It’s that time of month. Halloween is just around the corner, and people are doing last minute runs for fake tombstones, multi-pack candy, and pumpkins. For those who don’t fancy staying at home handing out candy to children, there are certainly the scary attractions, such as PNE’s Fright Night or the Metrotown Haunted House. But if you’re looking to tone down the fear factor and add a bit more comedic spice to this chilly October air, Evil Dead: The Musical is right where you want to be.
Evil Dead: The Musical, presented by DSR Productions, returns to Vancouver this Halloween for some frightful delights. Inspired by Sam Raimi’s cult movie series of the same name, it plays out the story of five college students who spend what is, for most of them, their last, fateful night in a cabin in the woods. The entire world’s fate rests on the shoulders of Ash, a simple, apparently very horny, S-Mart Housewares employee. No pressure, man.
Evil Dead takes a lot of the common stereotypes that we see in horror movies, especially the bad ones, and makes fun of them very blatantly, effectively subverting these cliches. That’s part of what made the show such a riot for everyone — it addresses completely ridiculous tropes in horror movies that don’t often fool us anymore. The running joke lies in the characters’ simultaneous awareness and obliviousness of themselves and their situation. On top of an ambitious script, the show’s slapstick humour is spot on.
It is pretty obvious that this was not a Broadway show, and isn’t supposed to be. Some of the dialogue that was supposed to be funny fell flat, and certain scenes of acting and dancing were borderline sloppy. Nonetheless, it was clear that the actors and actresses had heart and were genuinely dedicated to putting on a great show. With songs like “What the F*CK was that?” and “All the men in my life keep getting killed by Cadarian Demons!” the show pretty much speaks for itself.
The show is fabulously unique in one aspect — its famed Splatter Zone. DSR Productions encourages people to come to their show decked out in full costume and live it up just as much as their dancing dead. For audience members who don’t mind getting wet and dirty, this is definitely for you. If you’ve ever wanted personalized attention from a bunch of zombies and their flying guts, snatch up those splatter zone tickets now — it’s only for the first row in the theatre. Don’t make the mistake of settling for general admission like I did; I had to watch enviously from the fourth row as people in the front were bombarded by zombies and soaked with zombie blood.
Evil Dead: The Musical is presented by DSR Productions October 22 to November 1 at the Norman Rothstein Theatre. For more information, visit evildeadmusicalvancouver.ca.
