Where do we go from here?
So we’ve come to the point in the “Evil Dead” franchise’s history where the trilogy had finally come to a close. The films were a smash hit with horror fans and had all become cult classics in their own right. But with a fan following as devoted as they had that was clamouring for more when no other films were planned, where was the franchise to go? Over the years after the close of the trilogy, Ash and the deadites started to branch out from cinema and turned up in a number of different mediums.
(Ok, now you have to go back and check out Part 1, Part 2 AND Part 3. It’s really for your own good)
Video games was one of the mediums that the franchise returned to a number of times over the years with notable titles such as “Evil Dead: A Fistful of Boomstick” (2003) and “Evil Dead: Regeneration” (2005) for the PS2 and Xbox. While all of the “Evil Dead” games tended to receive mixed reviews from critics, they were a fun and unique experience for fans of the series as it allowed them not only a chance to continue the stories and characters that they had come to love (with fan favourite Bruce Campbell often returning to voice Ash), but also to take part it in themselves by handing them the control of the famous chainsaw and shotgun so they could take on the deadite forces however they see fit.
Arguably the most prolific of the continuations however would be the comic books. The medium of comics allowed for a perfect platform to expand the stories of “Evil Dead”, as compared to films and video games they were cheaper and easier to produce, could be released more often and did not require any of the original cast to return to make it feel authentic. Through various companies such as Dark Horse Comics and Dynamite Entertainment, fans were given not only comic adaptations of the original films but also original mini-series (like “Evil Dead: Ashes to Ashes” in 2004), ongoing series (Dynamite Entertainment’s 2005 “Army of Darkness” series spanned multiple volumes and over 30 issues), and cross overs with other series (such as Marvel’s equally strange horror fan favourite, “Marvel Zombies”).
I’d be remiss if I didn’t, at least, mention possibly the weirdest of the adaptations that fans were treated to, which was “Evil Dead: The Musical”. Having sought out and acquired the approval of Sam Raimi and Bruce Campbell, a team of fans put together a musical adaptation of the films which originally ran in Toronto in 2003. Much like the films themselves, this musical gained quite a large following and has since moved out of Canada for an off-Broadway run in New York and even some overseas tours in countries such as Tokyo and Madrid.
Fans continued to show interest in the franchise and with the recent influx of horror remakes in recent years it did not come as a huge surprise when “The Evil Dead” was eventually picked up for a remake of its own. Over three decades after the original film’s debut back in 1981, director Fede Alvarez’s 2013 remake of the horror classic hit cinemas. Ditching the campy humour of the later films, the remake went back to the intense horror and practical gore effects that made the original such a hit with fans. With Sam Raimi and Bruce Campbell acting as producers, and the director having been picked by Raimi himself, the result was a blood filled extravaganza of scares and horrific gore that seemed very much like the horror films of the 80s but with modern production values. It received generally positive reviews from critics and was a hit with both old fans and those new to the series, as it went on take in a worldwide box office total of around $97 million, topping its $17 million budget.
So it’s clear that the “Evil Dead” franchise has a very devoted following. Any film series without one would not be able to survive for as long as it did without any new films being produced. But thanks to the interest of the fans the series was able to adapt and continue for decades, creating a pop culture phenomenon that continues to be loved by horror fans to this day. This brings us to the recent announcement that started this whole retrospective, that the franchise will now be continuing as a series headed up by Sam Raimi and Bruce Campbell. No matter how many years pass it seems that fans simply can’t get enough of “The Evil Dead”, otherwise something like this would not be possible. Fan interest and speculation is already buzzing about what we can expect from the show; will we find out what’s been happening to Ash all this time? Which of the two “Army of Darkness” endings will it follow on from? Is the remake going to play any part in it? And although there is much still up in the air regarding what we’re going to get from the show, one thing that’s certain is that fans can’t wait to see what comes next.
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