The Disaster That Almost Ruined Sam Raimi, Bruce Campbell, and The Coen Brothers

In 1981, Sam Raimi made one of the most iconic independent horror films of all time, The Evil Dead. Today we explore what he, Bruce Campbell, and The Coen Brothers did immediately after that newfound success. Thank you for watching.
Twitter: @praise_shadows
Email: [e-mail]
Patreon: / praiseofshadows

[@InPraiseofShadows]

Hey everybody, thanks for watching and I hope you liked it. I wanted to say thank you so much for helping to get the channel to three hundred thousand subscribers this week, that means more to me than I could really express so really thank you for that. Also, now that we have crossed that, I'll be making that Q&A video that I had mentioned before. So under this comment is your last chance before then to ask me any questions for that. Thanks again, and I hope you have a great weekend.

[@mylesjude233]

Do you have a favorite horror subgenre you particularly enjoy reading/watching content of ( creature horror, body horror, Psychological horror. Etc.)

[@Udgrasil13]

Are you interested to make a video about Mike Mignolia? In my opinion he is one of the most unique artist in horror, with his combination of religion/mythology, gothic horror, body horror, lovecraftian horror and in the center characters with heart and soul.

[@thejinchuriki4855]

what in the world is the song during the end crits. p.s. I love your vids I find them extremely insightful on how people make art I guess you could say

[@thejinchuriki4855]

Ya know it helps to check the end crits when you're looking for something lol great vid my man

[@arthur4350]

Sam Raimi later co-wrote the screenplay of Spider-Man 3 (with his brother). So it's not the case that Crime Wave is the only time he wrote a screenplay.

[@reconepau]

Reed Birney here, I played Vic Ajax in CRIMEWAVE. This is a very impressive essay, I thoroughly enjoyed what you've put together and it's pretty right on. One story that nobody ever talks about or even knows about CRIMEWAVE is that I was not the first person cast when Embassy wouldn't approve Bruce. Another actor had been cast and was overjoyed to be. About a week before shooting was to begin, he went over to the casting director's house with a bottle of champagne to celebrate. When he got there, he walked into the middle of a huge fight between the casting director and her boyfriend. When the actor tried to deescalate the situation, the boyfriend punched him and broke his cheekbone. When I got the call from Barbara Claman called me that night, they were in full blown panic because they had lost their leading man. I was flown to Detroit the next day and cast on the spot, not because I was so awesome, but because they were over a barrel. Another fun fact is that I had just been cast in a play in New York that I was really excited to do starring opposite Holly Hunter and I'd grown a beard. So my audition for Sam was with a full beard. The day I flew out to Detroit I was supposed to help with auditions to complete the play's casting, so I had to call the play's director from Detroit to say not only was I not going to be able to come in and help with auditions, I wasn't going to be able to be in the play. Which was starting rehearsals that week. So there was a huge ripple effect from Detroit to New York. As I am quoted in the video essay, I loved every second of filming CRIMEWAVE, I was crazy about Sam and Bruce and Rob Tappert. I completely understand why the fellows turned on the movie, but I thought it was going to be the beginning of some great friendships. Didn't work out that way and I've had to deal with 40 years of trolls mad at me for taking Bruce's part. Oh well. I'm still proud to have been a part of CRIMEWAVE, for sure.

[@L3onOfKings]

I just watched Crimewave for the first time, I enjoyed it a great deal, I appreciated the style of the film. Also, if it means anything at all, coming from a random guy on KZbin, I liked your performance in it, you really 'sell it'. Once the movie ended I went straight to KZbin to see if anyone had made any reviews or reactions to it as I found it to be a fascinating film. After watching this video essay and understanding the nightmare that it was to get made, I'm glad that you are proud of it. It's nowhere near as bad as what this video makes it out to be. It was a creatively fun ride with cartoonish over-the-top characters. Definitely not a forgettable film - in a positive way.

[@MadmanHelldiver]

I wonder what happened to the champagne...

[@aridruke6831]

You're right to be proud, it's a very fun movie and you're good in it.

[@DameDarcy999]

Thats so cool Reed! Your perspective is amazing! ❤️

[@paulnolan4971]

I loved your movie as a kid. It's a thrill ride. All the best Reed

[@Nono-hk3is]

It's a good thing Bruce Campbell has such photogenic hands.

[@themedia1271]

I've never noticed how nice people hands can look until this video

[@katevgrady]

I actually thought that too lol.

[@fappingfoopa]

Top Reddit comment right here

[@Grinnar]

I've been told I have nice nail beds. It was weird to think about at the time.

[@chiefs2pretty4radio]

@@Grinnar it can be surprising what people find attractive about us, often times it's things that we never considered ourselves

[@ThePsycoDolphin]

My god. Someone needs to make a disaster artist style film just about the making of THIS film. A woman dressed like a clown, a coke addict, Bruce Campbell going slowly insane, a director completey in and over his head, people getting bb pellets shot in their eyes, other people standing on cars and falling off casually, ripped off locations, a fog horn that won't shut up, a manager being arrested holdong a gun, near freezing conditions even indoors, blowing up a frozen lake with dynamite. Just total madness! XD

[@jeffnicholas6342]

I didn’t realize this movie was such a disaster! Hollywood is so stupid

[@SlothinAintEasy]

It’s nice to see a snapshot of these cinema giants before they were giants. Humanizes them and makes me want to get creative as well

[@chuckielover06]

Check out Bruce Campbells first book. He goes deep into how those Shemps started their careers and it makes me want to just make ANYTHING everytime i think about it.

[@brianmurphy250]

Check out the YT documentary on Galaxy of Terror …low budget trashy sci fi horror directed by Roger Cormsn which helped James Cameron among others

[@kgpspyguy]

Let’s all agree to never be creative again…

[@Dong_Harvey]

The dead eyes of Kyle McLachlan holding canned coffee is just the cherry on top of this beautiful layer cake of an exposé, thank you

[@AcolytesOfHorror]

Love how you dismantle the romantic notion to always trust the inherent specialness of every artist's vision. I remember feeling so intensely that I was some undiscovered wunderkind when I was 22, and now I'm so grateful that most of the stuff I made back then never saw the light of day. I have this horrible sketch channel I made from around that time on here that everyone involved forgot the passwords to, and I live in mortal terror that one day the world will find it lol It's great to trust yourself, but there's always more to learn.

[@PolarBear-rc4ks]

I hope you didn't totally leave that path tho, even if you think you made awful stuff before, you've probably improved by now and I hope you're doing well.

[@oliverholmes-gunning5372]

I think like many things, it's about finding a balance. It's very popular to dismiss auteur theory these days, but honestly many great directors DO have a unique vision that only they can accomplish (I'm talking Welles, Hitchcock, Fellini, Scorsese, Tarantino, Woody Allen, etc). Sure, they all have their music/editing/DP collaborators that are most adept at translating that vision into a movie, but at the end of the day the vision itself starts and ends with the director. At the same time, it's easy to forget that all these legends had their learning curve as well, and that a lot of what they made while they were learning the ropes (Welles aside, perhaps- I mean, the dude's directorial debut was literally Citizen fucking Kane) was very sketchy, and didn't immediately translate into genius. QT is a great example. If you've seen the Sundance Film Lab version of Reservoir Dogs, it's honestly pretty poor. It wasn't until Terry Gilliam took him under his wing and helped him iron out a lot of the creases that he was able to burst onto the screen as the hottest young director of the nineties. So yeah, my point with all this rambling is that while it's foolish to completely dismiss auteur theory, it's equally foolish to venerate the great directors as infallible gods who can do no wrong; they fail as much as the rest of us at times...

[@guyvizard549]

I wrote a stage play when I was 19, and I was so sure that it was gritty, heavy, serious, heartbreaking, and would make the entire audience have an amazing emotional response. It was about a very serious subject. I'm now 37, and re-reading that play I realize it's melodramatic, a bit sexist, insensitive, and I think a lot of it came from a place of sexual frustration. I'm glad it only had one performance. But, the more art you make, the more you realize it sucks, so you make it better.

[@al112v4]

Cough cough George Lucas.

[@ericjourdain892]

Hey Nathan, nice to come across you here! Now you made me VERY intrigued 🤪😘

[@jeremygreen2883]

I'm a huge Evil Dead fan, and I have never heard of this film. No matter how awful it actually is, from what I'm seeing the cinematography still looks great! Definitely stands out as a Raimi film.

[@bluemooninthedaylight8073]

If you like dumb Three Stooges style humor, you'll like it. Think Evil Dead 2 but as a noir instead of horror.

[@Aster_Risk]

@@bluemooninthedaylight8073 That sounds alright, actually. Unfortunately, this studio was wanting to remain prestigious and the process was so miserable that it was hard to appreciate the movie at the time. I'm going to find and watch it.

[@altonkatz2041]

Crime wave is a fantastic midnight movies. It’s one of my favorites to turn on if your drinking with friends

[@Skeloric]

The film is a fun fun fun experience. Wacky and bizarre.

[@jaredpreston3815]

I bought the VHS at a flea market in the early 90's because it had the Coen brothers name on it. Didn't realize Raimi directed it until I saw the opening credits and thought "that explains Bruce Campbell." It's really dumb, but seems to be so as an artistic choice. I love the 3 stooges directed by Hitchcock reference in this video because it's pretty spot on. When I saw it I thought it was like a Loony Tunes cartoon made without animation. I like it, but you have to go in with those expectations. Goodfellas it is not. Disclaimer I am one of the few that likes Hudsucker Proxy as well. That seems to have a similar Loony Tunes inspiration, but not as over the top. I think it's really clever/funny.

[@dracorex426]

I'm not saying it's Embassy's fault, but they fired a key member of the crew and sent a replacement who was arrested immediately. That sounds like a bad sign for their competence.

[@ravensthatflywiththenightm7319]

It's always a bad sign when the studio heads are sticking their hands where they don't belong. They should leave it to the CREATIVE team.

[@Splattermelt]

@@ravensthatflywiththenightm7319 It sounds like they did originally, but the majority of people on this set hadn't been part(at least a huge element) of a major movie before. There was a lot of nievity and ignorance to go around. The previous production manager (aside from Sam) allowed all these dangerous stunts to go through. As Bruce said, it's honestly a surprise no one got killed or seriously injured under their watch.

[@ravensthatflywiththenightm7319]

@@Splattermelt I guess it goes to show that professional competence goes a long way in ensuring nobody gets seriously injured or killed. Since now that you mention it, every movie that springs to mind about "stunts going horribly wrong", it's always something to do with idiots in charge.

[@Dong_Harvey]

Yeah the whole 'adult in the room gets arrested long before anybody else who may have almost blown up Detroit' aspect of the production is definitely unique.. I have a feeling that Embassy was on the ropes already and Crimewave was just a symptom of a larger illness.. But then again, hierarchical artist production systems are always a good idea right?

[@DoctorSess]

@@Dong_Harvey I’d say they’re more of a necessary evil…

[@CinemaKnight]

I didn't even know Reed Birney was in this! He and his wife are friends with my parents (both actors) from before I was born, and apparently he has like a specialization in PhotoShop, cause we get Christmas cards from him where him, his wife and their two kids are PhotoShopped into scenes from movies and stuff. I think the one I remember the most was all of them standing next to Audrey Hepburn in the opening scene of Breakfast at Tiffany's, all of them in sunglasses.

[@firesaint4569]

That’s really cool

[@Sam-lm8gi]

It's a shame Sam Raimi has never made another film in this vein. He's such a natural in that screwball, Golden Age Hollywood, Three Stooges kinda world. Now that he's got more experience and power in the industry, he could really make a cockamamie film like this work. And how.

[@toomanyaccounts]

he would have to listen to special effects and safety people. he is lucky the stunt to shoot bbs didn't blind that actor.

[@Sam-lm8gi]

@@toomanyaccounts Yes, I think Sam Raimi has come a long way, safety-wise, from the Evil Dead days of making Bruce Campbell run a real chainsaw over an actress's chest, and shooting BBs at an actor's eyes on the set of Crimewave.

[@Laneous14]

It wouldn't be financially viable, though. I agree and would love for him to make something like that. But, at least we have Edgar Wright and Scott Pilgrim.

[@TheBloodswordsman]

There's just something so amazing about that last and final line "You go make Evil Dead 2". I don't know what it is, but it just ends the whole video so conclusively and ties everything together. Just an amazing job on this one.

[@GoodVolition]

Ah yes just tossing this dynamite near the bridge to break up the ice. Pay me no mind.

[@juliatalley1789]

I’ve been really fascinated with the careers of Campbell and Raimi lately, so imagine my joy when you posted this! Great video

[@andrwarrior]

This video really puts into perspective how many micro and macro decisions it really takes to put a movie onto a silver screen. And how its failure can ultimately funnel onto the director and the studios, despite being a conglomeration of literally dozens of small incremental faults in the process. There's no doubt that it takes more than one single meeting to 'doom' a movie like this to be a failure, but I still love to hear about the minutiae of bad decisions like you found in this video. Those stunt scenes and the dangerous sets don't surprise me in the least coming from Evil Dead's shoestring budget, but it conflates Raimi's inexperience with the whole process of doing things categorically safely

[@THATGuy5654]

Holy crap, I was twelve and a half minutes into this before I realized I had in fact seen this film. The clip with the dancing, followed by the dishwashing. I saw this literally decades ago, and that's all I retained. Man, that's a weird feeling.

[@tmrezzek5728]

I f*king love this movie! Despite all that happened, Raimi's vision and style still came through--it's wild and funny and it gave my friends and I a social catchphrase for a spell: Campbell's "Keep talking, baby! Maybe you'll tell me something I don't know! POW!"

[@jeffburnett2392]

Crimewave is awesome!!!

[@kevinferministudio]

Man, this was wonderful. As a huge Raimi fan, Crimewave was always a blind spot in my knowledge of him. Had no idea how pivotal it must have been for everyone involved, really.

[@DetectiveOlivaw]

I’d heard about Crimewave but didn’t know the behind the scenes drama much. It sounds like everybody was some kind of screwup, but the total lack of any production experience, dodging unions and especially safety concerns, really makes Raimi and his crew of school friends look dangerously incompetent. We can look back at this and say that failure helps teach us things because there weren’t significant consequences, but if someone died during this thing? Raimi wasn’t going to have a career after this like John Landis did. He didn’t have that clout. And anyone else along for the ride would have gone down with him. That’d make for a pretty different cinematic landscape today I think!

[@Litera_Trotter]

That's something i always think whenever a story like this comes about people who are huge figures in their respective fields.

[@snorpenbass4196]

Thing is, the real screw-up was Embassy not knowing enough to put a competent producer on the movie. Someone who was able to tell Raimi and gang *how* to do things. Like...they were probably so used to film school brats that they didn't stop to think that the happy amateurs from Detroit might not have the slightest clue how actual film production *worked.* But yeah, everyone has a hand in how the movie ended up. But saying it was all Raimi and crew is to ignore the fact that Embassy was in financial dire straits and were so focused on that, that they didn't manage to keep an eye on a movie production like any other movie company would have.

[@ryanjacobson2508]

Evil dead was also a very tough and at times dangerous shoot.

[@cthulhupthagn5771]

@@snorpenbass4196 agreed. I think the video puts it in perspective pretty well. This was a twenty-two-year-old who had one real experience making films. An independent film that he did with a few of his friends, guerilla Style. He had never worked for a studio or a directing company, he had no experience in the industry. While there is some validity to him doing some dangerous stuff, at that age everybody thinks they're Immortal and I'm sure part of it was you know, if it was that big a problem then people would have said no or refused to do some of the stunts.

[@Splattermelt]

​@@snorpenbass4196 Had someone died, the buck stops with Raimi. No two-ways about it. For example (and to get dark), you don't charge the studio head for manslaughter when it's director Randall Miller telling you to get on the train tracks. Yes, Embassy should have held a tighter grip on production considering his age and experience, however that's what the Producer and Production Manager are for. Producer Rob Tapert was a 'Sam-Man' and enabling his direction, then when Embassy found out what was going on they fired the Production Manager, wisely (they couldn't know the next one would be arrested for a gun in an airport!), and then finally held a tighter grip on the rest of production. Also the thing is - Crimewave likely wouldn't have been successful in a commercial sense any way you slice it; CW was always all over the place, and that over-the-top slapstick comedy was niche to a small group during that time. Look no further than the Raimi produced 'Lunatics: A Love Story' (directed by Josh Becker) - nearly the same fragmental tone and exactly the same-type of comedy. Of course it has solid moments, but doesn't fully work as a cohesive whole. Now, I love Sam and his movies to pieces, but his ignorance about the whole affair was still showing by the time that interview (Evil Dead 2) was made. At that point he's still blaming Embassy for 'stifling' the production, but doesn't understand how EXTREMELY lucky he was for not killing Paul L. Smith, or anyone else on that production. His career would absolutely be over. I believe his maturity came with age and grew as a director around the time of working on the larger-budgeted Darkman, along with the experience of that and the earlier crafted Evil Dead 2. Additionally, Embassy WAS NOT in dire straights, as I've seen that stated in a few comments here. They were actually majorly successful, especially during this period. Norman Lear and Jerry Perenchio bought the studio for $25 Million in January 1982 and then solid it to the Coca-Cola company in June 1985 for $485 million! Previously they had genre hits with Escape From New York, The Howling, Phantasm, Time Bandits, Scanners, and others. They also had a TV branch and were also majorly successful in the Home Video business. Around this period they had hits with Rob Reiner's This is Spinal Tap and The Sure Thing. Also Swamp Thing, Vice Squad, Zapped!, and of course Fanny and Alexander. After CC bought Embassy it was sold to Dino De Laurentiis a short time later and that's when it faltered.

[@31webseries]

This is so wild because the last 2-3 generations have had everything from DVD extras, to how to's and how not to's all over youtube especially and then at the same time digital cameras and indie film really took off and filmmaking just seeped into the culture. To have no idea how to make a real movie after you just made a smash hit with your college friends and being tossed a few mil and told to go for it is both amazing and f-ing terrifying.

[@JustAwesomeT]

Even those modern resources wouldn't entirely prepare a director for their first multi-million dollar studio film.

[@integratedfiction1434]

Going Back really has a light hearted Texas Chainsaw Massacre look :0

[@midnightmosesuk]

It's been a while since I've seen Crimewave, but I really like this film. I guess it just appeals to my style of humour. I was certainly unaware of the behind the scenes drama involved and I can understand how people can see it as a failure, but it tries to do some very brave and original stuff. It deserves a better rep than it has.

[@biscutbuu69]

I actually just last week finally saw Crimewave after it had been sitting on my watchlist for a decade and I enjoyed it so much that about half way through watching it I went and bought the bluray online, I've only done that with one other movie.

[@Aster_Risk]

That's the kind of comment that really let's me know I should check this out.

[@viralchallengeselfie7200]

Which other movie?

[@biscutbuu69]

@@viralchallengeselfie7200 I believe it was an Andy Milligan movie, Monstrosity, I think

[@mrflipperinvader7922]

I wish Raimi and the Coens would team up for something again

[@Belgand]

They did: The Hudsucker Proxy. Bruce Campbell had a small role in it as well. It didn't do very well but I've always had a soft spot for it.

[@mrflipperinvader7922]

@@Belgand yeah but AFTER that obviously lol

[@chillcreep4926]

I'm pleased to hear the film has a cult following. It's weird, unintentionally terrifying in several spots, and now with this background knowledge about how recklessly the film was made overall, even scarier. It is unmistakably a Raimi film, despite studio interference.

[@neildorsett3225]

Yeah it's really pretty stout. Not what it was meant to be, but pretty fun!

[@SmoothCriminal12]

Another what if to consider is that Raimi and the Coen Brothers were both approached by Warren Beaty to direct the Dick Tracy adaptation. I wonder how thay could've turned out had either accepted.

[@sclogse1]

The Cohen's would have added scenes.

[@cthulhupthagn5771]

probably a lot more accurate to the comic

[@Clay3613]

Would've been amazing.

[@geraldfriend256]

Better.

[@nickasaro8789]

A Raimi Dick Tracy movie would have been off the chain.

[@googleoogle]

im a longtime lover of all your essays. i rewatch your anatomy of a franchise videos every month because it's some of the best writing i've ever heard. ive never been this early so i had to comment! every new video of yours is unique and exciting so thank you for making this fourth wave or whatever a hell of a lot more fun. love from Canada 🇨🇦

[@chrisviklund]

My God. I remember watching this as a kid and I loved Crimewave. Been looking for this to rewatch. It was such an odd movie and I had no idea Raimi or Cohen bros was involved.

[@gggooding]

20 years ago I got a VHS (with Japanese subtitles) of Crimewave, 'cause of the Coens, and Raimi, and Campbell. "The hell is this mess?" I thought at the time. Question finally answered. Cheers.

[@Trademarc1977]

Great vid! To me, Crimewave is Raimi's second best in terms of visual storytelling. Too bad that following a 'serious' project with a wacky comedy often goes wrong for talented directors (either critically or commercially or both). Raimi already knew this from his super8 days with the short It's Murder. Other examples: Lynch's On the Air, Hitchock's Family Plot, Polanski's Cul-de-Sac and Pirates, Spielberg's 1941, Scorsese's King of Comedy.

[@ferdinandcountfathom9298]

This was great, but the picture of him with the bag of chips wasn't his only headshot. He discusses it in if Chin's could kill, his autobiography: the photo was one of several that his agent arranged for him to take, each photo being in a genre archetype style. The chip-eating dork was meant to be a comedic stereotype, but there was also a stereotypical good-looking leading man soap opera type, and several others. Just so you know.

[@Aster_Risk]

Thanks for posting that correction. I was curious if that really was his only headshot.

[@calessel3139]

Cambell's 'If Chins Could Kill' is a great behind the scenes book.

[@nerdfatha]

Man, what Campbell said about this movie in If Chins Could Kill: Confessions of a B-Movie Actor didn't even scratch the surface! Fantastic video!

[@johnsilverman656]

I love your essays, and have watched many of them more than once... I love how in depth you look at movies I’m not that familiar with. Because of your Witches documentary, I watched a bunch of movies and I assume you’ll inspire me to watch a lot more things. So thank you, always a terrific night when I see you’ve uploaded and this video is every bit as good as the others... better because I’m such a Campbell and Raimi fan, and wasn’t even aware of this

[@sharky255]

This was perfect timing I just watched evil dead 1&2

[@Jose-st3fq]

Yesssssss finally the video I’ve been waiting for since I discovered your channel !

[@HB23000]

This is abosolutely one of my favorite videos of yours! Excellent!!!!

[@clarkkent4734]

For all of the miserable difficulties they had making it, I've always LOVED Crimewave. It's such a unique and crazy movie.

[@stoicvampirepig6063]

Very good video, I saw this as a kid in the nineties and I wondered why the whole thing despite being nice to look at and quite funny was seemingly marinated in misery, now I know.

[@jaysonthelucero5478]

Fantastic video, Sir. Thank you for all the work you put into this.

[@JHjh88]

So excited to see another upload! 👍 From Australia

[@Vonriga]

Such a good video. Thank you for making and sharing.

[@Udgrasil13]

I am really happy for your 300K subs. You deserve it. This is a fantastic channel.

[@corpuschristine83]

I really can't express how much genuine pleasure your content provides. The heart and hard work you put into it...it amazes me. Thank you so very much for that. Also, absolutely looking forward to the Q&A video and getting some insight into you as a person and content creator!

[@Madkalibyr]

I love your content! Thank you for creating ❤️

[@ohigetjokes]

I didn't know anything about Crimewave and I'm really glad I do now. Thanks for this, I really enjoyed it! (Also you're killing it in the writing department, really well put together!)

[@snoo333]

love the video. enjoyed every minute of it. thank you

[@Farons8]

Each of your videos fascinates me endlessly. The amount of research you must do is unimaginable to a normal viewer like me. Great work as always, man.

[@remydufresne6576]

Really amazing informative video you did there, thanks :)

[@-xirx-]

Great episode, very interesting. Thank you

[@unstopitable]

Superb work, as always.

[@arnoldstrickland2814]

Great channel,well done!

[@NickBartolo]

Every video of yours is better than the last. Well done.

[@JackMyersPhotography]

Yet again, fantastic and thoroughly enjoyable. Your take on film and other media is always something I really look forward to.

[@Vonboon11dy]

Your videos are a true gift thank you

[@BigZ7337]

This was a great video, thanks.

[@TranscendentaLobo27]

This has made my Friday so much better.

[@sclogse1]

You made a great piece with this.

[@Bonzulac]

"The daily grind of making Crimeway divulged into chaos." That word you're using....

[@professorhazard]

You ever wonder if KZbin creators misuse words on purpose to get people to comment on them down below, in order to boost their post engagement numbers?

[@geraldfriend256]

@@professorhazard absolutely correct.They use these cromulent words for clicks.

[@ericjourdain892]

It's "devolved", right?

[@nicolasbaker9601]

Dude you put so much into your docs. I subscribe to about ten channels,and you got me. Thank you

[@Richy22222]

Your videos are so incredible. I usually go back and watch your old videos in between when you drop new ones. Please keep up the good work!

[@InPraiseofShadows]

Thanks!

[@jaymanla]

This is the first video of yours I’ve seen, and I really enjoyed it. You’re a talented storyteller, and you have a great voice for narration. Thanks for making this for us all to enjoy.

[@mrzero27]

Fantastic job on this.

[@Starcheopteryx]

I don't comment on nearly as many videos as I watch- because I don't usually have anything meaningful to say or contribute to a conversation. But I'm very happy you got to 300k+, and I see you becoming one of the cornerstones of YT horror in time. I always feel safe watching your videos, which is very rare for me to feel about content creators these days. Without fail I learn at least 5 new things with each video I watch, and the pacing of your speech and editing keeps my adhd brain focused. Looking forward to your next video!

[@grapeshot]

Yes with a lots of money comes a lot of responsibility that frankly many people young and old just don't have.

[@pimscrypt]

I think I've only heard of Crimewave once before. Had no idea that things were THIS bad during production. Thank you for summarizing it all in such a neat way!

[@peeweesermon2231]

Thanks for the video

[@vonVile]

I loved this movie as a teen. Watched it everytime it was on HBO.

[@09nob]

Good video comprehensive, interesting and tight without any unnecessary hyperbole.

[@goosesaladman8546]

I saw "Going Back" last year on Amazon prime. I would categorize it as a film about nostalgia, and how some great memories are just that memories. The great times you have with your friends are hard to replicate as the years go by. A touching simple film.

[@euansmith3699]

That was a great essay; I want to go and watch Crimewave now. If nothing else, it looks like Bud Spencer had a great time; aside from getting squished by the flats.

[@LucasDarkGiygas]

Thanks for the video.

[@trevorganoe748]

Fantastic video, man! This movie should be talked about way more.

[@richardcooley6061]

I always wondered what happened to Brian James, and now I know. A coke habit, and this movie.

[@PASTRAMIKick]

It's crazy to think that this movie partially killed Embassy Pictures, which was then bought by Dino de Laurentiis and later on Dino became the producer of The Evil Dead 2 at the recommendation of Stephen King, it all comes around.

[@paulobis4875]

Fascinating video on an unbelievable story of movie making gone awry. Love your work.

[@paulpalmer1690]

Your research skills are tremendous. As a private investigator i really admire your thoroughness and attention to detail.

[@tomgainsbourg6779]

Thank you, outstanding video

[@ArtsyHumanbean]

“They’re always Bruce Campbell’s hands” is so ominous and fun without context

[@RootDRThorne]

You are my favorite channel without doubt.

[@alexredell5046]

God I love the Evil dead trilogy, easily my fav trilogy of all time because of its unusual blends of horror and comedy.

[@peepnox7747]

Another awesome video

[@thewayofjay1577]

These videos are always enjoyable

[@nickmoldana9154]

Great video - had Crimewave on my watchlist for years, now I really need to check it out (with low expectations). Also, how cool that Kevin Kopacka is a patron of your channel! Love his films - makes sense that he would enjoy your channel.

[@joelegue182]

This was a chapter in Bruce Campbell's first book. I had not seen the movie at the time, but reading Bruce's recollections of it made me at least curious. Congratulations on the 300K subscribers, as they are truly deserved for your great work!

[@FadeIn2Obscurity]

I had no idea this even existed until this video. Thanks for the knowledge as usual.

[@glorygloryholeallelujah]

It’s amazing to see videos like this, that highlight and showcase the *butterfly effect* that a few seemingly unimportant choices and creative projects can create. ❤️

[@ccameron894]

The Coens and Raimi wrote the script for Hudsucker Proxy. Bruce Campbell has a part as a reporter, as well as one of the product naming silhouettes behind the glass door with Raimi. At least crimewave didn't stop them from wanting to work together again.

[@ArtsyHumanbean]

Such a great video dude, so well edited. It’s hard to figure out where the quotes should go in the script, where you should put which clips to keep it interesting and not reusing them, etc. Amazing work ❤️ P.s. also the ending song is so cool

[@ohdannyboy4727]

great video

[@RockLibertyWarrior]

I love "Crime Wave", back then it was shit on and now it is a cult classic. The dark humor is a hybrid of the Coen Brothers and Sam Raimi's.

[@alexandrebrunet1995]

Amazing video. An easy question is what is your background & education? Your videos are so well thought out & put together & your intellectual respect for the genre is evident. Also, what sparked your love for the bizarre?

[@mukbangreviews2146]

Fascinating. Thank you.

[@RabidFlaminChipmunks]

Good video, despite everything i really want to watch Crimewave now.

[@altonkatz2041]

Shooting two BB guns at a mans eyes is the most clever and crazy low budget effect I’ve ever heard of. Some real youthful vigor

[@toomanyaccounts]

most also likely to blind and possibly kill an actor and lead to criminal charges and lawsuits.

[@theblurredcrusade.2557]

I fucking love Crimewave its a classic film 🎥 😘 the first time I saw it with a few friends, we would then quote lines from the film to each other the same as Withnail and I, it's definitely a Cult film, I'd love to see it again 🤗💞😘

[@CatJabZ]

Great video! Along those lines I recommend Bruce's "If Chins Could Kill" book.

[@brvndxxxn]

Great video

[@Pataganja]

This is your most interesting video in awhile man awesome vid. You planning to go to one of the evil dead anniversary cinema showings next month?

[@Loner-Wolf]

Brilliant video on a film I never knew existed. I these kinds of stories about what takes place behind making films.

[@thedanielstraight]

I learned so much on this, thank you Zane. I'm actually really interested in seeing what Raimi does with the Doctor Strange sequel. Edit: this video also has one of the best thumbnails I've ever seen. You always have great ones.