Long before Friday the 13th: The Game was even a remote possibility, horror fans were treated to the Evil Dead franchise’s first post-Commodore 64 foray into the video game world with Evil Dead: Hail to the King, a survival horror game that was released for PlayStation, Dreamcast and Microsoft Windows on December 5th, 2000.
The Resident Evil-esque game pit chainsaw-handed Ash up against an onslaught of Deadites, finally allowing fans of the films to play as Bruce Campbell’s most iconic character and do with him what he does best. Much like Starz’s “Ash vs. Evil Dead,” Hail to the King was set several years after the events of the original trilogy, bringing Ash back to that infamous cabin in the woods… where all hell, naturally, breaks loose once more.
While most agreed that Evil Dead: Hail to the King left much to be desired, there was one thing that made it pretty special: Bruce Campbell himself provided the voice for Ash, at the time reprising the role for the first time in nearly 10 years. Campbell voiced both Ash and Evil Ash in the game, which needless to say made it a huge treat for fans – all things considered.
And Bruce even appeared in the original commercial for the game!
Yes, Evil Dead: Hail to the King got its own commercial, which saw Bruce’s next door neighbor trying to become Ash by getting a chainsaw surgically affixed to his hand. Why? Well, we all want to be Ash, don’t we? Thankfully, the game made it so we didn’t have to undergo such a horrifying procedure!
Check out the awesome vintage commercial below.
