"Hail to the King Baby." |
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Acting has long been mocked in horror films. Usually the roles are played by ditzy scream-queens or macho meat-heads. People always expect, going into a horror flick, that well, the acting will be less than spectacular. However there is a man who in every role, give his all. No matter if it's a one minute scene in a multi-million dollar hollywood blockbuster, or an episode of Xena, he does his best every single time. This is of course the one and only, Bruce Campbell.
Bruce Campbell was born on June 22, 1958 in Michigan. He got his start in film-making doing Super 8 movies with friends in school. High school is also the place he met Sam Raimi (director of SPIDERMAN). Raimi and Campbell became best friends and still are today. If you watch the SPIDERMAN movies, you'll notice Bruce in both. Sam and Bruce then created the cult classic EVIL DEAD. Campbell played Ash, an everyman who just has to fight off demons in the form of his undead friends. This movie gained an immense cult following, and soon two sequels were made, EVIL DEAD II and ARMY OF DARKNESS. All films are loved by horror-comedy enthusiasts and 
With a chainsaw? |
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Campbell has become known as the "King of B-Movies" because of the series. There was even a musical version of EVIL DEAD I and II with one song being called "What the Fuck Was That?"
Campbell has written two books, starred in over 80 films and television episodes, has written three movies and has a chin that could take down a building. Other than seemingly always being busy, he is known as one of the nicest guys in the business to both coworkers and fans alike. Instead of becoming bitter at his "fame", he seems to bask in it. He is even directing a film called THEY CALL ME BRUCE, which has Campbell having fans plead for his help to fight against real monsters. One wonders if he is actually thankful he never reached the level of fame that people like Pitt or Depp have.
Resentment is very easy to gain in the film business, and especially in the horror genre, but Bruce is just one of a kind. An example of this is during the creation of the audio book version of "How to Make Love the Bruce Campbell Way". He describes it in an interview: "Like if you closed your eyes, this book would play like a movie. That was our 
"The movies that are the easiest to make are the hardest to watch." |
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approach for the audio book. You hear horn honks and car crashes and gunshots. It just plays out for you. It got so big that we had to do it in two parts." He understands that, though small in number, his fans love him immensely. So he gives more than most actors would.
But above all else, past the great sense of humor, the blatant self-mockery, the great writing style, there is one thing that separates this man from most horror film actors. He can act well! He has a fantastic range of emotions all of which come across wonderfully through his facial expressions. He can play Elvis, an average guy, or a one-armed, chainsaw wielding, department store hero. He is what we all strive to be; awesome and down to earth simultaneously. Bruce Campbell is the Paul Newman of horror. Hopefully, history will tell the generations to come of this fact (that's right, FACT). So in closing, I give you a quote from Bruce "Don't call me Ash" Campbell, that I heartily agree with.
"For a long time I was embarrassed to say I was a 'B' movie actor, ... But now that I see what Hollywood's putting out, I realized 'B' actually means 'better."
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| The Lair of the Mad |
Every other Tuesday
'The Lair' discusses the many aspects and qualities of the horror genre. From actors, to make-up, to music, James Shafie explores everything the "cult" genre spews up.
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| James Shafie |
James Shafie is an avid watcher of movies of all sorts, but the horror genre is closest to his heart. He loves to read and is addicted to music, mostly metal and it’s thousands of sub-genres. He was once fired by Blockbuster, which we see as a strong character trait.
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