Ash Vs Evil Dead

CAST BIOGRAPHIES
BRUCE CAMPBELL
(Ash)
In 1979 with his Detroit friends, Sam Raimi and Rob Tapert, Campbell raised $350,000 for a low-budget film, Evil
Dead, in which he starred and co-executive produced. Completed piecemeal over four years, the film first gained
notoriety in England where it became the best-selling video of 1983, beating out Poltergeist. After its appearance at
Cannes, where Stephen King dubbed it “the most ferociously original horror film of the year,” New Line Cinema
stepped forward to release Evil Dead in the U.S.
After co-producing Crimewave, a cross-genre comedy, Campbell moved to Los Angeles and quickly gained a
foothold producing or starring in genre films such as the Maniac Cop series, Lunatics: A Love Story, Moontrap and
Mindwarp, a post-apocalyptic Jeremiah Johnson, during which he met his wife-to-be, filmmaker, Ida Gearon.
Campbell then rejoined his Detroit colleagues to star and co-produce the second and third films in the Evil Dead
trilogy, completing 12 years of work on the cult favorite. This rough-and-tumble background was a plus as Campbell
made his foray into television, first starring in the highly touted Fox series “The Adventures Of Brisco County Jr.,”
then as a recurring guest-star on the hit show “Lois and Clark: The New Adventures of Superman.” With these under
his belt, Campbell easily made the transition to director, helming numerous episodes and recurring as the King of
Thieves in the #1 syndicated “Hercules: The Legendary Journeys,” and its follow-up phenomenon, “Xena: Warrior
Princess.”
Bruce has since expanded his range on television, with appearances in Disney's TV movies Gold Rush, and their
update of The Love Bug. He teamed up with Fox again for the hit TV film Tornado!, and starred in NBC's top-rated In
The Line of Duty: Blaze of Glory. Following decidedly dramatic turns on the acclaimed series “Homicide: Life on the
Street” and “The X-Files,” he enjoyed a recurring role on Showtime’s edgy TV industry comedy, “Beggars and
Choosers.”
At the invitation of ABC, Campbell ventured into the world of sitcoms with a recurring role on ABC's Emmy-nominated
“Ellen,” participating in one of the three touted “out” episodes. But Campbell didn't abandon his film roots. During that
time, he had featured roles in the blockbuster Congo, John Carpenter's Escape From LA, and the award-winning
independent crime drama, Running Time. He followed these up with roles in Paramount's romantic comedy, Serving
Sara, Jim Carrey's The Majestic, and all three of Sam Raimi's blockbuster Spider-Man movies. After a return to
episodic television in the swashbuckling series, “Jack of All Trades,” Campbell took the title role in MGM's cult
sleeper Bubba Ho-Tep. His directorial debut, Man with the Screaming Brain premiered on the Sci Fi Channel, and
Dark Horse Comics published the comic adaptation.
Campbell has since made the leap into other forms of entertainment, and is enjoying his role as an author with backto-back New York Times bestsellers: a memoir entitled “If Chins Could Kill: Confessions of a B Movie Actor,” and his
first novel, “Make Love the Bruce Campbell Way.”
In the multi-media industry, Campbell provided voices on cutting-edge video games for Activision, THQ and Nova
Logic - and he also enjoyed voicing characters for Disney’s animated TV series “Tarzan” and the Warner Brothers
feature The Ant Bully. He also voiced the character of Mayor Shelbourne in the animated hit Cloudy With a Chance
of Meatballs. In 2011, Campbell voiced the role of Rod Torque Redline in Cars 2, the sequel to the smash Disney
animated feature. Most recently, Campbell directed and starred as himself in My Name is Bruce, a spoof of his Bmovie career, then re-teamed with Disney for their fun-filled hit, Sky High.
In 2013, Bruce co-produced the hit remake of Evil Dead, joined his filmmaking pal Sam Raimi on Oz, The Great and
Powerful, and completed an impressive seven-year run on the spy show “Burn Notice,” USA’s #1 series on cable.
Campbell continues to share his acting and filmmaking experiences by lecturing at universities, including
Northwestern, Carnegie Mellon and Stanford.
He currently resides with his wife, Ida Gearon, in Oregon.
LUCY LAWLESS
(Ruby)
Lucy Lawless recently appeared on season 2 of WGN America’s supernatural drama, “Salem.” Lawless recurred in
the 13-episode season as Countess Marburg, one of the last members of a line of powerful German witches.
Lawless also recently recurred for two seasons on NBC’s critically acclaimed comedy, “Parks and Recreation,” as
Diane, the wife of Nick Offerman’s character Ron Swanson. She was also seen in the Academy Award-winning
director, Jane Campion’s, miniseries, “Top of the Lake.”
Before joining the hit NBC comedy, Lawless reprised her pivotal role as Lucretia in the second season of the series,
“Spartacus,” appropriately titled, "Spartacus: Vengeance" where the story of the Thracian rebel Spartacus continued.
The show premiered January 2012. Lawless made her first appearance as Lucretia on “Spartacus: Blood and Sand,”
a dramatic, action-adventure-based STARZ Original Series, set in the brutal Roman gladiator era. In a passionate
and ambitious partnership with her husband Batiatus, played by John Hannah, she supported his every move as he
maneuvered their way back from near financial ruin. Lawless parallels their relationship with Shakespeare’s
Macbeth’s, “They’re a team; they have a great relationship. He’s the brains and she shores up his confidence; she
supports her man.”
Lawless was on the prequel to “Blood and Sand,” entitled “Gods of the Arena.” Set years before the time of
Spartacus, the prequel showed us a more timid, naïve Lucretia – a far cry from the woman seen on the original
series.
In the spring of 2011, Lawless had a multi-episode arc on ABC’s action-filled dramedy, “No Ordinary Family” as she
played the mysterious Mrs. X. Lawless, a New Zealander, rose to international fame through her groundbreaking
performance as “Xena: Warrior Princess” in the cult hit series also executively produced by “Spartacus: Blood and
Sand’s” Rob Tapert and Sam Raimi. Her other major television role was as D’Anna/Number Three in the critically
acclaimed Sci Fi Channel series “Battlestar Galactica.” She has continued to demonstrate her versatility with a wide
range of television work, most recently in “Flight of the Conchords.” This followed such notable series as “Curb Your
Enthusiasm,” “The L Word,” “CSI: Miami” and “The X-Files.”
In film, she played Aspen in Adam Sandler’s Bedtime Stories, Mother Superior in the upcoming Bitch Slap, produced
by “Xena” producer Eric Gruendemann and directed by “Spartacus: Blood and Sand’s” Rick Jacobson. She also had
cameos in Raimi’s Spider-Man, and Tapert’s Boogeyman. Lawless is a member of the board of the Starship
Foundation, the fundraising body for the Starship Children’s Hospital in her hometown of Auckland. She was made a
member of the New Zealand Order of Merit in 2004.
RAY SANTIAGO
(Pablo Simon Bolivar)
Ray Santiago has recurred on hit television shows “Bad Judge,” “Touch,” “Raising Hope” and “Dexter.” Some of his
feature film credits include Suburban Gothic alongside Kat Dennings, Sex Ed alongside Haley Joel Osment and
George Eads, In Time alongside Justin Timberlake and Olivia Wilde, as well as American Son, Meet The Fockers,
Girlfight and upcoming indie feature Dynamite: A Cautionary Tale.
The Nuyorican Santiago, currently resides in Los Angeles, but originally hails from the Bronx in New York. He also
attended the Fiorello H. LaGuardia High School of Music, Art and Performing Arts, the “Fame” school, in New York
City.
DANA DELORENZO
(Kelly Maxwell)
Dana DeLorenzo, an Ohio native, has had roles in films such as A Very Harold & Kumar 3D Christmas and a leading
role in The Mad Ones.
DeLorenzo’s television credits include “Barely Famous,” “Sullivan & Son,” “Workaholics,” “2
BrokeGirls,” “Californication,” “Growing Up Fisher,” “Eagleheart” and “Impress Me," among others. She also
appeared regularly on “The Late Late Show with Craig Ferguson.” DeLorenzo is a graduate of DePaul University in
Chicago and she currently resides in Los Angeles.
JILL MARIE JONES
(Amanda Fisher)
Jill Marie Jones exudes flawless beauty, embodies talent and possesses versatility that sets her apart in each and
every performance. She may be best known for starring as Toni Childs on “Girlfriends,” but has been working steadily
since.
She was recently seen on executive producer Ryan Murphy’s “American Horror Story” on FX, as well as starring
opposite Kevin Hart, Meagan Good, Nicole Ari Parker and Mike Epps in the ensemble romantic comedy 35 and
Ticking, directed by Russ Parr. Jones received critical acclaim for her starring performance in Drool, which premiered
at the Slamdance Film Festival. She was embraced by the LGBT community for her comedic portrayal of a strong,
sassy, lesbian neighbor who comes between the marriage of Laura Harring and Oded Fehr.
Jones also starred opposite Ice Cube and Keke Palmer in The Longshots for Dimension Films and director Fred
Durst. Her other notable film performances include The Perfect Holiday starring Morris Chestnut and Gabrielle Union,
Major Movie Star with Jessica Simpson, Meeting Spencer starring Jeffrey Tambor, and the independent Redrum.
Jones' talent has caught the eye of many and earned her an NAACP Image Award nomination for Outstanding
Actress in a Comedy Series. In addition, she and her co-stars from “Girlfriends” were among the first women to be
honored and invited to co-host the 2004 NAACP Image Awards. Her successes were also recognized in the form of a
BET Nomination for Best Supporting Actress in a Comedy Series for her role as Toni Childs as well as a Prism
Award for Lead Actress in a Comedy Series.
Jones was featured as the celebrity face of the Baileys campaign Serve Chilled, which aired worldwide and spanned
across both print and television. The television ads consisted of 12 separate vignettes, directed by Paul Hunter. A
native of Dallas, Texas, Jones is a former Dallas Cowboy Cheerleader and Dallas Mavericks Dancer. She works
closely with the USO/DOD and has traveled to Egypt, Korea, Japan, Israel, etc. for the US troops. Jones currently
resides in Los Angeles.
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Character Descriptions and Cutdowns
ASHLEY “ASH” WILLIAMS
(BRUCE CAMPBELL)
Ash returns as the blowhard heroic monster fighter now struggling with the limitations of his middle-aged self. It was
over 30 years ago, while vacationing in the woods with friends, he encountered creatures of unspeakable evil. Ash
survived the battle, but it cost him his hand and his sense of security. He is now America’s oldest one-handed stock
boy. Responsibility and ambition are not part of his limited vocabulary. Since that fateful night in the woods, Ash has
been looking over his shoulder, afraid that one day the Evil Dead would return for him. Keeping a low profile, he has
successfully avoided them…. until he makes one very stupid mistake.
RUBY
(LUCY LAWLESS)
A seductive and reclusive figure well steeped in the ancient mythology surrounding the Evil Dead. She has
determined that Ash was the sole survivor and the cause of the supernatural massacre that murdered her family over
30 years ago. Now suddenly, the evil has resurfaced. After all these years, Ruby is finally closing in on Ash.
PABLO SIMON BOLIVAR
(RAY SANTIAGO)
Pablo is Ash’s coworker and loyal friend. He recognizes that fate has put Ash in the center of a battle of good vs. evil.
Pablo feels that his destiny is to fight alongside Ash. Originally trained to follow in his uncle’s footsteps to become a
Brujo, a Honduran shaman, Pablo has left his legacy behind to pursue the American Dream. He dreams of romance
with his comrade in arms, Kelly, but he suffers as his love remains unrequited. Pablo is the only one who believes in
Ash even when Ash doubts himself.
KELLY MAXWELL
(DANA DELORENZO)
Kelly was once a sweet girl, but has become hardened and cynical by the cards life has dealt her. Now she only
desires payback for what the Deadites have done to those close to her. Unwilling to let go of her rage she won’t let
others get too close. With her family destroyed, she turns to Ash and Pablo, the only ones who have ever stood by
her. She will not stop until the last evil Deadite is destroyed.
AMANDA FISHER
(JILL MARIE JONES)
Amanda is a respected Michigan State Police Detective. She finds her career on the line following the bizarre and
grisly murder of her partner for which she is blamed. She knows that whoever or whatever killed him must be
stopped. Her investigations lead to Ash as the likely suspect. To clear her name, she must find Ash and quickly bring
him to justice even if it means killing him.
PRODUCTION BIOGRAPHIES
SAM RAIMI
(Executive Producer/Director, Episode 101)
Sam Raimi has directed one the industry’s most successful film franchises ever—the blockbuster Spider-Man trilogy,
which has grossed $2.5 billion at the global box office. All three films reside in the industry’s Top 25 highest grossing
titles of all time.
In addition to the franchise’s commercial success, Spider-Man (2002) won that year’s People’s Choice Award as
Favorite Motion Picture, earned a pair of Oscar® nominations (for VFX and Best Sound) and also collected two
GRAMMY® nominations (for Best Score and Chad Kroeger’s song “Hero”). The sequel (2004) won the Academy
Award® for Best Visual Effects (with two more nominations, Best Sound and Sound Editing) and two BAFTA
nominations (for VFX and Best Sound), among dozens of other honors.
Most recently, Raimi is known for directing Oz the Great and the Powerful, a commanding prequel to one of
Hollywood’s most beloved stories. Grossing nearly a quarter of a billion dollars at the worldwide box office, Oz has
also been elected for awards across the board, including a nomination at the People’s Choice Awards for Favorite
Family Movie, and winning Film Music at the BMI Film & TV Awards.
Apart from creating one of Hollywood’s landmark film series, Raimi’s eclectic resume includes the gothic thriller The
Gift, starring Cate Blanchett, Hilary Swank, Keanu Reeves, Greg Kinnear and Giovanni Ribisi; the acclaimed
suspense thriller A Simple Plan, which starred Bill Paxton, Billy Bob Thornton and Bridget Fonda (for which Thornton
earned an Academy Award® nomination for Best Supporting Actor and Scott B. Smith landed a nomination for Best
Adapted Screenplay); his baseball homage, For Love of the Game, with Kevin Costner and Kelly Preston; the
western The Quick and the Dead, starring Leonardo DiCaprio, Sharon Stone, Russell Crowe and Gene Hackman;
and the supernatural thriller, Drag Me to Hell, with Alison Lohman and Justin Long.
Raimi began his career in his native Michigan after directing his own Super 8 movies as a teenager. He left his
studies at Michigan State University to form Renaissance Pictures with future producer Rob Tapert and their longtime
friend, actor Bruce Campbell, with whom he made his very first film, Within the Woods, a short horror film they used
to raise money to make a feature. That resulting horror classic, The Evil Dead (1982), financed and produced with
investments from local business people and doctors, became a hit at the 1982 Cannes Film Festival and spawned a
sequel, Evil Dead 2: Dead By Dawn (1987), which, like the original, showcased Raimi’s inventive, imaginative
direction and offbeat humor.
Raimi next turned to the fantasy genre, writing and directing the comic book-inspired Darkman (1990), starring Liam
Neeson and Frances McDormand, then followed with 1993’s Army of Darkness, a comic sword and sorcery fantasy
starring Bruce Campbell.
The mid-’90s also found Raimi producing two telefilms (with friend and partner Tapert) that would become the
genesis of a pair of highly popular syndicated series—“Hercules: The Legendary Journeys” (on which he served as
executive producer during the program’s four-year run) and the successful companion series, “Xena: Warrior
Princess” which aired from 1995-2001. His television work also includes executive producing the CBS series
“American Gothic” and STARZ graphic sword and sandals series, “Spartacus: War of the Damned.”
Raimi continued his collaboration with Tapert in his production company Ghost House Pictures, which produced such
films as The Grudge, Boogeyman, 30 Days of Night, The Messengers and The Possession.
Raimi’s work has been a favorite on the film festival circuit, with the filmmaker winning a Best Director honor for
Darkman at the 1990 Sitges-Catalonian Festival in Spain; the Critics Award for Army of Darkness at the 1992
Fantasporto Festival in Portugal; the Golden Raven, also for Army of Darkness, at the 1992 Brussels International
Festival; and a Grand Prize nomination for the same title at the Avoriaz Fantastic Film Festival in France. Raimi
himself has also won the Saturn Award twice (Spider-Man 2, along with a George Pal Memorial Award) from the
Academy of Science Fiction, Horror and Fantasy.
ROB TAPERT
(Executive Producer)
Rob Tapert is the longstanding producing partner of acclaimed director Sam Raimi. Tapert and Raimi have been
working together since they met at Michigan State University where they formed the Society for Creative Film
Making. After producing the horror cult classic Evil Dead, Tapert continued to collaborate with Raimi on Evil Dead II:
Dead by Dawn, Darkman and Army of Darkness and went on to serve as executive producer on Raimi’s suspense
thriller The Gift, starring Cate Blanchett and the action western The Quick and the Dead, starring Leonardo DiCaprio,
Sharon Stone, and Gene Hackman. Tapert also executive produced the action features Hard Target and Timecop,
starring Jean-Claude Van Damme.
Tapert executive produced the long running worldwide sensation TV series “Hercules: The Legendary Journeys” and
“Xena: Warrior Princess”, and later “Legend of the Seeker” and the STARZ breakout hit “Spartacus.” “Spartacus” and
“Legend of the Seeker” both played in over 150 markets worldwide.
In 2002, Tapert and Raimi formed Ghost House Pictures with Mandate Pictures. Ghost House was conceived to
produce feature films that would deliver great scares and offer horror fans a thrill ride experience. Tapert has since
produced a string of #1 box office hits that started with The Grudge, that grossed $187 million worldwide, and
continued with Boogeyman, The Messengers, 30 Days of Night, The Possession and the remake of Evil Dead. In
2009, Tapert produced Raimi's first directorial effort under Ghost House: the critically acclaimed Drag Me To Hell.
BRUCE CAMPBELL
(Executive Producer)
In 1979 with his Detroit friends, Sam Raimi and Rob Tapert, Campbell raised $350,000 for a low-budget film, Evil
Dead, in which he starred and co-executive produced. Completed piecemeal over four years, the film first gained
notoriety in England where it became the best-selling video of 1983, beating out Poltergeist. After its appearance at
Cannes, where Stephen King dubbed it “the most ferociously original horror film of the year,” New Line Cinema
stepped forward to release Evil Dead in the U.S.
After co-producing Crimewave, Campbell moved to Los Angeles and quickly gained a foothold producing or starring
in genre films such as the Maniac Cop series, Lunatics: A Love Story, Moontrap and Mindwarp, a post-apocalyptic
Jeremiah Johnson, during which he met his wife-to-be, filmmaker, Ida Gearon.
Campbell then rejoined his Detroit colleagues to star and co-produce the second and third films in the Evil Dead
trilogy, completing 12 years of work on the cult favorite. This rough-and-tumble background was a plus as Campbell
made his foray into television, first starring in the highly touted Fox series “The Adventures Of Brisco County Jr.,”
then as a recurring guest-star on the hit show “Lois and Clark: The New Adventures of Superman.” With these under
his belt, Campbell easily made the transition to director, helming numerous episodes and recurring as the King of
Thieves in the #1 syndicated “Hercules: The Legendary Journeys”, and its follow-up phenomenon, “Xena: Warrior
Princess.”
Bruce has since expanded his range on television, with appearances in Disney's TV movies Gold Rush, and their
update of The Love Bug. He teamed up with Fox again for the hit TV film Tornado!, and starred in NBC's top-rated In
The Line of Duty: Blaze of Glory. Following decidedly dramatic turns on the acclaimed series “Homicide: Life on the
Street” and “The X-Files,” he enjoyed a recurring role on Showtime’s edgy TV industry comedy, “Beggars and
Choosers.”
At the invitation of ABC, Campbell ventured into the world of sitcoms with a recurring role on ABC's Emmy-nominated
“Ellen,” participating in one of the three touted “out” episodes. But Campbell didn't abandon his film roots. During that
time, he had featured roles in the blockbuster Congo, John Carpenter's Escape From LA, and the award-winning
independent crime drama, Running Time. He followed these up with roles in Paramount's romantic comedy, Serving
Sara, Jim Carrey's The Majestic, and all three of Sam Raimi's blockbuster Spider-Man movies. After a return to
episodic television in the swashbuckling series, “Jack of All Trades,” Campbell took the title role in MGM's cult
sleeper Bubba Ho-Tep. His directorial debut, Man with the Screaming Brain, premiered on the Sci Fi Channel, and
Dark Horse Comics published the comic adaptation. Campbell has since made the leap into other forms of
entertainment, and is enjoying his role as an author with back-to-back New York Times bestsellers: a memoir entitled
“If Chins Could Kill: Confessions of a B Movie Actor,” and his first novel, “Make Love the Bruce Campbell Way.”
In the multi-media industry, Campbell provided voices on cutting-edge video games for Activision, THQ and Nova
Logic - and he also enjoyed voicing characters for Disney’s animated TV series “Tarzan” and the Warner Brothers
feature The Ant Bully. He also voiced the character of Mayor Shelbourne in the animated hit Cloudy With a Chance
of Meatballs. In 2011, Campbell voiced the role of Rod Torque Redline in Cars 2, the sequel to the smash Disney
animated feature.
Most recently, Campbell directed and starred as himself in My Name is Bruce, a spoof of his B-movie career, then reteamed with Disney for their fun-filled hit, Sky High.
In 2013, Bruce co-produced the hit remake of Evil Dead, joined his filmmaking pal Sam Raimi on Oz, The Great and
Powerful, and completed an impressive seven-year run on spy show “Burn Notice,” USA’s #1 series on cable.
Campbell continues to share his acting and filmmaking experiences by lecturing at universities, including
Northwestern, Carnegie Mellon and Stanford. He currently resides with his wife, Ida Gearon, in Oregon.
CRAIG DiGREGORIO
(Executive Producer, Showrunner)
Craig DiGregorio is a producer and writer, with a background in both genre and comedy, including: “Workaholics,” a
Comedy Central sitcom starring Blake Anderson, Adam De Vine and Anders Holm; “Chuck,” an action-comedy/spy
drama NBC series starring Zachary Levi and Yvonne Strahovski: “Da Ali G Show,” an HBO variety show starring
Sacha Baron Cohen; and “Reaper,” that focuses on Sam Oliver (Bret Harrison), a “reaper” who works for the Devil by
retrieving souls that have escaped from Hell.
IVAN RAIMI
(Co-Executive Producer)
Ivan Raimi is a screenwriter of many horror and fantasy-sci films, as well as a comic book author. He is a frequent
co-writer and collaborator with his brother, Sam Raimi. His film credits include: Easy Wheels (1987), Darkman
(1990), Army of Darkness (1993), Spider-Man 3 (2007) and Drag Me to Hell (2011). He is currently training for and
helping to develop NASA's "Writers To Mars" program. When not writing or working as a private investigator, he
practices emergency medicine in the Midwest.
ROB WRIGHT
(Co-Executive Producer)
Rob Wright has been a writer and producer on such television shows as “Grimm,” “Drop Dead Diva,” “Las Vegas”
and “Charmed.” He also co-created the 2012 series “The Mob Doctor,” but it’s because of “Ash vs Evil Dead” that his
kids think he’s groovy.
NICK BASSETT
(Production Designer)
New Zealander Nick Bassett worked with “Ash vs Evil Dead” Executive Producer Rob Tapert as Supervising Art
Director on “Spartacus: War of the Damned” (33 episodes) and “Spartacus: Gods of the Arena” (6 episodes) for
STARZ. He was Art Director on the Rob Tapert/Sam Raimi Ghost House Pictures feature Boogeyman and on their
Pacific Renaissance Pictures “Young Hercules” (20 episodes).
He was Supervising Art Director on Crouching Tiger, Hidden Dragon: The Green Legend, recently filmed in New
Zealand and China. He was also a member of the team that won the 2010 Art Directors Guild Award for excellence in
production design in a fantasy film for Avatar, for which he was Art Director. In addition, Bassett was a joint nominee
for a 2004 Primetime Emmy Art Direction Award for Ike: Countdown to D-Day that was filmed in Auckland.
His extensive list of Art Director credits includes the UK/German co-production “Mee-Shee: The Water Giant,” filmed
in Auckland, Canada and London, and Martin Campbell’s Vertical Limit, filmed in New Zealand’s South Island
mountains.
His New Zealand feature film credits include Perfect Creature, Samoan Wedding, Naming Number Two and Under
the Mountain.
Alongside his film work, Bassett designs major commercial installations for SPUR, creating bespoke design and build
projects like the famous Telecom Tree.
BARBARA DARRAGH
(Costume Designer)
Barbara Darragh is an Emmy-nominated New Zealand costume designer with numerous feature film and television
drama credits. Her Emmy nomination was for the U.S. STARZ Original Series “Spartacus,” produced by Rob Tapert.
She also designed costumes for Tapert’s five “Hercules” telemovies that preceded the “Hercules: The Legendary
Journeys” series.
She won the New Zealand Film Award (2014) for her costume design of The Dead Lands, the Maori martial arts
movie directed by Toa Fraser now in release in the U.S. She also designed costumes for Beyond the Edge, the
ascent of Everest docudrama directed by Leanne Pooley and produced by The Dead Lands producer Matthew
Metcalfe.
She won New Zealand Screen Awards for costume design on River Queen (2006), directed by Vincent Ward and
The End of the Golden Weather (1992), directed by Ian Mune. Other feature films include Bridge to Terabithia, The
Frighteners directed by Peter Jackson and several of New Zealand’s early features including The Last Tattoo, The
Footstep Man directed by Leon Narbey and Came a Hot Friday by Ian Mune.
ROGER MURRAY
(Prosthetics Designer/Props Supervisor)
Roger Murray and his company Main Reactor won the Best Makeup award at the Fright Night Awards 2014 and were
nominated for the Saturn Awards for work on the Robert Tapert/Sam Raimi Ghosthouse Pictures Evil Dead remake.
They also won Best Makeup at the 2013 Moa New Zealand Film Awards for the New Zealand feature White Lies.
In addition to Evil Dead (2013), Murray has worked with Rob Tapert on both of the ”Spartacus” series for STARZ, the
Ghost House Pictures features 30 Days of Night and Boogeyman, ”The Legend of The Seeker” (ABC Network),
“Xena: Warrior Princess” and “Jack of All Trades” for Tapert’s Pacific Renaissance Pictures.
Murray and his wife Felicity Letcher established Main Reactor in 2002. Recent productions featuring Main Reactor’s
work include Crouching Tiger, Hidden Dragon: The Green Destiny, the TNT pilot “Lumen,” the MTV series “The
Shannara Chronicles,” Emperor, Andrew Adamson’s Mr. Pip and the Maori martial arts movie The Dead Lands.
Other credits include The Warrior’s Way, The Chronicles of Narnia: The Lion, the Witch and the Wardrobe and Prince
Caspian, Mee-Shee: The Water Giant; Aliens in the Attic and The Almighty Johnsons.
MARNEY McKENNA
(Property Master)
Props Master, Art Director and Set Dresser, Australian Marney McKenna has a number of Australian feature films to
her credit, including the upcoming drama Holding the Man, directed by Neil Armfield (Candy) and starring Guy
Pearce and Anthony LaPaglia, along with the Fred Schepisi drama The Eye of the Storm, starring Charlotte
Rampling and Geoffrey Rush.
The Production Designer of this film, Melinda Doring, won the AACTA (Australian Academy of Cinema and Television
Arts) Production Design award, recognition for the overall design team, of which McKenna was a key member.
Another recent feature is the comedy Now Add Honey, directed by Wayne Hope and starring Robyn Butler, Lucy Fry
and Portia de Rossi, that is due for cinema release in Australia in November 2015. She was the Art Director for the
2012 horror thriller Wail Away, directed by Mark Lipkin.
Her television productions include the acclaimed ABC series “The Slap” and the upcoming “Glitch,” as well as the
high-rating Network 10 comedy/drama “Offspring” and Playmaker Media’s drama “House Husbands.”
She has also written and directed a short film, Knockers, and worked as Production Designer on two short films: To
Choose in the Darkness and Land of Returns.
DENISE KUM
(Makeup and Hair Designer/Makeup Effects 101)
Denise Kum joined STARZ/Pacific Renaissance as Makeup, Hair and Prosthetics Designer during “Spartacus:
Vengeance” and for the final season of “Spartacus: War Of The Damned.” She is setting up the make-up, hair and
prosthetics design for the “Ash vs Evil Dead” series and working with director Sam Raimi on the first episode, before
handing the department over to Jane O’Kane.
As Makeup & Hair Artist she has worked on numerous films internationally, including Pan, The Imitation Game,
Exodus: Gods & Kings, Pirates of The Carribean: On Stranger Tides, Clash of The Titans, Sherlock Holmes and The
Last Samurai.
As Makeup and Hair Designer her feature film credits include The Vintner’s Luck, Death Defying Acts, North Country,
Aeon Flux, In My Father’s Den and Memory and Desire. She has twice won New Zealand Film Awards for feature
films Savage Honeymoon and Channelling Baby and was nominated for Whale Rider and Love Birds.
She has also worked as Makeup and Hair Artist for music videos for Basement Jaxx and Sir Paul McCartney and a
multitude of acclaimed commercials such as H&M’s “Beckham’s Hustle,” Lady Dior’s “Dancing Lady” and Nike’s
“Home Game.”
While she was studying Sculpture at The Elam School Of Fine Arts in Auckland, New Zealand, she became
enamored with and co-opted into the filmmaking process. Since that time, she has been continually working as both
Artist and Makeup Artist. She moved to London in 1999, where she completed a Master of Fine Arts at the
prestigious Goldsmiths College.
Her artwork is included in public collections such as The Museum of New Zealand, Te Papa Tongarewa, The
Financial Times London, Saatchi and Saatchi and The Chartwell Collection, Auckland.
JANE O’KANE
(Makeup and Hair Designer/Makeup Effects 102-110)
UK-born and trained Jane O’Kane migrated to New Zealand in 1995 where she transformed her theatre makeup and
special effects background into film and television work, beginning with “Hercules: The Legendary Journeys.” Next
she moved to “Xena: Warrior Princess,” initially on Second Unit, then later as Makeup and Hair Designer/Head of
Department. She worked on Amazon High as an Assistant and “Cleopatra 2525” as Key Artist. She was Head of
Department on “Jack of All Trades” and later on all series of “Spartacus: Blood and Sand,” “Spartacus: Gods of the
Arena,” “Spartacus: Vengeance” and “Spartacus: War of the Damned.”
Other productions with “Ash vs Evil Dead” Executive Producers Rob Tapert and Sam Raimi are their Ghost House
Pictures features The Grudge (Japan), 30 Days of Night and Evil Dead (2013).
She now works internationally, including Guardians of the Galaxy, Heart of the Sea in the United Kingdom, The
Chronicles of Narnia: Prince Caspian in the Czech Republic, Aeon Flux in Germany and Tropical Journeys in Fiji.
Her most recent features are Pete’s Dragon and Crouching Tiger, Hidden Dragon: The Green Legend, both filmed in
New Zealand. Other feature films include The Warrior’s Way, Bridge to Terabithia and Peter Jackson’s The
Frighteners. Her New Zealand film credits include Whale Rider, In My Father’s Den, Perfect Strangers, Samoan
Wedding, The Vintner’s Luck and The Dark Horse.
GEORGE RITCHIE
(VFX Supervisor)
Emmy Award-nominated VFX artist, New Zealander George Ritchie has worked on “Ash vs Evil Dead” Executive
Producer Rob Tapert’s productions since “Hercules: The Legendary Journeys” and “Xena: Warrior Princess.”
A fine arts painting graduate, he started with Tapert’s Pacific Renaissance Pictures as a Set Finisher/Scenic Artist
and progressed to miniatures, painted backdrops and traditional matte paintings before joining the in-house visual
effects house PRPVFX Ltd as a Digital Matte Painter, Lead Artist and VFX Supervisor from 2008.
Following “Hercules: The Legenary Journeys” and “Xena: Warrior Princess”, he worked on VFX for “Jack of All
Trades,” that starred “Ash vs Evil Dead” star Bruce Campbell, Legend of the Seeker, “Spartacus: Gods of the Arena”
and “Spartacus: War of the Damned,” along with the features Boogeyman, 30 Days of Night and Evil Dead (2013).
His 2004 Emmy nomination for Outstanding Individual Achievement in a Craft: Graphic Design & Art Direction was
for his matte painting work on the Discovery Channel documentary Nefertiti Resurrected.
In 2010, he was nominated for a Qantas Film & TV Award (New Zealand) Best Visual Effects award, for his work as
VFX Supervisor and Lead Artist on Niki Caro’s feature The Vintner’s Luck.
Other productions he has worked on in roles varying from VFX, matte painting and digital modeling include several
seasons of the Disney series “Power Rangers,” feature films The Bridge to Terabithia, The Warrior’s Way, Emperor,
Green Lantern, The Devil’s Double and The Imaginarium of Dr. Parnassus.
JOSEPH LODUCA
(Composer)
By the age of 15 (1973), Joseph LoDuca was opening for rock legends Bob Seger and Ted Nugent in smoky Detroit
clubs and sneaking into Jeff Beck concerts. He was hooked. He went on to train formally in classical music at the
University of Michigan and in New York City. He plugged into the jazz scene and submerged himself in cultures from
around the world. Prior to his career as a movie composer, he performed through the United States and Europe as a
jazz artist. Among his recordings is the GRAMMY-nominated "Nat Cole Songbook" with vocalist Mark Murphy in
1987.
His credits include two Primetime Emmy Awards, 11 Primetime Emmy nominations and "Most Performed
Underscore" recognitions from ASCAP for four consecutive years. He garnered a César Nomination – “Meilleure
Musique Écrite Pour Un Film" (Best Music) for the French international movie Brotherhood of the Wolf (2001), as well
as being lauded as Horror Film Composer of the Year for his score to Army of Darkness (1992). LoDuca created the
soundtracks for the highest-rated syndicated TV Series “Xena: Warrior Princess“ (1995), “Hercules: The Legendary
Journeys” (1995), and the critically acclaimed American Gothic (1995), as well as over 20 movie scores and “TV
Series Leverage” (2008) for TNT and “Spartacus: War of the Damned” (2010) for STARZ. His more recent work
includes music for the British movie Patagonia (2010), that includes song collaborations with Duffy, Bryn Terfel and
Angelo Badalamenti, and TV Series “The Librarians” (2014).
STUART THORP
(Stunt Coordinator)
United Kingdom-born New Zealander Stuart Thorp has carved out a successful international career since his first
work as a stunt performer on “Ash vs Evil Dead” Executive Producer Rob Tapert’s “Hercules: The Legendary
Journeys” and “Xena: Warrior Princess” in the 1990s. He subsequently worked for Tapert on the STARZ Original
Series “Spartacus,” as well as the features Boogeyman and 30 Days of Night.
Notable credits to date include working as Stunt Coordinator on James Cameron’s Avatar (for which he was a conominee for the Red Bull-sponsored Taurus Stunt Coordinator/Second Unit Director award) and Stunt Coordinator for
Zero Dark Thirty, directed by Oscar-winner Catherine Bigelow.
He was assistant Stunt Coordinator for all three films in the Chronicles of Narnia trilogy: The Lion, The Witch and The
Wardrobe, Prince Caspian and The Dawn Treader, as well as Nicholas Cage’s Ghost Rider: Spirit of Vengeance.
His most recent film is Mechanic: Resurrection, starring Jason Statham. Before that, he did Jupiter Ascending for the
Wachowskis. He was member of the team nominated for the SAG Stunt Ensemble award for the recent critically
acclaimed David Ayer/Brad Pitt war actioner Fury. He also worked in Morocco on the Paul Greengrass feature Green
Zone, starring Matt Damon.
Also interested in developing the New Zealand industry, he served as president of Stunt Guild of New Zealand 20042010.
###
PRODUCTION NOTES
“Evil is always waiting in the shadows and only one man would rise to stand against it.” Those are the words uttered
about Ash Williams, who after three decades of avoiding responsibility, maturity and the terrors of the evil dead
returns on Halloween night in “Ash vs Evil Dead,” the long awaited follow-up to the classic Evil Dead series. The 10episode half-hour series follows Ash the stock boy, aging lothario and chainsaw-handed monster hunter as he is
forced to face his demons, both personal and literal when a Deadite plague threatens to destroy all of mankind.
Destiny, it turns out, has no plans to release the unlikely hero from “Evil’s” grip.
Bruce Campbell reprises his role as Ash Williams and is joined by Lucy Lawless as Ruby, a mysterious figure who
believes Ash is the cause of the Evil outbreaks; Ray Santiago as Pablo Simon Bolivar, an idealistic immigrant who
becomes Ash’s loyal sidekick; Dana DeLorenzo as Kelly Maxwell, a moody wild child trying to outrun her past; and
Jill Marie Jones as Amanda Fisher, a disgraced Michigan State Trooper set to find our anti-hero Ash and prove his
responsibility in the grisly murder of her partner.
Premiering on Halloween night, October 31st 2015, the series is executive produced by Sam Raimi, Rob Tapert and
Bruce Campbell, the original filmmakers; and Craig DiGregorio who serves as executive producer and showrunner.
Fans have been clamoring for more Evil Dead for years, according to Campbell and Raimi—as much as they loved
the 2013 remake, it didn’t contain fan-favorite character Ashley J. Williams, Campbell’s Deadite-killing hero from the
original films. “The fans have been relentless for years,” Campbell said. “The last Evil Dead movie was 24 years ago,
‘Army of Darkness,’ and they haven't backed down since. We’re very grateful for that.”
Raimi and his writing partner brother, Ivan Raimi, began work on a new story, and longtime producing partner Rob
Tapert, who has had great success with long-form television series like Hercules, The Legendary Journeys; Xena:
Warrior Princess and Spartacus: War of the Damned, suggested the next step in the Evil Dead franchise could be a
TV adaptation.
Sam Raimi says: “Ivan and I were writing a movie and it got really big. We wanted to spend more time with Ash
because as those Evil Dead movies developed he became more and more important to the fans and, finally, by the
third - Army of Darkness - all anybody wanted to see after that was Ash. We needed a network that would let us go
where we wanted with the humor, outrageous horror and crazy amounts of gore, one of the hallmarks of the film
franchise. STARZ recognized that the fans wanted to see this and they didn’t want to change it. They wanted us to
really go to town, no holds barred, really deliver the gore, the laughs, and the insanity of the Evil Dead movies.”
Campbell says the timing was right for the original three Evil Dead creators (Campbell, Raimi and Tapert) to get
together on this series. “It’s great because it was 36 years since we shot the first Evil Dead together. The fact that the
three of us are still alive, and still in the business, and now we’re working together again, is pretty special,” he says.
Producing the show for a premium network allows the creators a no holds barred opportunity for the iconic franchise.
Tapert recalls, “The 30-minute time-frame allows us to bring all of the elements that the fans are going to love. It’s got
moments of gore, fast-telling stories, comedic moments, and intense horror.”
Showrunner Craig DiGregorio says: “We wanted it to be the craziest, punchiest, viewing experience possible. It goes
from crazy to funny to insane to scary effortlessly. Of course there’s a story - it’s not just one loony set piece after
another - but we tried to put a lot of emphasis on getting to those really big and fun moments.”
The series is truly genre-busting with terrifying and comedic moments interwoven. “We have elements of the original
Evil Dead films which have always had hard-edged, intense horror designed to really frighten the audience but also
there is a comedic element which is alive in Ash vs Evil Dead because we’ve found that’s what the audience likes
most about the Evil Dead movies.” And he adds: “This franchise has a balance of humor and heart that's unlike most
of the zombie projects on TV or in film. Usually, the monsters are the stars and this show is built around a flawed
protagonist, a monster fighter, a hero who is one of us—we can all identify with him.
“Ash vs Evil Dead” also provided the opportunity to bring two of the original Evil Dead collaborators back into the fold:
editor Bob Murawski was the editor of Army of Darkness and has worked with Sam Raimi on The Gift, all three
Spider-Man films and Drag Me To Hell – edited the first episode; and music composer Joseph LoDuca, did the music
on Evil Dead, Evil Dead 2 and Army of Darkness also created the music for the iconic Xena: Warrior Princess and
the highly original soundtracks for Hercules, The Legendary Journeys and Spartacus: War of the Damned.
The Back Story
The phenomenon all started 35+ years ago with a movie idea from a trio of Michigan State college buddies who
wanted to take their shot at creating a new breed of horror. Evil Dead went on to become a global sensation,
inspiring everything from video games, comic books and even a musical stage production over the past three
decades. That group of college students went became legendary filmmakers Sam Raimi and Rob Tapert and iconic
film and television star Bruce Campbell.
According to Campbell: “Ash vs Evil Dead is the continuation of the Ash versus Evil story from the movies. The
movies boiled down to a single character surviving a night 30 years ago where his friends get possessed because
they messed with an ancient book, The Necronomicon Ex mortis - the Book of the Dead. It’s the baddest of all books.
It’s bound in human flesh; it’s inked in blood. It’s a book containing funerary incantations and demon resurrection
passages. Once recited, those demons are given license to possess the living.”
Says Raimi, “The Deadites have been fairly dormant over the last 20-30 years and Ash has been living a low-key life,
hiding out. Our story begins when they come back and someone is needed to stand up against them.”
The series opens when Ash unleashes the Evil in an act of carelessness, bringing Deadite mayhem into his life
again.
Who is Ash?
DiGregorio says he is a huge fan of Evil Dead, but “what drew me to this project is without question the Ash
character. The heart of any good show or franchise is great characters, and Ash is one of the best. He’s incredibly
versatile. He can be a badass, he can be funny, he can be romantic if need be.”
Campbell says “Ash” is the everyman. “He’s sort of like your idiot neighbor, but when the tornado comes you’d knock
on his door and go ‘hey, I’m in trouble’. He’s got no special skills. He’s not a former Navy Seal, CIA or FBI. It’s too
easy to make a hero who has real appreciable skills. It’s difficult to take a guy who doesn’t really know anything and
put him in these life or death situations. I want someone to sit there and go, ‘man, that’s me. I could do better than
this idiot’.”
Tapert also sees Ash as a unique hero. “He's selfish. He's self-centered. He's lazy. Ash’s biggest flaw is that he's a
blowhard. But he's really good at fighting the Deadites. He’s a complicated and conflicted hero who would rather not
be doing what he's doing but he has no choice now that he’s unleashed Evil back upon Earth. He’s been called to
pick up his chainsaw and his shotgun and go out and do his dirty business.”
As Raimi puts it, “He’s no nobler or saner than when we last saw him. If anything, I think he’s regressed. He’s aged
quite a bit. He’s sunk into all of our lowest instincts and that’s where we find him. It’s from that low point that our hero
will have to be born. That’s the start of the show.”
The Mysterious Ruby
Lucy Lawless plays the mysterious character of Ruby. She says: “Ruby has come out of nowhere. We don’t know
very much about her, but she has a powerful obsession with Ash. We don’t really know if she’s good or bad. She’s a
little bit of both. The only thing we know for sure is that she’s a thorn in Ash’s side.”
“It was important for Ash to have a formidable adversary,” Sam Raimi said. “We needed someone who you’d really
think could kick his butt. We needed a human being that had some heart and soul and gravitas and be a real threat to
him when necessary. And that's why Lucy was a great choice.”
Lawless truly enjoyed her time on set noting that “Ash is a lovable loser, a throwback to a different time—but our lives
are in his hands.” She describes the show as a “jolly splatter-fest” and “bloody funny.”
Ash’s Allies
As the series opens, Ash is working at Value Stop, another dead-end job in his transient life of avoiding commitment
and trouble. His co-worker, Pablo Simon Bolivar, played by Ray Santiago, introduces him to Kelly Maxwell,
portrayed by Dana DeLorenzo. Pablo is an electronics whizz, an illegal immigrant who desperately wants to be
American, and Kelly is an impulsive wild-child with a biting wit. These two become entangled in Ash’s fight against
the Evil and reveal their own unique fighting talents.
Santiago says,”Pablo is the eyes and ears of the audience and he is the heart and good conscience of this monsterfighting unit of Ash, Kelly and Pablo. He idolizes Ash. He’s his cheerleader and he’s also got his back. Pablo is the
protector of Kelly, he is the moral compass of Ash and he is the glue that keeps the team together.”
Commenting on her character, DeLorenzo says: “Kelly is this tough, quick-witted, sarcastic, loyal friend to Pablo who
also is the common-sense counterpart to Ash. She's got this great rock ‘n roll vibe and she's totally unfiltered and has
no problem busting’ chops and calling people out, but she's also pretty vulnerable. When you break down her walls
you see that her heart is always in the right place and underneath it all you just want to love her, but she's going to
give you some crap along the way.”
Campbell adds: “Ash winds up with Kelly and Pablo - his two sidekicks. They go with him because they are also
disenfranchised, like him. They have nowhere else to go. Ash is their de facto father figure. A mentor and a
tormentor.”
Michigan State trooper Amanda Fisher, played by Jill Marie Jones, witnesses the spirits of the book possessing her
partner. She believes Ash is the cause of the Evil and chases him down in her attempt to bring him to justice.
Says Jones of her character: “She’s a badass. She’s a cop - Michigan State Police. She is one of those girls who
didn’t grow up with a strong female role-model; instead she was raised with all boys. She doesn’t like the word ‘no’
and knows her way around a gun.”
Evil Dead Mythology
Arising from the original Evil Dead is a mythology that traces the history of The Necronomicon Ex mortis, the Book of
the Dead, back to an ancient time. The book contains passages that can awaken Kandarian demons, able to inhabit
humans and change them into evil, demonic creatures with strong powers, known as Deadites.
Tapert said: “When people are possessed by the Kandarian demons we refer to them as “The Evil Dead,” or
“Deadites. They can only be destroyed through the act of bodily dismemberment.”
The Deadites are after Ash because he’s the only survivor from the gruesome events that took place in that cabin 30
years ago.
As Campbell says of the Deadites, “They’re smart, they’re devious - they will lie and cheat and pretend they’re
normal. They’re very malicious. They’re bloodthirsty. They want to kill you. They haven’t really changed much in 30
years.”
As graphically demonstrated in the series, there are many ways to dismember a Deadite and a range of effective
weapons – chainsaw, axe, knife, broken bottle or shotgun. Viewers will also see a disturbing number of ways a
Deadite can kill any human that gets in its way. In the course of these deadly fights, tons of blood and gore splatter
the screen. It’s vintage horror with lashings of Ash humor.
When asked how to kill a Deadite, Campbell says: “The chainsaw’s the most classic way – a chainsaw will do nicely.
You can lop the head off and that’ll take care of that. A shotgun works very well. You should just get the full monty just blow the head up. An axe is longer, dirtier work but you’ll never run out of gas or have to add oil. It’s a great
primitive killing machine. Knives are alright too, but you got to puncture a brain, you got to scramble it - it’s the only
way that’s going to work. It has to be major.”
The Necronomicon plays such a pivotal role in the series; Props Master Marney McKenna knew they had to get it just
right. Says McKenna: “The Necronomicon was my favorite prop to build. It took about two months to make. It’s all
hand-made. We designed the type – some of it is French and some is Sumerian. Our illustrator Link Choy did the
pictures, and it was painted up to look as if it was written in blood. Then it was aged to make it look as if it’s been
around for a long time. The cover is like a face stretched and made to look like leather. The prosthetics makers, Main
Reactor, made the cover. It's beautifully stitched and it has hair all through it.”
Filming in New Zealand
Principal photography for the “Ash vs Evil Dead” was shot in Auckland, New Zealand.
Campbell on the New Zealand experience, “Rob Tapert put together one hell of a team in New Zealand. Those guys
are incredible. These are crew members who were weaned on Hercules and Xena and of course Lord of the Rings.
They all know how to do stunts, special effects, green screen, sword fights, special props and explosions. These
guys can do ANYTHING. You look at the call sheet of what's demanded of this crew every day—stunts, chainsaws,
and shotguns-these are people that can do this stuff in their sleep. It was the perfect place to do this show.”
Sam Raimi begs to differ, “The crews were top notch and the people were nice, but I’ve never seen so many bad
drivers. It seems that everywhere I went, people were driving on the wrong side of the road.”
The Look of Evil
The look of the show and its visual tone is heavily inspired by Evil Dead II, according to production designer Nick
Bassett. “One thing Sam said is that it’d be great if we can always feel as if something could come out of dark
corners. The show has a mood and a texture and a lot of interesting lighting effects that scare you, which is what
we're after. We wanted to make it a really interesting atmosphere for the audience.”
Director of photography Dave Garbett adds: “Fundamentally, it’s a modern contemporary look. We wanted to give it a
modern spin that pays homage to its roots and to make it more interesting than what you see on TV every day. It’s
more a feature film type of look that’s a little bit more experimental - at least when there is evil at play. The rest of the
time it’s a very normal and naturalistic style and then occasionally it goes crazy.”
Showrunner DiGregorio says it’s visually very interesting, and strange, “It will be something completely different from
a traditional television show. It’s a weird world. It’s reverent to the Evil Dead movies while also expanding it.”
Bassett says the sets are designed to reflect Ash’s age and the state of his life. “I thought this world would always
have a patina to it, a texture with age. Ash has been around for the last 30 years. He's got an old car, an old trailer;
he’s got things from the ‘70s. There’s a little bit of a retro feel to the show without really trying. It just adds character
and personality and gives the feeling that things have been there for a while and had a bit of a hard life. A bit like
Ash.”
To make Ash stand out, it was decided that his colors would be American red, white and blue. His shirt is blue, his
chainsaw is red, and so he is always the strongest color on the set.
In a show that uses minimal VFX, there is no digital set extension – all the sets are practical builds. Bassett says this
is important for the nature of the show and the impact the requirements of stunts and practical special effects
shooting has on the sets. Every set has at least one major Deadite attack and fight scene in it, so “it’s a true
collaboration with the stunts, special effects and camera departments, which means we had to make the sets work
mechanically - ceilings pop off and walls pull out - and it all has to be quite carefully orchestrated.”
“Ash vs Evil Dead” is set in a mythologized yet contemporary place that could be Michigan.
Examples of exteriors built inside include the Mossy Haven Trailer Park where Ash initially lives in his classic silver
1978 Airstream Sovereign trailer. Surrounded by real trees and a collection of broken-down trailers, clotheslines and
dining tables, sits Ash’s mobile home, with his classic 1973 Oldsmobile Delta 88 parked alongside for a quick
getaway.
The set designers incorporated one of Sam Raimi’s trademarks - a Camp Tamakwa sticker - (Sam's personal camp
Tamakwa shirt was featured in Evil Dead 2). Bassett illustrates how special this is with his story of securing
permission from the real Camp Tamakwa, in Ontario, Canada, which still exists today: “When we asked the camp for
permission to use the sticker, they contacted Sam Raimi, to check that we were the real deal. This is how closely
connected their brand is to Sam - not just anyone can use it.”
The interior of Ash’s trailer is also a crucial set – built to replicate the silver Airstream he tows with the Delta – it was
the most challenging set to build. “We made it 1.5 times the size of the actual Airstream and designed it so that every
panel can be removed for camera placement and stunt rigging which was especially tricky because of the curved
ceiling,” says Bassett. “The subframe and structure was built from steel and sits on airbeds to allow for the shaking
and vibration likely to be incurred in a Deadite attack.”
Ash has converted a portion of his trailer into a workshop complete with a bench grinder and tool rack for weapons
maintenance. His chainsaw is readily accessible in case Ash needs to strap it on in a hurry. The trailer is rigged in
case of a surprise Deadite visit with the Shot gun hidden under the floorboards on a quick release system.
Ash has a vintage stereo system, a turntable and a solid collection of rock albums including some from Detroit, like
Iggy and the Stooges and Frijid Pink.
Some items in the trailer are vintage, but many are genuine products sourced from Michigan companies. Props
master Marney McKenna reveals: “We did a lot of research into Michigan brands, and came up with Faygo soda pop
and BetterMade potato chips. Those companies were more than happy to send products to us because many of
them are Evil Dead fans. They were fantastic. When I showed Sam Raimi the props, he was excited because he
grew up with these brands – particularly the Faygo. And we even had the right flavor.”
Ash’s hands – Rosewood, chainsaw and utility
As all horror fans know, Ash Williams cuts off his own hand in Evil Dead 2 to prevent the demon taking him over. He
then wore his most powerful Deadite-fighting weapon, the chainsaw hand. At the beginning of “Ash vs Evil Dead,” the
chainsaw is stashed away, and Ash is using an elegant Rosewood hand to impress the ladies.
Says prosthetics designer, Main Reactor’s Roger Murray, “We had it routed from proper wood - a beautiful mahogany
- and polished it up.”
The creation of the hands was collaboration between the art department and Main Reactor prosthetics props makers.
Each hand has its own stump rig that the hand clicks onto, and a hollow part for Campbell’s real hand to slide into
making it easy for Ash to take his various hands on and off.
Continues Murray, “When Bruce was still in Los Angeles before coming to New Zealand, we had a cast made of his
hand then we began sculpting it. We then made them with different types of rubber – a castable urethane and silicon
- and designed it to look as if they were crafted by a country artisan, as described in the script. We ended up making
16 different hands for Ash.”
After he activates the Deadites, Ash is forced to pull his trusty chainsaw out of hiding along with his famous Shot gun.
Murray says: “The chainsaw itself is modeled pretty much off the Evil Dead 2 chainsaw. We took lots of design cues
off of that and tried to make it as close as we could.”
Making the chainsaw hand was a lengthy and complex process involving multiple skills for the various elements:
molds and fiberglass work for the body and control center, plastic and metal work for the chain and the teeth, and
special effects rigging for smoke and blood tubes. Importantly, the person wearing the chainsaw – Campbell or his
stunt or body double – has control of the on-off switch.
As Campbell describes it: “I'm like Robocop - I'm a whole walking special effect because the tubes go all the way
down, out the back and to a technician off to the side.”
Murray says that inside the body of the chainsaw are “battery packs and a stand-alone motor that can rev in different
speeds. There’s a small smoker so that it can blow smoke and it’s got about four blood rigs. When he’s chain-sawing
something, the saw itself is actually a source of blood, which is kind of cool.”
Costumes
Costume designer Barbara Darragh says the costumes, especially for Ash, were drawn from the original Evil Dead
and modernized in such a way as to have a “lost in time” flavor, not too time-specific.
“Ash wears the iconic blue shirt and brown pants that fans know so well. The shirt is slightly darker and it’s got a little
bit of sheen, and he has a red leather jacket – we’ve tried to keep him as iconic as possible. His costume look is quite
utilitarian so it’s practical. The way his garments are structured and pull together, they have very little movement. It
almost feels like there’s armor on him. There are not many creases; everything stays in place through a fight. The
waistband never moves. The shirt never rides up. It keeps him a little bit Superman-like.”
Because there are so many fights, costumes have to be made in multiples for the lead actors and the stunt doubles,
taking into consideration the number of fights the character is involved in and the amount of damage done to the
costumes. The characters also walk around with blood on their costumes, which require a special recipe so that the
blood doesn’t just absorb into the fabric. It also needs to be washable. Darragh says that after experimentation they
found the right recipe “It’s like walking into a kitchen of blood, there’s so many different vessels prepared for the
particular applications that day.”
Blood and more blood!
Living up to the hype, the sets were often awash with blood – 410 gallons of it. “None of these actors have had this
much blood thrown on them before,” says Campbell. “I saw the look on Ray’s face the first day we covered him in
blood, he had this kind of ‘oh my god look’ on his face.”
A secret recipe, the blood is mostly made of corn syrup and is put in large pressure pots, or smaller, depending on
what kind of rig it is needed for. Then it’s tubed up to make different types of splatter. Using different glycerines they
can change the consistency to give a showering ray of blood or maybe just a little trickle.
There were around four or five different types of blood used on set, for various different situations. There was oozing
blood, blood for staining clothes, blood for squirting and blood for splashing – all with different ingredients to adjust
the color, consistency and behavior on impact. There was even a special rig made for Ash’s chainsaw that makes
blood come flying off the blade.
Campbell says of working with blood: “I had plastic all over the inside of my trailer because I have to sit on it and I
stick to the plastic. I have to pull myself off the seat to go to work and it sticks to all the hair on your arms and so you
go to scratch your head and you pull half your hair out.
“I had to slice the head off a Deadite and once the chainsaw blade bites into the head of the Deadite they have to
start pumping the blood. The beauty of doing it real is you don’t know where the blood is going to go. Everybody’s
taped up. There’s plastic to protect everyone except me but in this case, it all went out from me and it wiped out the
crew, it wiped out the cameras. I had a couple of little drops on me. ‘Cause it just went everywhere else. But that’s
the cool thing. Sometimes it goes straight up, or it goes right in your face. Digital blood is all: ‘we want it to go here
and here and here’. It’s too perfect. This (mechanical effects blood) is just crazy. ‘Cause that’s how it should be. It
should be unsettling.”
Adds Santiago on the blood, “Actually, the clean-up is the best part because our makeup team gives me a really
great facial and they clean it up in 10-15 minutes. The blood is really sticky, but I like getting bloody. I told Sam, ‘I
want you to send me running through the wilderness, naked, covered in blood, fighting Deadites’.”
The Deadites
Rob Tapert says one of the challenges with “Ash v Evil Dead” is to bring a new look and feel to the Deadites so that
they are unique. They want to keep them familiar for the fans of the movies and yet give them something fresh and
new.
“We're bringing a whole new look to them that works with the injuries they’ve received. It feels like a demon’s inside
them pushing through, but it also plays on their facial features, their personal characteristics. Their brows and
cheekbones get bigger, the teeth change and the eyes go bone white - the demon is, in effect, pushing the face out.”
Makeup, hair and prosthetics designer Denise Kum worked closely with Raimi on the first episode to help set the look
of the make-up, before handing the department over to Jane O’Kane. With a heavy nod to the original Evil Dead
films, Kum went with a slightly comic look to achieve the horror comedy tone.
“We are trying to do something new and fresh and trying to harness something that is essential from Sam’s original
Evil Dead. I would say the white eyeball and the large cheekbones and sunken eyes are essential. It’s like having
something iconic but that is also quite funny”, Kum says.
Deadites are not to be confused with Zombies, stresses O’Kane. “The biggest difference between the two is
Deadites’ skin doesn’t decay. Instead, the make-up and prosthetics are really centered on the face. It’s like
something has taken over the inside of their head and pushing their forehead out!”
The Deadites have evolved in a few ways from the initial series, adds Murray: “We’ve taken all the initial colors,
looks and concepts and we’ve defined it so the way they look when they’re possessed is a lot more human rather
than theatrical. We’re trying to get their look as real as possible. As though you would see them and you’d know that
there was something wrong with them but you weren’t sure – they hadn’t flipped completely into another realm or
dimension.”
Campbell said: “I would never want to play a Deadite because you’re in this thing; it takes probably three hours to get
into your outfit. Whether it’s a full body outfit or paint or whatever. Some of these guys have nails that are two inches
long - you can’t use your hands to do anything. You’re drinking through a straw. There’s this one creature that had
no eyes, so the guy had little pinholes that he could sort of see through. This guy was having a great time – it takes a
real temperament to be able to do that.”
Says Thorp: “One of the first Deadites was played by 75-year-old Sian Davis who was amazing. She’s the
sprightliest 75-year-old that I’ve seen.”
Fighting and Stunts
During his mission to stop the Evil from destroying the world, Ash must fight an ever-increasing number of Deadites
and Demons. His weapons, the chainsaw hand and his Shot gun, are pitted against a huge variety of enemies with
different powers and skills, called for a vast repertoire of fight choreography and imaginative stunt action.
Added Thorp: “We're definitely developing that tradition of carnage and gore that Sam and the boys started all those
years ago”.
He says the series is full of “Huge, huge action. Obviously Evil and the Deadites are a powerful enemy. Essentially,
it's a road movie, so we're going to see a lot of fighting with cars. Some of the most intense action that we’ve done
involves vehicles, lots of near misses.”
“There are explosions, there are huge fights, and there are the gunfights, big hits. We're trying to make everything
look like it hurts. These Deadites are tough. Win or lose, our heroes get their asses kicked.”
Although Campbell praises his stunt double and says he’s happy for him to do the difficult work, Thorp says, “Bruce
is a legend. Even though a lot of time has passed since then, he still identifies with Ash and gives it 100 percent.
We've flown him through the air on wires and he does all his own car stunts.”
Thorp, who worked with on Lucy Lawless on Xena: Warrior Princess, says, “Lucy's a great fighter. She's kicked my
ass a thousand times. She remembers the choreography well, she's got a great eye, she moves well. It's all very
natural for Lucy.”
Visual Effects
“Ash vs Evil Dead” is made in the same spirit of inventiveness and creativity as the original Evil Dead movies, albeit
with the benefit of modern technology and evolved skills and experience. However, the series’ creators chose not to
take full advantage of today’s field of visual effects, except where absolutely necessary to help with creating the
mood and elevating the horror/humor mix.
Says Raimi: “We tried to stick to a much more physical effect approach like we did in all the “Evil Dead” films. But
there’s always some touch-up of wires or blood tubes that we now can hide a bit better with a little bit of digital, but
primarily the effects are physical.”
VFX supervisor George Ritchie describes it as “a bespoke handmade production” and says his work is to “help
everything else in the physical world express itself as conceived. Sometimes that means removing problems or
enhancing things. But we're really trying to keep it very plain.
“I help the director of photography, the prosthetics designer, the designers, the art directors, the directors, make-up
artists, anybody who needs some kind of assistance in expressing their visual wish in a way that they can't quite
achieve on the day.
Adds Campbell: “With Evil Dead movies, the effects have always been a combo platter. In the first episode of the
series, Ash gets attacked by a ballerina doll. Now that was a combination of crews - the art department building a doll
that could stay on my face, combined with a digital creature that could flip around and hang off my lip. Then there are
also the good old-fashioned guys with creepy monster faces on and people in full suits. So we get the whole gamut.”
SERIES SYNOPSIS
“Ash vs Evil Dead,” a 10-episode half-hour series, is the long-awaited follow-up to the classic horror film The Evil
Dead. The series is executive produced by Sam Raimi, Rob Tapert, and Bruce Campbell, the original filmmakers,
and Craig DiGregorio who serves as executive producer and showrunner.
Campbell will be reprising his role as Ash, the stock boy, aging lothario and chainsaw-handed monster hunter who
has spent the last 30 years avoiding responsibility, maturity and the terrors of the Evil Dead. When a Deadite plague
threatens to destroy all of mankind, Ash is finally forced to face his demons –personal and literal. Destiny, it turns
out, has no plans to release the unlikely hero from its “Evil” grip.
The cast is led by Bruce Campbell in the role of Ash Williams, Lucy Lawless as Ruby a mysterious figure who
believes Ash is the cause of the Evil outbreaks, Ray Santiago as Pablo Simon Bolivar, an idealistic immigrant who
becomes Ash’s loyal sidekick, Dana DeLorenzo as Kelly Maxwell, a moody wild child trying to outrun her past and Jill
Marie Jones as Amanda Fisher, a disgraced Michigan State Trooper set to find our anti-hero Ash and prove his
responsibility in the grisly murder of her partner.
Raimi directed the first episode of “Ash vs Evil Dead” that he wrote with Ivan Raimi, and Tom Spezialy. Raimi also
serves as executive producer, with Rob Tapert and Bruce Campbell along with Craig DiGregorio who serves as
executive producer/showrunner. Ivan Raimi co-executive produces and Aaron Lam and Chloe Smith serve as
producers.