I’m not sure what it is about cult movies and B-movies that I’m so attracted to, but when I was growing up, Bruce Campbell was a household name. I mean Army of Darkness was an entertainment staple and iconic doesn’t even begin to describe Bruce. From Evil Dead to Bubba Hotep to Man With the Screaming Brain, Bruce Campbell has always delivered quality. So imagine my glee when I found out that Ash himself was getting a series, “Ash Vs. Evil Dead”. Thank my lucky starz! Literally, the show is on Starz. This is like a dream come true for me! Not only are we getting that same style of comedy and gore that we got with Army of Darkness, but now we have graphics, technological developments, and dare I say, a slightly bigger budget. The anticipation for it was really killing me. Let me digress a bit.

My fiance’ and I had a very short engagement. We needed an idea for a honeymoon that wasn’t stereotypical and would bring us both great joy. The answer revealed itself quickly after my fiance’ googled comic conventions happening the week after our wedding. Hot damn, Bruce Campbell was going to be in Chicago doing Bruce’s Horror Film Fest in conjunction with Wizard World.

This convention was amazing (aside from the traveler’s anxiety we both suffer from. Lol). On our second convention day I dressed up as Tank Girl and he dressed up as Fatman from Mallrats. We explored lots of the Horror Film Festival and got stopped for pictures constantly.

But the day after that I dressed up as my original character, Autopsy Annie (my artistic persona) and Hal dressed up as his original character, Johnny Boogidy (his character in a horror comedy band called Jason and the Kreugers).

We sat in on a panel with Bruce, Theresa Tilly (Shelly), Ellen Sandweiss (Cheryl), Betsy Baker (Linda), Sarah Berry (Annie Knowby), Danny Hicks (Jake), Kassie Wesley DePaiva (Bobby Joe), Tom Sullivan (Special Make-Up Effects, ect.), and Ted Raimi! It was quite the reunion and we heard some amazing tales.

 

We heard all about how fake blood in the 70’s was a legitimate nightmare that basically had to be spat on you from off screen to get that spewing effect. It was also almost impossible to wash off. We learned how impeccable Sarah Berry is and how she chose to never act again after Evil Dead II, but she didn’t let that stop her from being influenced by horror movie culture. After all, she was writing a dissertation on horror and why people are so attracted to it.

But the best story was Bruce talking about how he had to powerslide his car for Ash Vs. Evil Dead and he was taught how to do it by William Effing Shatner.

To top it all off, we were given a sneak peak into the new series. I don’t know if a show can become a favorite with just a sneak peak, but it sure did get me pumped and now it is indeed one of my favorite shows ever. Bruce is incredible, and his supporting cast are instantly lovable.

 

*Side note: Bruce also started a show called “Last Fan Standing” where he’s the host and nerds from the audience get to compete with tons of nerdy trivia!

Of course, we got the Bruce Campbell VIP experience which allowed us autographs and photo ops. My husband made a Necrinomicon for Bruce to hold as he pretended to marry Autopsy Annie and Johnny Boogidy.

 

It’s probably one of my favorite keepsakes from our whole marital experience. And as we were about to walk away from the photo Bruce piped up and said, “Congratulations on your marriage. I’ve enjoyed all of mine.”