Bruce Campbell Says Modern ‘Evil Dead’ Movies Are “Too Grim”: “A Little More Humor Wouldn’t Kill You”

Full admission: I’m one of those people who believes the last truly worthy “Evil Dead” movie was “Army of Darkness,” released 34 years ago. I didn’t care for Fede Álvarez’s “Evil Dead” (2013) or Lee Cronin’s “Evil Dead Rise,” or this summer’s “Evil Dead Burn,” which turned the franchise into torture porn.

At this point, should we even be calling these “Evil Dead” movies? Beyond the Necronomicon and Deadites, there’s increasingly little connecting these modern entries to the anarchic spirit that made Sam Raimi’s original trilogy such singular horror.

Bruce Campbell, iconic for the first three movies, who cameos in the three most recent ones—and was also onboard as a producer on them—is now coming out to point out a “problem” he has with the way the franchise has deviated from the original films’ spirit. He wants more humor — and so do we.

I’d like more humor back in. The three features have been mostly humorless, and I personally have a problem with that. There’s no point for these to get too grim. You can be scary without being grim. A little more humor wouldn’t kill you. And one hero that you really can root for. Ash is an idiot, but you want him to survive.

That said, another “Evil Dead” has already been shot, titled “Evil Dead Wrath,” and is eyeing a 2027 release. Directed by Francis Galluppi (“The Last Stop in Yuma County”), Campbell is much more hopeful about that one.

‘Wrath’ will be good, because I saw that filmmaker’s first movie, and it was really cool, and really smart, and really well thought out. That’s half the battle, is you go, ‘Okay, we got a filmmaker who has a clue. We’ll see what happens [going forward], but I have high hopes for the next one, because I’m familiar with that guy’s work.

“Evil Dead Burn,” directed by Sébastien Vaniček, took the franchise in a much darker, more punishing direction, replacing the original films’ mischievous energy with relentless brutality and graphic violence. For some viewers, the nonstop brutality may be effective, but it largely misses the wild, irreverent spirit that made the original “Evil Dead” films so memorable.

I’ve reached the point where I’ve given up on this franchise. There’s not much to look forward to beyond a young filmmaker hired to milk the IP in name only.