Eli Craig had grand plans for his 2010 Alberta-shot Tucker and Dale Vs. Evil. Read More
Eli Craig had grand plans for his 2010 Alberta-shot Tucker and Dale Vs. Evil. It was the filmmaker’s first feature. After landing some small roles as an actor, he went through the prestigious film program at the University of Southern California and had one short film under his belt. He also grew up in a
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Eli Craig had grand plans for his 2010 Alberta-shot Tucker and Dale Vs. Evil.
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It was the filmmaker’s first feature. After landing some small roles as an actor, he went through the prestigious film program at the University of Southern California and had one short film under his belt. He also grew up in a showbiz family as the son of Oscar-winning actress Sally Field and her first husband, novelist Steven Craig. But he was intent on forging his path.
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Alongside his writing partner at the time, Morgan Jurgenson, he created a trope-upending horror-comedy about two kind-hearted hillbillies who have unfortunate run-ins with a group of college kids when renovating their cabin in the woods.
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Through monstrous bad luck, prejudice and misunderstanding, a more-or-less accidental blood bath ensues. Setting out to make a cult film is perhaps a bit of a precarious exercise. It’s hard to anticipate a cult. But Craig was certain early on that he was sitting on a winner.
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Things certainly started well. The film had a suitably boisterous screening as part of the Midnight Madness program at the 2010 Sundance Film Festival, which is well-known for helping create cult films. But it struggled after that, all but vanishing in a haze of industry indifference and shoddy distribution. In Calgary, where the production had been based, it didn’t screen until 2011.
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“I really felt like I was making the next Evil Dead 2 at the time,” says Craig, referencing Sam Raimi’s 1987 sequel that enjoyed cult-classic status after an army of fans rediscovered it on VHS. “It was like, ‘This is going to be a classic cult horror movie, guys!’ Then it played well at festivals and came out in a few theatres, and then it kind of just disappeared for a while. I thought, ‘Well, that’s totally depressing.’ I went through a little bit of depression thinking this was going to be a huge film, and it wasn’t, initially. It has taken me years to realize that it kind of went the route of Evil Dead, but without video stores. It went the route of Evil Dead through streaming. Now people find it all the time, and it is a cult-horror classic. It did become the film I always thought it would be, but it took 10 years. ”
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Tucker & Dale Vs. Evil is currently streaming on Netflix, which has only heightened its reputation. In 2024, it was even loosely remade in South Korea as Handsome Guys. There will be a 15th-anniversary screening on April 27 at the Globe Cinema as part of the Calgary Underground Film Festival, which will bring Craig back to the city where his feature-film career began.
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Filmed in the summer of 2009 with a largely local crew, the movie was almost shot in the Edmonton area. That was until veteran production designer John Blackie convinced Craig to check out some areas closer to Calgary. Tucker and Dale was filmed over 25 days using a bowling alley in Cochrane, a general store in Bottrell and a lake in Bowness Park. Much of the bloody escapades and the explosive finale were shot at Bow River Ranch west of Calgary, subbing in for the backwoods of the Appalachian Mountains.
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Yes, the film was shot in July. But, as is her habit when dealing with filmmakers, Mother Nature still managed to throw in some curveballs, including a few fierce hailstorms to keep cast and crew on their toes.