From December 1st to 3rd, a legion of horror hounds will descend upon the Stanley Hotel for BruceFest, a three-day extravaganza that allows fans to properly hail to their king—the one and only Bruce Campbell.
As Campbell points out, the venue alone already has some pretty legendary horror bona fides.
“The Stanley inspired Stephen King to write The Shining when he stayed there,” he tells us. “I love the fact that it’s supposed to be haunted. I’m not a ghost guy, but I like to play along.” Fans can get to know the hotel better (and maybe spot a rotting corpse or two in the bathtub) during a Bruce-centric scavenger hunt.
While BruceFest won’t feature any King adaptations (the closest the two have gotten to working together was King convincing Dino De Laurentiis to produce Evil Dead 2), it will showcase some of the finest films in the Campbell canon. He and longtime collaborator Ted Raimi will be hosting a watch-along of Evil Dead 2 and Army of Darkness for fans, who will get to be in the same room as the two genre legends as they offer up their insights in real-time.
“I still do commentary, even highlighting ‘wince’ moments,” Campbell says. “It’s part of the routine show.” He even gives us a little bit of film analysis ahead of the screenings. When asked about the different tones between the first two Evil Dead films, he calls the first one “a failed melodrama. The original Evil Dead was never supposed to be funny. Evil Dead 2 is a different story.”
Fans also get to watch Bubba Ho-Tep with Campbell (ask him about his favorite Elvis karaoke song, “Can’t Help Falling In Love With You”), plus they’ll see him all over the hotel grounds throughout the weekend at photo-ops, signings, cosplay competitions, and a trivia contest that he’ll be hosting. They’ll also get the chance to take on Ted Raimi one-on-one in some of his favorite tabletop games.
But the highlight of the festival might be several immersive experiences involving S-Mart, the infamous department store that plays a pivotal role in the Evil Dead series and its hit television sequel, Ash vs Evil Dead. On Friday, there’s a holiday party at the store, complete with Bruce-themed cocktails and appetizers from celebrity chef Chris Binotto.
The second S-Mart event is more mysterious. All weekend long, fans can participate in an alternate reality game involving an ominous expansion of the department store. Everyone’s encouraged to solve the mystery (you can start doing so online now), then physically venture to the store on Saturday, where they’ll be able to shop, enjoy game rooms, a photo booth, and an exhibit of Sam Raimi’s prop extensive prop collection. Campbell also promises that there will be “a special treat in store for folks,” regarding the S-Mart ARG.
Tickets are currently on sale at the BruceFest website, with two-for-one passes available while supplies last. Just place two individual tickets in your cart and use the promo code GROOVY at checkout to access the discount.
With Evil Dead Rise on the horizon, we can’t think of a better way to celebrate than BruceFest. Get your tickets today, and prepare to hail to the king, baby!
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