Evil Ed
A film editor goes insane after editing gory horror scenes.
Wikipedia / Wikimedia Commons
Evil Ed is a 1995 Swedish horror comedy film directed, co-written, edited and shot by Anders Jacobsson. The film follows Edward Tor Swenson, a peaceful film editor who descends into insanity after being assigned to edit gory scenes for a splatter film series, leading to a murder spree. It premiered at the Stockholm International Film Festival and later gained a cult following through home video releases.
- Release Year
- 1995
- Country
- Sweden
- Director
- Anders Jacobsson
- Genre
- Horror comedy
- Original Title
- The Censor
- Premiere
- November 11, 1995 at Stockholm International Film Festival
- Runtime
- Not specified in source
Lore & Background
Evil Ed was originally titled The Censor and made over the course of three years. Initially intending to make a grander film, the lack of money involved led to it being developed as a low-budget horror film. The film was shot in four weeks on 16mm and finished shooting in late 1992. It was filmed in Länna-ateljéerna, Jakobsberg and the former Roslagstull Hospital in Sweden in 1995. Anders Jacobsson began editing while Göran Lundström began work in the United States on horror films like Necronomicon (1993), Lurking Fear (1994) and Shrunken Heads (1994). Lundström returned to Sweden when the filmmakers decided they wanted to add more material to their initial cut, adding the opening McClane scene and a new final act at a hospital. The film was completed in 1995.
Reader's Guide
Evil Ed is significant as a Swedish entry in the horror comedy genre, blending splatter film tropes with dark humor. Its production spanned three years due to budget constraints, and it was shot on 16mm film. The film premiered at the Stockholm International Film Festival in 1995 and received a theatrical release in 1997 in four Swedish theaters. It was released direct-to-video in the United States in 1996 in both R-rated and unrated versions, and later on DVD by Image Entertainment in 1998. The Arrow Video blu-ray release marked the first time the longer 'special Ed-ition' and deleted scenes were made available. Rumors of a sequel circulated, with an unofficial title 'Evil Ed 2: Ed Goes Bananas in the Bahamas,' but practical difficulties, including the film's lack of major commercial success and the death of the main character, prevented a follow-up. The film's legacy lies in its cult status among horror fans and its representation of low-budget Swedish genre filmmaking.
Did You Know?
- Evil Ed was originally titled The Censor.
- The film was shot in four weeks on 16mm and finished shooting in late 1992.
- An unofficial sequel title circulated: 'Evil Ed 2: Ed Goes Bananas in the Bahamas.'
- The Arrow Video blu-ray release included the longer 'special Ed-ition' and deleted scenes for the first time.
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