What follows
here is an interview from 2000 given by Bruce Campbell and Scott
Krager - Head of Development at THQ.
Q.
So, on an average day, how many people ask you to say the word "groovy"
for them, and have you ever hit one of them for doing so?
A: On average? 4.1 times per day. I have never officially
hit any of them, but I did accidentally trip a fellow down the stairs.
The police were very understanding.
Q.
How did you get involved with this game, haven't you done some voice
over work for other games before?
A: My involvement was pretty obvious, given the previous series
of films. I had done about 4 other games before this one, but it
was fun to slip back into the character of Ash.
Q.
Do you actually play video games at all yourself? Are you aware
of the Resident Evil series of games, which Hail to the King seems
to be somewhat similar to?
A: I'm not much of a gamer, no. My son can kick anyone's butt,
however. I'm not hip to the Resident Evil similarities - sorry,
I don't get out much. I've led a very sheltered life.
Q. Didn't someone pretend
you were going to be in the film of Resident
Evil once?
A: That was Internet rumour #28 E and, as always, there was
no truth to it. That's why Mr. Website was created - to dispel such
tomfoolery.
Q.
Have you ever seen a game called Duke Nukem 3D which was very popular
a few years ago, but which ripped off all your best lines from the
Evil Dead films? Isn't there a worry that youngsters today
will think Hail to the King is ripping off Duke Nukem?
A: Frankly, I'm not really concerned about any of those issues.
We were first. Discerning folks will know that and appreciate our
originality - and hopefully, they will support it.
Q.
What was it like playing the character of Ash again? Did you
miss the character or has this dragged up a whole lot of unpleasant
memories?
It was no big deal to jump back in the booth and spew the one-liners.
The Ash character isn't really complex. Basically, he's the average
slob stuck in a bad place. Overall, my memories of the ED flicks
are very good. They were all hard to do, but creatively very rewarding.
Q.
Generally how proud are you of the films and how much does it irritate
that people only every want to remember you for that one role?
A: That's a tad of a generalization. I know plenty of fans
who have never seen the Evil Dead films, nor would they ever. TV
has helped expand that fan base to a wider sphere. Having said that,
I am very pleased with the three films in the series because we
worked hard and had a lot of fun doing it. A lot of actors deny
that they were ever in some cheeseball horror film, but I have no
problem with that.
Q.
On the action figure of Ash that just came out from Todd McFarlane
toys your right arm is stuck in a rather odd pose. Can you confirm
that in real life you do actually have a moveable elbow?
A: Yes, I do. I am triple jointed. Most people don't know
that - you can now tell the world.
Q.
So, er, could you say "groovy" for us?
A: Rent the film...better yet - buy it!
Q.
Is anyone else involved in the Evil Dead game that was also involved
with the films? Is Sam Raimi having any input in it, for example?
A: Renaissance Pictures, Raimi's company, has full approval
over the game. Sam's personal involvement has been somewhat limited
due to his busy schedule, but we received initial feedback on the
design from Rob Tapert, the producer of all three Evil Dead films,
and Sam through Renaissance. In fact, it was the filmmakers
who wanted to return to the roots of Evil Dead and include the cabin
and woods as one of the primary locations. And although Bruce
isn't technically part of Renaissance, we wanted as much input from
him as he would give. Thankfully, he has been very generous
by taking the time to check out the game at various stages throughout
production and offering feedback. Our goal from the beginning
has been to remain as true to the films as possible, and what better
way than to have the creators involved right from the start.
Q.
Many good quality games (Resident Evil in particular, actually)
have been spoiled by really poor quality dialogue. Who's writing
the script for Hail to the King and generally how much dialogue
is there in the game?
A: The script was written by Jeffy Branion, Kris Jackson and
me. Jeffy and Kris are two of the designers on the game and
I'm the executive producer. Our goal when writing the script was
simple. Be true to Evil Dead and the character of Ash.
I think we succeeded on both fronts. There is quite a bit
of dialog in the game - about 30 minutes of cut scenes, to be more
specific.
Q. Why is the game called Hail to the King?
Isn't that a reference to a quote only used in the US version of
Army of Darkness, and therefore completely unknown to anyone in
Europe.
A: The original subtitle was Ashes 2 Ashes, but it turned
out there was already a game with that name. So, we went with
our second favourite subtitle, which was Hail to the King.
The line might have only appeared in the US version of Army of Darkness,
but it is still a good title and the Evil Dead purists out there
will know of it regardless of where they live.
Q.
How will the developer be getting across the point that Ash is an
idiot in the game, or are you just leaving that up to the average
gamer to simulate for themselves?
A: Ash might be somewhat of an idiot, but he's still a hero
in the end. Probably the most idiotic thing he does in the game
is return to the cabin in the woods. After all of the crap
he went through the first time, you would think he wouldn't want
to go back. But then again, we feel it is a nice way to start
the game by going back to the roots of Evil Dead.
Q.
More to the point why does the game's storyline seem to be a rehash
of Evil Dead II, what with the cabin and all? Wouldn't it have been
more interesting to carry on the storyline in the future à la the
European/Director's Cut ending? It seems pretty unlikely that Evil
Dead IV will ever get made so wasn't this the perfect chance to
carry on the storyline without you having to get all beat up on
set?
A: The storyline is in no way a rehash of Evil Dead 2.
It continues the ongoing saga of Ash and the Necronomicon.
Eight years have passed since Army of Darkness. Ash has returned
to his normal life and even has a new girlfriend, Jenny. But
lately he's been having horrible nightmares about the Necronomicon,
deadites, the woods and other strange things. With a lot of
convincing by Jenny and accompanied by her, Ash returns to the cabin
in order to confront his fears and put an end to the nightmares.
Once there, he is again faced with the challenge of battling deadites
and other evil forces that have crossed over to our world because
of the Necronomicon. Ash's evil half appears and is set on an evil
mission, which Ash must stop in order to save Jenny and ultimately
the world. About halfway through the game, Ash travels back
in time through a vortex opened with the Necronomicon and ends up
in ancient Damascus at the time the book is being written. There
he meets the translator/author of the Necronomicon and uncovers
some of the secrets behind its origins as he tries to stop his evil
half from carrying out his mission. While the cabin is included
as one of the settings, there is much to the game and story than
just that. It is not a retelling of Evil Dead 2, but rather
a continuation of the Evil Dead series.