Thursday, July 23, 2020

My Fandom: The Evil Dead

The Evil Dead is my favorite movie.  The first time I ever saw it was when I was 12, I had a bootleg VHS copy that I got from Ronnie James.  In fact the VHS had The Evil Dead and Evil Dead 2 on it.  Not to long after Army of Darkness was released in the theaters, but I couldn't find a way to go and see it so I had to wait for home video.

It wasn't until I was 19 or 20 that I was able to buy a real copy on VHS.  I was walking through Wal-Mart passing the electronics section and I just glanced at the shelf and saw Bruce Campbell staring back at me with an ax over his shoulder.


I couldn't have been more excited to finally have a real copy of my favorite flick!  It wasn't long after that I was able to buy Evil Dead 2.  I already had Army of Darkness on VHS having purchased a previously viewed copy from Home Vision Video years ago.

I have since purchased the films on DVD and later Blu-Ray.  I bought many special editions along the way as well.  I even had an import version of Army of Darkness that had the alternate ending and added scenes that were not in the US release. 

A flooded basement ruined all my VHS tapes, along with my 90% of my wrestling collection.  When I got divorced in 2012 I downgraded my DVD collection including anything I had on Blu Ray, that meant my Evil Dead 2 & Army of Darkness DVD's.

I do have a very respectful collection of The Evil Dead merchandise though.


Other items that are not in this photo that I have include my The Evil Dead t-shirt and my comic books.  I have the Marvel Zombies vs. Army of Darkness trade, Freddy vs. Jason vs. Ash series, and other comic books.  I also have Evil Dead The Musical cast recording CD and the book and lyrics paperback.
  

These are my signed 8 x 10 of Bruce Campbell as Ash from Army of Darkness, the ladies of the Evil Dead, and a photo of Bruce Campbell and I.  He was doing a book signing for his second book Make Love the Bruce Campbell Way and was touring his movie The Man With The Screaming Brain.  I just need to get something signed by Hal Delrich or Rich DeManincor who played Scott in the first film. 


This is my film collection including The Evil Dead original VHS release, Ultimate Edition DVD, and Blu Ray.  Evil Dead 2 and Army of Darkness screwhead edition, and Ash vs. The Evil Dead complete series collection Blu Rays.  Also Evil Dead unrated edition Blu Ray.  It contains both the theatrical version of the film and what is being dubbed the unrated version.  

The Evil Dead VHS is the original Thorn EMI released that came out in 1983.  It as later released by HBO Cannon, who had purchased Thorn EMI and then again by Congress Video in 1989.  Evil Dead unrated edition is actually a cut of the film that was accidentally sent to the UK to air on television in 2015.  This blu ray was released in 2018.  


The DVD on the left is a bootleg version of Within The Woods that I downloaded from the internet and I made the DVD insert myself.  Within The Woods is a short film the Sam Raimi, Bruce Campbell and others made as proof of concept to help raise funds for the feature film.  Film in 1978 for $1,600 it is 32 minutes long and was never been officially released on home video.

Invaluable is a documentary film about Tom Sullivan the make up and special effects artist who brought the candarian demons to life in The Evil Dead.  Directed by Ryan Meade I bought the DVD and later Blu Ray editions direct from him.  I gave my DVD to my pal Brandon.  


On the books side of things I have all three of Bruce Campbell's excellent books.  The Evil Dead made my a big fan of Bruce Campbell and everyone else on the movie.  The Evil Dead companion by Bill Warren is excellent!  Released in 2001 it Focuses more on the first film it does also cover Evil Dead 2 and Army of Darkness.


These are my figures representing Ash from Evil Dead 2, Army of Darkness, and Ash vs. Evil Dead as well as a Funko Pop of Ask from Army of Darkness.


This items is a very small jar of sand that was taken from the cellar hole that was dug under the first cabin from The Evil Dead.  I got this when I bought my Blu Ray edition of Invaluable from Ryan Meade.  It also came with a CD of the music from the documentary.   


This item here is a piece of wood from Evil Dead 2 cabin.  A fan made contact with the farmer that owned the land that the shed and cabin were on.  The cabin had collapsed however the work shed was still standing.  The farmer sold it to fan who moved the cabin.  You can read all about it on his website.  To raise money they are selling off pieces of the cabin that they also removed from the property.  This is a piece of the interior cabin door frame. 

I also have gone to seen Evil Dead The Musical in Lynn, Massachusetts back in 2013.  I just discovered that you can buy a DVD that has two versions of the show on it.  One recorded in 2004 in Toronto, Ontario and in 2007 in Chicago.  So I have to pick that up.  

Evil Dead Uproot is a documentary that is currently being film about The Evil Dead & Evil Dead 2 shooting locations.  You can find more on their website.

Also a new film Evil Dead Rise has been announced, it will be written and directed by Lee Cronin and is being executive produced by Sam Raimi, Bruce Campbell, & Rob Tapert.

 Thanks for reading!

Until Next Time!

1 comment:

  1. I love your collection and I love that we both found the same VHS tape at Walmart in the 90's!

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