From Ash to Elvis, it’s time to celebrate one of cult cinema’s biggest icons with the essential Bruce Campbell movies…
With a raise of the eyebrow and a spin of his boom stick, Bruce Campbell has been entertaining audiences of genre cinema for over 40 years. After recently revealing his ultimate fight against cancer, we felt it would be a good time to deep dive into the essential works of one of cult cinema’s most endearing icons.
Campbell broke out along with Sam Raimi, quickly establishing himself as a poster boy of the video nasty era, but also a hugely popular attraction in the video store aisles. Iconic roles would take him from the big screen to the small screen, too, but we’ll be focusing on his film work here. It’s time to get groovy with these 10 essential Bruce Campbell movies…
The Evil Dead
A bunch of college buddies banded together, begged, stole and borrowed a few hundred grand, largely for film stock, and made a film that didn’t take long to become infamous. The Evil Dead became a huge hit around the world, even having courted controversy and initially finding itself banned in several countries, including the UK. It was one of the most notorious early examples of ‘the video nasty’, which only made the clamour from horror fans to watch it even more intense.
Sam Raimi’s unrestrained style and boundless creativity were a big part of why Evil Dead would not just succeed, but birth an IP that has spread across film, TV, video games and been rebooted as well. Then there’s Campbell. In a cast of unknowns, with aspirations but largely amateur backgrounds, he stood out with old-fashioned movie star looks, screen presence and physical energy on screen. He played like a dude that could have been a silent movie icon, as well as a guy with the charisma of a B-movie Bogey (Bogart).
Evil Dead II
The first film’s legacy was well established by the time the second film came about. Something of a semi-reboot, the film partly mirrors the first film before launching off into a continuation, with Campbell returning as Ash. Armed with a heftier, if still minute, budget, Evil Dead 2 is a gleefully creative horror classic that ups the ante (and then some). A little more overtly comedic, Campbell doubles down on the physicality, with Buster Keaton-esque stunts.
Raimi’s boundless riffing also helps create one of the most jaw-droppingly stylish films of the genre. At comfortably under 90 minutes, Evil Dead 2 also rockets along and when it comes to those gory horror payoffs, there’s no shortage of blood. For what it is, it might be one of the most perfect films of the genre, chugging along with the kinetic energy of Raimi’s direction and the magnetic star power of Campbell. It’s groovy.
Maniac Cop
A maniacal cop with a strong jawline is stalking and killing innocent victims. Tom Atkins tries to figure out who’s behind the killings, and suspicion falls on Bruce Campbell, presumably because he has a strong jawline. However, he (nor anybody) has a jawline as strong as the real maniac cop, played with effortless menace by Robert Z’Dar.
William Lustig directs a Larry Cohen script, with Campbell and Atkins headlining. It’s wall-to-wall B-movie greatness, with everyone on top of their game. It’s no surprise the film spawned a trilogy (Campbell returned for the second one) and is subject to a potential upcoming (long rumoured) reboot from Nicolas Winding Refn. It’s a rollicking good time, and the film starts what would become a franchise staple, filling it with jaw-dropping stunts. So incredible that they could even drop Z’Dar’s jaw.
Sundown: The Vampire in Retreat
Director Anthony Hickox was no stranger to cult cinema, having directed two Waxwork films (the second of which features Bruce) and the third Hellraiser film. Sundown: The Vampire in Retreat took a little bit longer to sink its teeth into cult fandom, but it deservedly gathered its legions with an enjoyable fusion of Western, comedy and vampire horror. Campbell stars as a descendant of Van Helsing, drawn to a remote little town off the beaten track. There, a collective of vampires find themselves in an existential split. Their great leader (played by David Carradine) tries to find a way for Vampires to fight their hunger and base instincts to kill and feed on humans. He works on developing a synthetic blood to help stem that hunger.
Meanwhile, Jefferson (John Ireland) longs for a return to the norm, with his followers wanting to be top of the food chain. Madcap, kooky and idiosyncratic, Hickox wears every influence on his sleeves here, but injects the film with plenty of memorable moments. By the unhinged and relentless cowboy shootout action of the third act, it will have turned you. Bruce has a great time, dialling it up to twelve, because eleven is for amateurs.
Mindwarp (Brain Slasher)
Depending on your territory, this is Mindwarp or Brain Slasher. It’s also something of an underrated cult favourite which has grown in time. In no small part, the presence of Campbell undoubtedly gives this more horror heft. These kinds of films live or die by being sought out and watched, and inevitably, having a horror icon in a film helps to get eyes on it.
Once you get people watching, you need to deliver, of course. Steve Barnett’s film suddenly finds itself prescient with a plot involving AI. Back in 1992, it came during a veritable boon in VR-themed films like The Lawnmower Man. This wasn’t nearly as popular initially, but has aged as well, if not better. Throw in a post-apocalyptic wasteland for good measure, and you have a tasty combination of elements. Campbell is great as ever, and though this one bypassed theatres, it proved a popular renter on video. It also looks great now after a decent HD restoration.
Army of Darkness
A year after mind-warping, Campbell returned to the role which made him famous. Army of Darkness takes off where Evil Dead 2 teasingly left off, thrust back into the Middle Ages, where knights are being terrorised by deadites. Army of Darkness ups the ante, and then some, transitioning into a bit more of an action-centric film.
Raimi is given more money to play with, but still in the low-budget realm. So he loses none of that creative, problem-solving verve. Ash, at this juncture, is now a fully fledged action hero as he tries to figure out how to get back to the present and evade death. He then reluctantly finds himself having to lead the natives in their defence against the army of the dead and find the Necronomicon. Wild, superbly stylish, ridiculously over the top and filled with iconic lines and moments.
The Hudsucker Proxy
The Coen brothers, Sam Raimi and Bruce Campbell shared an early connection. Joel Coen was a production assistant on The Evil Dead, and the brothers co-wrote Raimi’s anarchic comedy, Crimewave. Campbell would find himself cameoing in several Coen films, but in one of their somewhat forgotten films, The Hudsucker Proxy, Bruce gets a more featured role (usually appearing as soap characters on TV).
The Coens’ screwball comedy is a visual delight with big, broad performances from Tim Robbins (as the hapless mailman who is thrust into the boardroom by execs hoping he’ll lead the company into ruin), Jennifer Jason Leigh (as a roving reporter) and Paul Newman as an unscrupulous executive. Remarkably, whilst Campbell’s reputation was built on big performances, both in mannerism and physicality, here he’s almost the straight man as one of JJL’s colleagues. The Hudsucker Proxy has loads of the brothers’ comedic and stylistic traits and remains one of their best all-out comedies.
Bubba Ho-Tep
Once again, Campbell found himself teamed with B-movie royalty in Don Coscarelli, the man behind the Phantasm franchise and Beastmaster. In an old folks home, Elvis and JFK are still alive, with the former waking from a coma, shocked to find he’s old. Meanwhile, somehow, JFK is now a black gentleman. Is it all in their head? Regardless, they have bigger problems put before them when fellow residents are mysteriously turning up dead. The culprit is an ancient mummy.
It’s down to Elvis and JFK to stop this ancient evil. Coscarelli’s film is masses of culty fun, stuffed with killer lines, and it’s a perfect vehicle for Campbell to show his comedic gifts, revelling in his role as the main character believing he’s Elvis.
The Man With the Screaming Brain
Having directed some Xena and Hercules episodes, Bruce Campbell threw himself headfirst into his feature directorial debut, filled with the kind of bonkers, zany energy he was well-versed in as a performer. Left for dead, the victims of a deadly woman become the subjects of a mad scientist’s (Stacy Keach) experiments as two brains are fused into the body of a businessman (Campbell).
It’s very much a leave the brain at the door enterprise, but Campbell is back with a fine cast, including the aforementioned Keach, Ted Raimi and Tamara Gorski. It’s not Campbell’s finest work by any stretch, but it’s got enough goofy charm and personality to make it worthwhile.
My Name is Bruce
If his previous directorial effort didn’t quite nail the landing, then Bruce’s next stab was far more successful. Playing a heightened version of himself, Campbell has a great time taking the mickey out of himself and depicting “Bruce” as a deeply flawed individual. Mistaken for his Ash on-screen persona by confused fans, Campbell unwittingly finds himself thrown into a battle with a real-life demon.
It’s a full-blown screwball affair as Campbell does Three Amigos fused with Army of Darkness. With no trace of preciousness or ego, Campbell delivers a cynical, shmucky, but inescapably likeable movie Bruce.
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