Bruce Campbell shares groovy behind-the-scenes tales of iconic The Evil Dead poster (2025)

The horror genre tends to have some of the most iconic movie posters ever: The Exorcist, Halloween, Alien, the list goes on. And certainly one in the discussion is The Evil Dead, which sees Cheryl (Ellen Sandweiss) being pulled into the ground by an undead hand. So what’s the backstory on this incredible art? Bruce Campbell has the entire history.

As you know, we here at JoBlo.com love movie artwork, so when Campbell took to social media to address a photo shoot from The Evil Dead that someone posted, we were ecstatic to get more information on how it came about and how it turned into the famous poster. As Campbell wrote, “This pix was taken in a chilly Ferndale, Michigan warehouse studio, early 80s, by old pal Mike Ditz because we had no publicity shots for our first flick, Evil Dead. It’s the basis for the poster, with my hand clutching model Bridget Hoffman’s neck. The poster image was then altered to remove the cross, give her some “cleavage,” drop a shoulder strap (to make it sexier?) and turn my arm into a deadite. Ahhh, movies.”

Maybe the most die-hard Evil Dead fans knew that was Bruce Campbell’s hand but it’s pretty much a revelation for a lot of us. That he not only played hero Ash but also had a literal hand in some of the promotional material is pretty damn cool!

The Evil Dead of course spawned maybe the greatest horror trilogy ever, with sequels in 1987 and 1993. Twenty years after that, the inevitable reboots came, with Fede Álvarez directing 2013’s Evil Dead and Lee Cronin taking over 2023’s Evil Dead Rise. As it stands, Bruce Campbell claims that two more movies are in the pipeline. While Campbell won’t be directly involved with those, he did say he has committed to an Evil Dead animated series, although that’s not expected to be released anytime too soon.

What do you think the legacy is for the poster for The Evil Dead? Does it belong in the top tier of horror art? Share some of your favorite picks with us below!