Monday, April 8, 2013

Wait a Minute, There Was an Alternate Ending to ‘Evil Dead’ and Ash was in it?


Be warned, the following article contains some spoilers.

Some days back a Bloody-disgusting.com community member made a third-party claim that there was an interesting alternate ending to Fede Alvarez’s, Evil Dead reboot. Fact or fiction, well, it seemed difficult to call. Today however, we’re seeing something of a confirmation, although the alternate ending that was cut didn’t quite match the supposed closing scene spread on BD. Or was it?

Here’s what was shared with the site: “I was told that there was a scene for post-credits where they shot Bruce Campbell in the Ash role but of course he is older (trying to integrate him into this remake’s timeline for future possible cross over),” the reader explained. “The surviving member of the group is walking down a road (all covered in blood from the final scene in the movie) and suddenly a truck (with the word “S-Mart” printed on the side of the truck’s container unit) drives up the road and stops by the survivor. Then the window roles down and we see none other than Ash (Ashley Williams…Bruce Campbell)…the hero and survivor from the original Evil Dead trilogy. He asks the survivor if everyting is OK and if any help was needed. Then the Survivor looks at Ash and turns again into a Deadite (gets possessed again)….then we see Ash with the camera zoomed in a close-up on his face as he says: “Groovy!” (one of his famous catchphrases from Evil Dead 2/Army of Darkness…you fans know what I am talking about) and we fade to black… I was so excited and shocked when I heard this little golden nugget by the insider. Then the person goes on to tell me that they shot the whole scene but when Sam Raimi/Bruce Campbell watched it they decided it was out of place (for now).”

Now, that sounds like some brilliant film work and a damn fine tribute right there. But did it really happen? Did Raimi and Campbell decide the shot had no place in the film, or is this all one of Hollywood’s wonderful theories?

It seems that there was indeed a post-credit sequence shot, although it’s not quite a carbon copy of the above description. It is however pretty close. One major difference that should be noted, is the fact that it was never Bruce Campbell in the scene. He doesn’t pick up our survivor, he isn’t spotted at all, in fact.

I know, that’s some terrible news, but keep in mind, Campbell and Raimi are still eyeing a potential Army of Darkness 2 release, so we may see Bruce reprise his role of the beloved Ash Williams in the near future. The possibility for another reprisal seems solid given the already strong box office showing (the film debuted in the top slot with a $26 million take) of Evil Dead. Fingers crossed.

Check out the actual details of the deleted scene:
Well it turns out the indeed a scene was shot. And in fact – it’s pretty much EXACTLY the same as the earlier intended post credits scene I was referencing in my above quote/caveat. Right after what we see in the film ends, Mia makes it out to the road. She’s exhausted and covered in blood. She passes out. A truck with a farmer (“Billy Bob”) and his wife happen upon her and they help her into the truck. She’s in the backseat, dazed as they’re headed to the hospital. Just as the farmer is explaining that she’ll be ok – BOOM! She opens her eyes. She’s a deadite, she smiles and the film cuts to black.







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