Hail To Bruce Campbell: 10 Movies With 'The Evil Dead' Star To Enjoy

Sam Raimi's The Evil Dead is the original cabin-in-the-woods horror movie where a group of friends finds a cursed book that is read from and unleashes all forms of horror. In many ways, the lower budget of this film is obvious, but it adds to the scares in big ways.

Campbell brings the role of Ash Williams to life as a kindhearted guy just trying to have a good time with his friends. He isn't trying to be the sole survivor, but it's impossible not to become connected to his fight and root for his victory.

Evil Dead II sees Ash's terror in the cabin continue as he now has to contend with the Deadites on his own and loses his hand, but also finds his courage in the process. This is a transformative film in the series that sees its lead go from victim to hero in the coolest way possible.

Campbell embodies all the best parts of a horror movie hero and becomes an icon who is easy to love because we can relate to his desire to just go home. With his chainsaw and boomstick, it became one of his most iconic roles and a movie everyone should check out once.

Maniac Cop is a wild film where a cop who was killed returns from the dead and starts causing chaos in the city. Caught in the middle is Campbell's character, a cop, trying to set things right and stop this undead force of nature.

Maniac Cop is a great way to see Campbell's acting chops, as we see him act more dramatically even if the film is still a horror movie. It's a subtle but effective sign of what he's capable of as an actor and the many other roles he would bring to life moving forward.

Intruder is a little-known slasher film in which the killer terrorizes the closing shift of a grocery store. The mystery is engaging, the kills are bloody, and more than that, the reveal is genuinely surprising and fun to see unfold. It's a film you'd think will be a bad time or a low-budget mess, but it has a lot of charm.

Campbell plays another officer, like in Maniac Cop, trying to get to the bottom of what's going on but not being as helpful as you'd hope in helping others survive. Being that this was a film supported by Sam Raimi and made by one of his friends, it's got all the best parts of an independent film and a fun time between friends.

The final entry in the Evil Dead trilogy, Army of Darkness, sees Ash thrown in time to the past during medieval times, trying to help a kingdom stop the Deadite forces. But, of course, Ash only cares so much and really only wants to get home, no matter the cost.

There's a massive genre shift with Army of Darkness into more action/comedy, but it works really well. We see new sides of Ash that we hadn't seen before, and it makes him more unique and more gruff in all the best ways. While it falters as a horror, it's a great Bruce Campbell movie. Perfect for fans of Big Trouble in Little China (1986).

Sam Raimi's Spider-Man is a tentpole superhero movie that brings the origins of the web-slinger and the Green Goblin to life on the big screen in the best way possible. It also features some classic Sam Raimi details and people only die hard fans would notice.

In this film, Campbell plays a wrestling announcer who gives Peter Parker his Spider-Man name after hating his original name of "the Human Spider." Campbell had a short scene in the film, but it changed the course of Peter's life forever and, more than that, managed to become as timeless as the titular hero.

Spider-Man 2 sees Spider-Man trying to balance his normal life with being a superhero and failing, while also contending with Doc Ock. But somehow, Campbell returns in a new role that only makes Peter's life harder. But this time as a completely different man in a totally new profession. 

Trying to enter a theater to see Mary Jane's play, he's stopped by an usher who won't let Peter in if the doors are closed, and the usher is none other than Campbell. It's a hilarious moment and even funnier in the extended cut, and it defines what kind of person Campbell is in these films.

The final film in Raimi's Spider-Man trilogy, Spider-Man 3, is the one with the most moving parts but still manages to show Peter struggle with loss and overcome anger in new ways. When it comes to Campbell, however, he manages to be helpful while Peter messes up his dinner with Mary Jane.

As a maître d, Campbell tries to set Peter up to properly propose to Mary Jane but never gets the chance to truly deliver. This was also going to lead into the next film, revealing Campbell was the same guy this whole time and was Mysterio, but it never turned out that way, unfortunately. Thankfully, we still got a great performance from a great actor.

One of the weirdest films that Campbell has ever appeared in, Bubba Ho-Tep, sees Campbell as a man who claims to be the real Elvis who just traded places with an impersonator to live a quiet life. He spends time with another man who claims to be the real John F. Kennedy, and they have to face off against a reincarnated mummy.

If you loved the absurdity of Mars Attacks! (1996), Bubba Ho-Tep is packed with hilarious and wild twists and turns that no one would ever see coming, but it's easy to stay seated for the ride since Campbell manages to sell it so well. While it may not be his most famous role to date, it's surely one of his most fun and hilarious, and that alone is worth a watch.

Doctor Strange in the Multiverse of Madness is Sam Raimi's return to Marvel superheroes, and he manages to get weird with this entry. While traveling the Multiverse, Doctor Strange encounters the Pizza Poppa, a vendor on the street who sells pizza balls and things Strange is a thief.

Strange puts a spell on him where the Pizza Poppa is forced to beat himself up. As the movie continues and we get to a post-credits scene, we see the Pizza Poppa spell break as he proclaims, in a meta sense, "It's over!" and the screen cuts to black.