So, it felt like someone within our reach, but could also really draw a horror crowd. She has a huge fanbase, and she’s also super supportive of all the projects that she’s been in, so that was also really exciting. She’s a great actress, and she’s super funny. I think a lot of these horror actresses, especially those who came up in the eighties and nineties, weren’t given an opportunity to be funny. I think she was ready to jump on an opportunity that was different than what she was used to; it’s not running around and screaming. She is a cult leader, and she is quite funny in it. She just takes the comedy so well and seriously, and she does such an amazing job with it. She has a scene across from Rob Huebel, who is obviously a comedy master, and I feel like the two of them together were hilarious. It’s been fun to watch Barbara go from these iconic roles to a different kind of role at this point in her career. We’re super happy to be a part of that.
ED: And she loves the movie and has been so supportive. Every time she posts about it, I’m like, “I can’t believe this. This is amazing.”
BD: This is an accurate parody of the current socioeconomic situation in this country, as well as our obsession with online culture. It repeatedly asks the question, “What are you willing to do to make money,” in a world with wealth inequality and evil oligarchs. It’s fun, and it’s a horror movie, but it’s thought-provoking. What do you hope audiences take away from Grind, besides having a good time?
ED: I read every review and every Letterboxd review; Brea does not. So, I’ve seen it all. I’ve seen some reviews that say, “Good movie but doesn’t propose a solution.” I think we do propose a solution, which is that the power of unions and organizing is the only way that we will be able to fight back against oligarchs. I do think that is the message of the film. Organizing is the only way to defeat these villains. I do think we have a lot to say in the film. I’d want someone to say, “Man, I’ve never seen a horror anthology that had a political message before.” [laughs]
BG: I think the other thing is that what is currently happening is that we live in a world in which people kind of feel alone in this. They’re like, “Well, I’m doing bad, “or “I’m having trouble paying my rent.” We wanted to hang a lantern on the fact that this is happening to everyone, that wealth disparity is at an all-time high. We’re pointing out to people that you aren’t in this alone; you’re not the only person doing side hustles. Every filmmaker friend I have is working a side job of some sort at this point, and that is just in Los Angeles. Outside of this city, I think things are more dire. I think it was about infusing some politics into something that could make people realize that they aren’t alone and that there are ways of fighting back and fighting the system that has been set up against them.
ED: I think the tone of the movie, which is darkly comedic, also really matches the tone of life right now. Everything seems almost at a parody level as far as the disconnect between oligarchs and trying to make a living and reality. The absurdist nature of the film kind of captures the real tone of life.
BD: There are some cool creature effects and makeup effects in this movie. Can you talk a little bit about the practical effects and makeup?
ED: I think especially because of the message of the film, which is pushing back against the current hellscape we’re in, we wanted to use as many practical effects as possible. We used matte paintings, miniatures, and practical creature effects. I’m always afraid of the matte painting because we used the old school matte painter, but they do look a little AI. I heard someone make a noise behind me during one of the shots, and I was like, “I hope that noise wasn’t them using AI because that’s a matte painting.” [laughs] There’s also the fact that it’s pretty DIY. It’s a film that we financed ourselves and shot in our houses as much as possible. We wanted the whole thing to feel handmade and very tactile.
BG: We’re old school horror fans, so we love seeing practical effects. The practical stuff is really fun for us. It’s the stuff that we think is actually cool. [laughs] So, practical stuff made the most sense for us. We both grew up in the punk scene in the nineties, and I think it just kind of comes naturally to us to try to do things ourselves. And we both work on projects for big companies, with smaller companies, but always for other people, so trying to do something ourselves to see what that felt like was also part of the experiment of Grind.
ED: This was our chance to do everything we wanted our way.
Grind screens at the Chattanooga Film Festival on June 20.
You must be logged in to post a comment.