morristown tennessee – JOHNNY HAS THE KEYS

THE EVIL DEAD (1981) A group of friends ventures to a remote cabin in the woods, where they unwittingly unleash an ancient evil from the Book of the Dead. As demonic forces possess them one by one, survivor Ash Williams (Bruce Campbell) must battle relentless horrors in a night of unimaginable terror. Sam Raimi’s The Evil Dead (1981) is a low-budget, high-energy cult classic, blending gruesome gore, inventive camerawork, and dark humor to create a genre-defining horror experience.

Prepare to venture deep into the woods as we unlock the horrors of The Evil Dead (1981). Join us as we discuss the film’s relentless energy, groundbreaking practical effects, and the birth of an iconic horror hero. Listen, as Johnny Has the Keys steps into the eerie cabin, dusts off the Necronomicon, and dares to press play on the infamous tape—unleashing dark secrets, chilling revelations, and maybe even a few of our own.

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I met David Horton in 1978. We were teenagers, both cast in a community production of Carousel by the Morristown Theatre Guild in Tennessee. He was playing the villain, Jigger, and I was a dancer/chorus member. He was a little older than me and we didn’t become close friends until four years later…

Within one of these four years David found himself thrust into behind-the-scenes production on Sam Raimi’s The Evil Dead. The movie was filmed near my parent’s house in Morristown, on a mutual friend’s property. Of this affiliation, I will be eternally jealous.

In 1982 we were cast in Agatha Christie’s Ten Little Indians and what began a streak of several mutual productions over the next nine years (including One Flew Over the Cuckoo’s Nest, Greater Tuna, Macbeth, and Little Shop of Horrors), many of which he was director. You can find these some of these here.

In that span, we easily consumed hundreds of movies, most of which were horror and science fiction. The final 2 years we shared a house and our movie intake likely tripled. People would come and go (talking of Michelangelo?) but we were the constant, always selecting the evening’s viewing entertainment from a vast collection of our own videotapes or rented oddities.

Other than writing and performing onstage, we worked with a local television station, skirted the fringes of movie production, staged charity events for the oldest community theatre in the state, drank tremendous amounts of alcohol, and still found time in the wee hours to watch tons of movies.

And though our opinions are not always bilateral, our obsession with the genres has been constant.

In 1989 I moved back to my home state of Georgia. David and I have probably not seen each other in person more than 5 times in the last thirty years. David since has married, has several children and grandchildren, and still works in the entertainment field. I came out of the closet, married, have several four-legged furry children, and work in retail management.

Through the magic of the internet and social media, we have found each other again. And, rather than keep our humble opinions to ourselves, we—much like the kids we once were—have decided to put a show on for you! We hope you enjoy our company as much as we enjoy each other’s.

–Tim

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