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July has been a great month for Montreal, what with the Jazz Festival, Fantasia film Festival (which I've covered years previous) and of course the Just for Laughs Festival. Now I usually wouldn't cover an event like the Just for Laughs Festival because . . . well, it doesn't really have anything to do with cult/b rated films. But this year, they had something that caught my eye from the very first time I saw the promo . . . This show was "Evil Dead 1 & 2: The Musical". The show originates from Toronto where it was created, written and directed by a duo known as Christopher Bond & George Reinblatt. Usually, off beat musicals are quite a shot in the dark, and believe me, I've seen my share of off beat musicals, whether it be on celluloid or on stage. The name "Cobra: The Musical" comes to mind right away, a nice attempt to pull off a G.I. Joe musical which falls flat on it's ass when viewed in full.
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When I went to see Evil Dead: The Musical, you could say I was one of the many skeptics out there. I walked into the venue, saw a cheap version of Raimi's now legendary car on the stage with a tiny little foot bridge next to it. I had no idea what was in store at this point and I was scared. Really scared! Were they about to butcher Sam Raimi's now legendary cult films? Fuck! I hope not! The show started with a giant Necronomicon above the stage, setting up the story for these 5 ill fated college kids. The lights came on
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and the cast started singing, "Cabin in the Woods". Still skeptical, but a little more at ease with the professionalism at which these actors performed, I slid comfortably in my chair and sighed with relief, until the song was over and the curtains drew back, revealing an almost too accurate replica of the famous Knowby Cabin. I have to say that from this point on, I lost my shit and knew that I was going to be in for the ride of my life, and I was right. The set is just so great, not one of the actors steals the spotlight, they're all so freakin' good! Even Trevor Martin in the role of Ed, the bit part character has a moment to shine when he comes out with his performance of "Bit Part Demon." With lyrics such as:
If the hero were to kill a hundred demons, I'd be the forgettable number thirty nine
Cuz I'm a bit part demon, a small time misfit
I say you'll be dead by dawn! but I don't really mean it
In writing this amazing show, George Reinblatt did not let any of the characters drag off, smoke out or fade away, they all got their due time and they're all worth a laugh. Scottie is the typical jock turned Candarian demon best friend character that will always be remembered for his delivery of the two words, "Stupid Bitch!" And Jake, played by the greatly talented Nug, always gets the biggest cheer at the end of his MeatLoaf inspired, "Good Ol' Reliable Jake"
Who's Every Senior Citizen's favorite Mime?
- And who can pass Courvoisier Like Busta Rhymes?
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Without stretching out this character driven review too much more, I need to mention Danielle Meierhenry and Ryan Ward before moving on. Danielle plays the not so lovable kid sister of Ash's. She's annoying and gets picked on tremendously . . . that is until she's attacked by the woods and is turned into a foul mouthed diva dancing machine . . . or a foul mouthed demon with tendencies to break into song. She plays this role like no one else could have, adding her own spice to the character and speaking in bad puns that would make any pun enthusiast drool for hours . . . Pun enthusiasts? What? Lets move on . . . Ryan Ward plays Ash, The hero, the main man. Hell, if you don't know who Ash is, why are you reading a b-movie column? He's the king of cult, played on film by the Chin, A.K.A Bruce Campbell. Now these shoes would be the hardest to fill as it's the lead role, a role everyone tries to emulate and a role everyone falls flat on, but once again, to my surprise, Ryan Ward pulls off a Bruce Campbell that is even more Bruce Campbell then Campbell himself, if that's possible. And once the chainsaw is in hand,
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it's a perfect match, Ryan Ward is Ash, he plays that character out to the bitter end, with every famed one liner thrown in for good measure.
The fact that they turned Evil Dead 1 & 2 into one story is not a concept that bothered me, as they are pretty much the same movie with different characters. It only makes sense to mash them together, more laughs, more characters, more blood, etc. What is tremendous, though, is the way they've adapted it into one big story and how well it was done, from the happy beginnings of Evil Dead 1 to the chain sawing of heads in Evil Dead 2, to the even almost entirely new confrontation at the end, with every deadite from the first two movies facing off with Ash, the front rows of the crowd are almost guaranteed to walk out bloody.
All in all, this is an amazing show that totally kicks ass and the only complaint I have is that it's over. As I write this, I've seen the show eight times and have gotten blood soaked almost every single time, last thought? This show KICKS Rocky Horror's ass!! And if handled right, could be the show to properly take its crown away. Bye bye Janet, Hello Sheryl, seeya later Brad, here's Ash.
-- Jon Morrell
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