Bruce Campbell: Unusual groovy facts about the horror classic Evil Dead 2

Bruce Campbell, everyone’s favorite Deadite slayer confirmed a cool fact about Evil Dead 2 on Twitter yesterday. So, I decided to see what other gems I could find out about my fav film in the Sam Raimi trilogy.

8 Seconds Later

Bruce Campbell who will be screening Evil Dead 2 for fans of the horror classic at San Francisco Sketchfest on Jan. 20 confirmed a groovy fact about the film on Twitter yesterday concerning the U.K. theater cut. It is well known that in England, the original Evil Dead was considered to be a “video nasty” during the 80’s.

Apparently, the version of Evil Dead 2 that made it into theaters in the U.K. was cut by 8 seconds. Sounds miniscule until you look at the reason behind why the edit was made. Fans of the film know that Jake (Danny Hicks) kicks Ash in the head a couple of times.

Well, before the film could be shown in cinemas across the pond, some of those kicks had to be removed. During the 80’s in the U.S. especially for a horror film, this sort of thing would have been overlooked.

According to Bruce, here is the reason why this happened:

"“Right,” the censors said. “You can’t kick a man while he’s down.” “Actual reason. Not a joke.”"

You can see the Tweet by clicking on this link.

There are even more fascinating tidbits about Evil Dead 2 when I started delving into the subject on IMDb. One of my favorites concerns the character of Bobby Joe as portrayed by Kassie Wesley DePaiva.

Wait, Holly Hunter??

During the 80’s, Sam Raimi who was friends with the Coen Brothers lived in a house with them and some other roommates who subsequently became very famous. This place was the ultimate crashpad and at one time, Frances McDormand, Kathy Bates, Sam’s brother Ivan and Scott Spiegel all shared space there.

However, one roomie in particular made a distinct impression on Sam. So much so that he wrote the part of Bobby Joe with her in mind. That person was Holly Hunter. Yes, that Holly Hunter of Broadcast News, Raising Arizona, Blood Simple and so many other film classics was who Sam envisioned in the part.

The reason why she didn’t get cast is kind of comical in retrospect. While Raimi lobbied for Hunter as his choice for Jake’s best gal, the producers felt Hunter wasn’t “sexy enough.” In the end, DePaiva made the role her own and is a proverbial fan favorite in the Evil Dead universe.

Those Overly Romantic Vines Again

One of the famous scenes in Evil Dead concerns Cheryl (Ellen Sandweiss) having to fend off some overly amorous vines in the woods. Well, those green appendages made another appearance in Evil Dead 2.

There is a particularly violent scene where Bobby Joe is split in half and rammed. Suffice it to say, the decision was made to not include it in the final cut of the movie. Unfortunately, it did not help when it came time to assign the film a rating though. Evil Dead 2 did not receive the coveted R.

Greece Is the Word

As everyone knows, the 80’s were the golden age of VHS tapes. Video stores were everywhere. It was the thing you did on weekends.

Pick out your fav flicks, take them home and hang out with your friends. It was a perfect date night or a fun way to spend time with the family. For people in Greece, they got a special treat if they rented Evil Dead 2.

At that time, if you rented the film in the Mediterranean country, you ended up with the U.S. unrated version. Lucky bonus for Greek Bruce Campbell and Sam Raimi fans!

Were you aware of these particular facts about Evil Dead 2? Let us know what you think in the comments section below. We want to hear from you.