The Evil Dead
By 1983, long-time friends Campbell and Raimi had collaborated on several projects together. The duo had just completed the production of "Within the Woods" and "The Evil Dead", the latter of which was a box-office and critical hit. Following his involvement in "The Evil Dead", Campbell had difficulty establishing a career as an actor. He appeared on the soap opera "Generations", and in several local Detroit commercial ads. Meanwhile, Raimi had been collaborating with Ethan and Joel Coen on a screenplay. Joel Coen had been one of the editors on "The Evil Dead", which led to him befriending Raimi. Joel Coen's experience editing "The Evil Dead" inspired him to complete his own film, "Blood Simple", which was released to critical acclaim. The script would later develop into "Relentless", a narrative about "two crazed killers."