Evil Dead (2013): Delving into the alternate ending that never existed
It has been six years since Fede Álvarez’s Evil Dead hit the silver screen. We take a look at an interesting fan rumor about an alternate ending that never existed.
Evil Dead (2013) is a terrific horror film. Fede Álvarez respectfully honored Sam Raimi’s work while putting his stamp on a beloved cult classic. Not exactly an easy feat but he succeeded.
As with any cinematic effort, script revisions and reshoots occur. In the case of Army of Darkness, the original ending where Ash ends up in a dystopian future after having taken the incorrect dosage of the magical elixir was perfect but didn’t mesh with the studio suits’ vision for the film. Hence, we got the “Hail to the King, baby!” Hollywood version where Ash is a hero.
In the case of the Evil Dead remake, there was a bonus scene that was shot but not used. It even appeared in a draft of the script in 2011. Basically, as written, Mia is walking down a deserted road, clutching what’s left of her arm. Obviously unable to continue her journey, she falls to the ground.
A pick-up truck appears and a man exits the vehicle. He is described as being a “corpulent FARMER wearing a flannel shirt and a ball cap.” Click on this link to view the footage.
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Somehow or other, a fan claimed that Bruce Campbell was the driver of the truck and it was Ash that discovers Mia sourcing the always vague “someone close to the production” told them. Of course, this rumor made the rounds like a raging wildfire burning out of control.
It is curious why they would have thought Campbell as Ash Williams would have been the Good Samaritan because the description of “Billy Bob” doesn’t even remotely resemble him in any way shape or form. Now, that doesn’t mean Ash couldn’t have aged into that character but highly unlikely.
The notion of Ash and Mia meeting does sound like the stuff that fan fiction dreams are made of. Remember at that point in time, Bruce was tied up shooting Burn Notice. Who better to confirm that this rumor was false? Campbell himself. His reply? “Zero. Zip. Zilch. Nada. No. Nyet.”
As everyone knows, we did get an Ash Williams appearance at the end of Evil Dead just not in the way that everyone was hoping but groovy, nonetheless.
Next. Bruce Campbell: Top 10 awesome quotes from movies and TV. dark
For fans of Sam Raimi’s Evil Dead universe, the story continues with a new version and a “hand-picked director by Mr. Sam Raimi” as Bruce Campbell told us in an exclusive interview. Hopefully, shooting will begin in 2020. Stay tuned…
Did you know about the alternate ending/closing scene Bruce Campbell rumor? Let us know in the comments.