B-movie icon Bruce Campbell brings live tour to OKC, talks new horror hit 'Evil Dead Rise'

Whether they know him as the chainsaw-armed demon fighter Ash Williams from the "Evil Dead" movies, an elderly Elvis Presley from the cult-favorite film "Bubba Ho-Tep" or the beleaguered street vendor Pizza Poppa from last year's blockbuster "Doctor Strange in the Multiverse of Madness," Bruce Campbell is grateful that he has amassed a multigenerational following.

"Many fathers have come up to the table with their teenage son like, 'Hey, we never really got along. But when we watch "Army of Darkness" together, we have a good time. And it's how we bond.' So, hey, man, I'm sure there's a motto there somewhere, 'The family that slays together stays together,'" the B-movie icon said, flashing his famous grin during a recent Zoom interview with The Oklahoman.

"It's very gratifying because it has kept our movies relevant to the point where we've got another 'Evil Dead' movie. ... There's still an awareness out there, and the last one was 10 years ago. So, it's time for another."

After its killer premiere in March at South by Southwest in Austin, Texas, "Evil Dead Rise" started haunting theaters April 21, scaring up a $24.5 million debut weekend at the domestic box office, putting it in second place behind only the record-setting animated smash "The Super Mario Bros Movie." Executive produced by Campbell and his longtime pal Sam Raimi — who directed and wrote the early installments in the more than 40-year-old horror franchise — "Evil Dead Rise" follows a family who is gruesomely terrorized when they stumble upon the Necronomicon (or "Book of the Dead") and accidentally unleash a demonic evil that possesses their mom.

Ahead of his April 29 appearance at Oklahoma City's Tower Theatre, Campbell, 64, talked with The Oklahoman about "Evil Dead Rise," his new "BRUCE-O-RAMA" live tour and more:

'Let's get some new blood in there': 'Evil Dead Rise' shakes up the horror movie franchise

Q: Do you want to talk about how 'BRUCE-O-RAMA' came about?

A: Yeah, we're intrigued, too. ... My partner Steve Sellery and I concocted this game show, I don't know, 10 years ago, something like that. It started out as a trivia show for the troops. ... After I did the first military trivia thing, I said to Steve, "You know, you can change the questions and bring this right into my world." Because the way that game works, it's really fun. Anybody who comes in that theater could take it all. This is a test of your nerd trivia: sci-fi, fantasy, horror. There's no geography, no history, unless it relates to cheeseball movies. ... So, we've taken that around: We did military bases, but then we've also done conventions, because it's perfect for that world.

Then, I started doing sort of "An Evening With" where you'll watch a movie and, and it'll be a live watch, and I can pause the movie and stuff. So, this is a hybrid. First half is the game, takes about an hour, someone is going to be crowned "Last Fan Standing." ... We take a break, and then I'll come out. And at each venue, they show one of the golden moldies — "Evil Dead," "Army of Darkness," maybe a "Bubba Ho-Tep"; it's up to the theater — and I'll do an extended intro to that for about a half an hour and let people know what they're about to watch. And then I jump on the bus, and we go to another town. And we do that 22 times in a month.

As 'The Outsiders' movie turns 40, Tulsa museum thrives with Danny Boy O'Connor's love

Q: Why does this format appeals to you?

A: Because we like to entertain ourselves, too. Just so you know, doing the same thing over and over again, doesn't really work for me, either. I get bored just like an audience does. So, I thought, "Let's do a little bit of this, take a break, and then we'll do a little bit of that." So, we wanted to give folks some bang for their buck. ...

For me, it's the first time doing a bus tour. I've never done a tour like this where you do that many cities in that much time. It might be a terrible idea. (laughs).

Q: You have a lot of loyal fans and now a multigenerational fan base: What do you get out of spending time with your fans in person?

A: Live still trumps everything. And this is why I think theaters will never die. Live performance will never die. It's too precious. There's too many golden moments that only the people in that theater have. We have a really good time. I make fun of everybody, including myself, and I hand out money and insults in equal portion.

I just like the interaction. I like the different cities. I'm going to be in a bunch of venues I've never been in before — probably two-thirds of these, I've never been in before — and some of these are these great, old, crumbling theaters where Houdini performed. ... I like the history of it, too, and I like travel.

Look, some actors, they don't like that glad-handing. They don't like meeting people in person; they like it all to be smoke and mirrors. I don't really care. My first convention was (in) '88. I went for free, because I was like, "Oh my God, they want me to come and talk about 'Evil Dead II!' Oh my God, how awesome!" Then, I wised up over time, and now we've got a pretty good system. But I still do, geez, I don't know, at least a handful of conventions every year.

'Evil Dead Rise': Meet Alyssa Sutherland, the actress who's haunting your nightmares

Q: Could you have imagined when you guys were originally making 'The Evil Dead' in 1979 that in the year of our Lord 2023, you would be releasing another 'Evil Dead' movie?

A: Nope, nope, nope. Not in a million years. We almost didn't finish the first one. So, there's no great legacy happening here. These all just fell off the truck however they fell off, and the first three movies are really weird and different. They're all different. Then, Fede Álvarez did one in 2013, which was pretty dark, pretty straight.

And this one is kind of a hybrid: It's not a hardy-har-har one, "Evil Dead Rise." It's incredibly hard-hitting. ... I saw it at South by Southwest with a packed house, and they were waiting for that first strike, the first big hit of gore. And it was a great two-part reaction, because when it happened, they went "Oh!," and then they went, "Yeah!," like they realized that they were gonna get the good stuff. It wasn't just going to be standard stuff; it was gonna be good. And the effects are flawless: You can't make fun of "Evil Dead" cheesy effects anymore. Never again.

Q: I don't want to be spoiler-y, but do you appear in this one?

A: No. Just all I would say is, "Listen carefully."

Q: What do you think has made the 'Evil Dead' movies so lasting?

A: The heroes are regular people, they have no superpowers, they're not even that smart. Ash is not that smart. Ash is just very bold and brash, and he fails half the time. And I think the average person in the audience goes, "God, I could do as good as that guy," and it kind of gives you hope.

Whereas a superhero — "I'm Captain America" — they never have do anything wrong, and there's nothing wrong with them. ... I have a hard time relating to guys dressed in bat suits — and believe me, those are B movies, by the way. If you dress up like a bat and fly around a city called Gotham, that's a B movie. "Spider-Man" is not only a B movie, it's a 1950s B movie because he was bitten by a radioactive spider. It's so silly. But I like the heroes that the audience can relate to.

More: OKC filmmaker Cate Jones says being the weird roommate just fit, film rebates hit her work

'BRUCE-O-RAMA STARRING BRUCE CAMPBELL'

• When: 7 p.m. April 29.

• Where: Tower Theatre, 425 NW 23.

• Tickets: https://towertheatreokc.com.

This article originally appeared on Oklahoman: 'Evil Dead' icon Bruce Campbell discusses live OKC show, new film