The rumors of a new Evil Dead drove a lot of fans mad. However, a lot of people were assuaged when it was revealed that the team behind the first three iterations have returned: director Sam Raimi, star Bruce Campbell, and producer Robert G. Tapert. This was newcomer Fede Alvarez‘s first foray into the feature film world, and with their backing and assistance, he has created something so shockingly brutal and maniacal that I couldn’t help but fall in love. The intensity ratchets up continually, and no one is safe in the fateful cabin in the woods. During the SXSW press day for Evil Dead, I had the great pleasure of sitting down with Campbell and Tapert to discuss the film. Together we talked about how much the two of them were involved, what Film District wanted in the cast, the pressures of the fan base, and how much they loved the reaction at the premiere during SXSW.
Riding high from the wild reaction at the previous night’s Paramount Theater premiere, Campbell says, “It’s everything you need to hear. You need to hear the laughter, the clapping, people talking back to the screen, ‘No! No! Don’t! Don’t!’ I mean there was legitimate dread. One of my favorite sequences that played last night, Eric is walking in the bathroom and seeing what it is, this weird sound and something horrible. And the audience is like, ‘No, No!’ And he keeps going, ‘Are you OK?’ ‘No, she’s not OK!’ They know she’s not OK. We watched screenings of the original with a bunch of football players. Whenever they got scared they’d punch [each other] and say, ‘I didn’t get scared, you did!’”
Of course, they knew there was pressure from the fan base to deliver. “We had the pressures to do the same thing we did on the first three,” Campbell says. “As partners, the three of us tried to just make the best movie we could based on that script, at that time. It’s no different. We were just making another Evil Dead movie. That’s why I call this a new Evil Dead movie; and to me it’s not a remake or a prequel or a sequel or a reimagination. It’s just a new or another Evil Dead movie. People wanted it; they’ve been pressuring us and hassling us for years.”
“I think it’ll be a welcome relief to people who actually like horror,” Tapert says. “It’s familiar if they like The Evil Dead but it’s different to what’s currently out there.” “The parents of the kids who see this movie will still go, ‘OK, cool!’ because it’s going to look like effects from the 70’s,” Campbell says. “Their parents are not going to know. It doesn’t feel like a modern movie.” The secret to their success, according to Campbell, was the aforementioned script.
“The script was everything,” says Campbell. “So we know that now. It’s your blueprint for your movie. So the trick was to have Fede pitch us a tone and a story and then together, the four of us, have long conversations. He’d come back with something and we’d slowly work it into a script. Then Rob would have to determine if we could afford to shoot it based on the budget. It’s always a dance of creative versus monetary.” “But it was the easiest movie I’ve done in a long time,” Tapert adds. “Fede knew what he wanted. He was able to communicate as a director. The most important thing a director can do is tell you what he wants, how he wants you to do it, and how he wants you to do it again differently. And you can understand all those things he says.”
As for that dance of creativity versus finances, that certainly had to be a factor in why they shot the film in New Zealand. But there was something else, as well. “Because Rob is the king of New Zealand,” Campbell says, laughing. “I was down there working on something else,” Tapert adds. “It is less expensive but it was very easy for me to be there. To keep an eye on it.” “This is Rob’s world,” Campbell says. “These are good groups. I’d put a Kiwi crew up against anybody as far as discipline, ability, craftsmanship.” Campbell recalls directing an episode of Hercules and when he went to move a table he nearly injured himself because it was made out of solid wood.“They hadn’t even learned how to fake stuff yet,” Campbell exclaims. “[In accent reminiscent of Brooklyn] ‘Hey, you wanted a wooden table? There’s your wooden table.’”
Of course, Campbell had no worries of moving tables because he wasn’t on set this time around. “I had a day job,” Campbell remarks casually. However, he did see dailies constantly. “We saw everything they would send out. Rob was on set. So he saw it first hand and went through the prep. But Sam and I, from a distance, were still watching.” “Then we did post,” Tapert says. “We brought it here. We did the previews. Bruce worked on the sound all the way through.” Campbell adds, “We ducked in whenever we could.”
Raimi’s profile has risen considerably in the last decade, with his Spider-Man trilogy at Sony and his foray into Oz the Great and Powerful earlier this year. Part of his duties to that film was why he was not able to come down to Austin for the premiere. With that in mind, it would make sense that a film like this might attract some big names. When asked about casting relative unknowns for the film Tapert said they had little pressure and pretty much total control over that. “The distributor, Film District, wanted us to have one person,” Tapert says. “To their credit, they were very happy to have Jane [Levy] in that role.”
As for the rest of the cast, Campbell says, “Chemistry is an amazing thing. It either works or it doesn’t. When we got further into the casting process we could start to put people we think fits the part with other people we think are good for the part, and then just see how they react. Sometimes, right in the room, you go, ‘Right. Good.’ So that’s what can put it over the top.” When questioned about how much they put this cast through the ringer, Tapert laughs. “Aw. They should have been there for the first one.” He also goes on to mention how Levy was the perfect anchor of the cast. “Jane had the most physically demanding part,” Tapert says, “and her attitude on set helped set the tone with everybody else.” Meanwhile, Campbell specifically points out Shiloh Fernandez and how he’s “not the obvious hero” and how tricky that part is. “He’s a guy who has flaws and he’s a coward. He’s a little weak-spined and he couldn’t muster up [courage] to see his mother when she was sick. It’s just not his bag. So he’s great at his part. I give Fede credit for writing a character that was that obtuse.”
One has to give Fede Alvarez credit for a lot of things when it comes to Evil Dead, which hits theaters this Friday nationwide.