Cult star Bruce Campbell delighted by success of Evil Dead: The Musical

TORONTO Its been billed as the next Rocky Horror Picture Show a tongue-in-cheek, laugh-out-loud stage sendup of the 1980s Evil Dead movie trilogy thats so soaked in stage blood, rain slickers are handed out at intermission.

On Saturday, no less an authority than Bruce Campbell, the star of the campy, Sam Raimi-directed zombie classics, was in Toronto to answer questions and fling fake blood at fans of Evil Dead: The Musical.

I laughed my ass off, Campbell a B-movie icon and journeyman actor whose one-liners, macho image and signature chin have endeared him to cult movie fans around the world said of the first time he saw the show.

Campbell, 50, best known for his over-the-top performance as Evil Deads chainsaw-wielding hero Ashley J. Williams, was in Toronto to participate in two raucous question-and--answer sessions with rabid fans of both the 1980s-vintage horror films and their new, wildly popular off-Broadway offspring.

To be able to amalgamate all three Evil Dead movies together is a pain in the ass, Im sure, he said in an interview.

I liked the style of it, I liked the tone of it. I think they captured that sort of devil-may-care feel to it. I think it was very cleverly done, because that kind of thing can really suck.

The musical, created with Campbells blessing by a group of young Canadian actors and writers in 2003, centres on five hormonal college students who break into a remote cabin for a night of drinking and debauchery.

After playing a cassette recording of phrases from a mysterious Book of the Dead they discover in the basement, the hapless campers mistakenly unleash an evil force that promises to kill them by dawn.

One by one, the good-hearted hero Ash watches his friends turn into horrific zombies as limbs fly and blood spurts.

Adapting the story into a musical that has earned rave reviews in Toronto and Montreal, as well as during an off-Broadway run in New York, would have been no easy feat, Campbell said.

Nor is it a simple matter to play the role that launched his career, said Campbell, who admitted feeling a little sorry for stage star Ryan Ward, a dead ringer for a young Campbell.

Its a hard role to play: it was hard in 1979, it was hard in 1986, and it was hard in 1991. Now the poor bastards doing it every night, Campbell laughed.

Hes not running on imitation, and I appreciate that.

Though the movies are gruesome, theyre also good for a laugh. Ash using a chainsaw to cut off his own hand after it becomes possessed by demons is a giddy bit played up onstage for its physical comedy.

Its a far cry from the current crop of horror movies like Saw or Hostel dubbed torture porn by critics for their protracted scenes of torture and dismemberment.

That to me is not scary: thats just disgusting and disturbing, said Campbell.

A horror movie is supposed to make you jump and scream in a good-natured kind of way, and not get too real.

Campbells latest project is the TV series Burn Notice on the USA Network, in which he plays a former special ops warrior who now spends his days sipping mojitos, staring at bikinis, and fighting bad guys.

Next up is My Name is Bruce, a horror film where Campbell, playing himself, is abducted by a group of teens who have unleashed demonic forces in their small town. Mistaking him for his movie counterpart Ash, hes forced to play the role to save the town.

Evil Dead: The Musical runs until Sept. 8 in Toronto.







14:40ET 12-08-07