BRUCE CAMPBELL

The actor returns to the horror-comedy genre that made him an icon

- Leila Latif

It’s been over 40 years since Bruce Campbell and his friend Sam Raimi went to a remote cabin in Tennessee to make a scary movie. The Evil Dead became one of the greatest horror films ever made and cemented Campbell as one of the genre’s icons. Now he’s returned to the horror-comedy genre he perfected in Evil Dead 2 with Black Friday, which sees him trapped in a store attacked by possessed shoppers during a post-Thanksgiving sale.

Looking back at your career, what are you proudest of?

That I’m not dead! That I’m still working. 2021 was a very busy year, even 2020 was a busy year. I’m proud that I haven’t gone away, which is great because I don’t have any other skills, so I have to stick within my wheelhouse if I want to support my family.

What is your relationship to your fandom?

I go to conventions all the time – they have really expanded over the years and I just keep expanding with it. That desire to meet the people who work on these shows has really reached a fever pitch. When I was a kid, there was no place to go meet William Shatner but now if you want to go meet Norman Reedus from The Walking Dead, you can pretty much do it. Fandom is a very interesting thing, and now with access it’s become even stronger.

Does that following afford you freedom in your career?

I tend to be fairly psychotic with what I do! I just did a Christmas Hallmark movie. I just put out a new book called A House Divided – it’s a political satire – and I started a publishing company.