While I’m a fan of both musicals and Evil Dead, I never got around to seeing Evil Dead: The Musical while I was in New York. I understand that it’s not bad, and that people in the front rows get plastic sheeting to keep them dry from all the fake blood, not unlike going to a Gallagher show. The musical has proved pretty popular, running for a lot longer than I thought it would – maybe the thing ain’t a gimmick after all.
In the grand tradition of Mel Brooks’ The Producers, Evil Dead: The Musical may be returning home soon. According to Screen Daily, producer Don Carmody (Spacehunter: Adventures in the Forbidden Zone (he has other ‘more legit’ credits, but I feel like a loyal CHUD reader needs nothing but that) is in talks with Raimi to bring the musical to screens – in 3D no less. Carmody hopes to shoot in the spring, once he gets all the rights worked out. Which apparently is going to be a big deal.
Carmody wants to use much of the original cast for the film version, which probably bodes ill for Bruce Campbell going from being known as The Chin to The Throat. Stage director Christopher Bond and choreographer Hinton Battle would co-direct the feature version of the movie.
Weird as this is, it wouldn’t be the first splatter musical movie. Repo: The Genetic Opera recently finished filming; if timing works out I’ll try to catch it at Fantastic Fest.