# Evil Dead Pinball Machine Review | First Impressions & Gameplay at Pinfest 2025

**Source:** Gonzo's Pinball Flipperama  
**Type:** video  
**Published:** 2025-08-30  
**Duration:** 11m 42s  
**Beat:** Pinball

**URL:** https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=OxdC5bhGixU

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## Analysis

Neil presents an Evil Dead pinball machine at Pinfest 2025, describing it as Spooky Pinball's best game to date with exceptional reliability, Christopher Franchi artwork, Bruce Campbell voice work, and innovative mechanical toys. The game has been heavily played (400+ plays) throughout the weekend without downtime, features a widebody design packed with playfield toys, and is positioned as a standout title that demonstrates Spooky's manufacturing and design quality improvements.

### Key Claims

- [HIGH] Evil Dead production run is approximately 800 units, all sold out — _Neil states directly: 'they're making I think about 800 of them. They're all sold out.'_
- [HIGH] Evil Dead has been played 400+ times over the weekend at Pinfest without a shutdown — _Neil: 'It's been bulletproof. It's had 400 plays for the weekend.'_
- [MEDIUM] Christopher Franchi is now working exclusively with Spooky Pinball — _Hosts note: 'to get him and to get him exclusively is incredible' regarding Franchi's artwork role_
- [HIGH] Evil Dead features Bruce Campbell voice work and video content from Evil Dead and Evil Dead 2 films — _Neil: 'The callouts are amazing. Done by Bruce Campbell from the movies. They've got all the video. It's from the films Evil Dead and Evil Dead 2.'_
- [HIGH] Spooky Pinball has addressed previous reliability concerns — _Host: 'I have to say I was a bit nervous about Spooky reliability. They've had a couple of bumps, but they've stepped it up.'_
- [HIGH] Evil Dead is a widebody machine with a heavy metal animated topper integrated into gameplay — _Neil describes topper: 'weighs a ton and it's animated... When you're not expecting it, it will start going in the top of the moves.'_
- [MEDIUM] Next Spooky games rumored to be Goonies and Beetlejuice — _Host: 'Some people some people saying Goonies or... Goonies and Beetlejuice is the two titles.'_
- [HIGH] Additional Evil Dead machines arriving in UK within 3-4 weeks via Pinball Heaven — _Neil: 'the rest of them coming by Pinball Heaven in about three or four weeks time'_

### Notable Quotes

> "Spooky's best game by a mile. Uh, super reliable, a lot of fun."
> — **Neil**, ~0:45
> _Direct endorsement positioning Evil Dead as Spooky's quality benchmark_

> "It's been bulletproof. It's had 400 plays for the weekend."
> — **Neil**, ~3:15
> _Quantifies reliability performance under heavy venue use_

> "I mean, it's the easiest thing in the world and I say this I'm not an artist. Say it's easy but to Photoshop something. It's incredibly different if you can actually draw it. Make it look lifelike but also make it look original."
> — **Host (Chris)**, ~1:15
> _Validates Christopher Franchi's artistic execution as differentiated quality_

> "You don't feel that they've scrimped or done anything cheaply. It's stunning. The colors on it and the artwork are just stunning."
> — **Host**, ~8:45
> _Emphasizes manufacturing quality and no cost-cutting perceived in final product_

> "to get him and to get him exclusively is incredible"
> — **Host**, ~9:15
> _Notes strategic importance of Franchi exclusive arrangement for Spooky's future titles_

> "There's nothing you can feel that they've sort of left in a design room on this. They've just put everything into it."
> — **Host**, ~7:30
> _Describes comprehensive design commitment with no obvious cuts or compromises_

> "It's also a wide body, but it doesn't feel like a wide body."
> — **Host**, ~9:45
> _Indicates playfield ergonomics and flow are well-designed despite wider format_

### Entities

| Name | Type | Context |
|------|------|---------|
| Evil Dead | game | Spooky Pinball widebody machine based on Evil Dead film franchise with ~800 unit production run, all sold out; features Bruce Campbell voice work, Christopher Franchi artwork, and multiple mechanical toys |
| Spooky Pinball | company | Boutique pinball manufacturer; hosts describe Evil Dead as their best game and note reliability improvements addressing previous quality concerns |
| Neil | person | Pinball enthusiast and operator; presents Evil Dead at Pinfest 2025; owns/operates Pinball Republic venue; participated in bringing machine to event from Texas Pinball Festival |
| Christopher Franchi | person | Artist/designer working exclusively with Spooky Pinball; praised for artwork quality on Evil Dead; positioned as key creative asset for future Spooky releases |
| Bruce Campbell | person | Actor from Evil Dead films; provided voice callouts for Evil Dead pinball machine |
| Pinfest 2025 | event | Pinball community event where Evil Dead was prominently featured and heavily played |
| Pinball Republic | organization | UK-based pinball venue operating the featured Evil Dead machine; described as having 76 games with mix of classic and modern titles |
| Pinball Heaven | organization | UK distributor/supplier; expected to receive additional Evil Dead machines in 3-4 weeks |
| UK Open | event | Pinball tournament scheduled for September 26; Evil Dead will be in main bank; to be streamed on Backham Pinball |
| Dune | game | Pinball game mentioned as one of two most heavily played titles at Pinfest 2025 alongside Evil Dead |
| Goonies | game | Rumored upcoming Spooky Pinball title with artwork expected from Christopher Franchi |
| Beetlejuice | game | Rumored upcoming Spooky Pinball title with artwork expected from Christopher Franchi |
| Kong | game | Modern pinball game recently added to Pinball Republic venue lineup |

### Topics

- **Primary:** Evil Dead game design and features, Spooky Pinball manufacturing quality and reliability, Christopher Franchi artwork and exclusive arrangement
- **Secondary:** Pinfest 2025 event and attendance, UK pinball venue operations and community, Spooky Pinball pipeline (Goonies, Beetlejuice rumors)
- **Mentioned:** Widebody pinball machine design ergonomics

### Sentiment

**Positive** (0.92) — Hosts and Neil express strong enthusiasm and praise for Evil Dead's design, reliability, artwork, and feature density. No significant criticisms raised; only minor contextual concerns about Spooky's past reliability (noted as addressed). The tone is celebratory and affirming throughout.

### Signals

- **[community_signal]** Evil Dead positioned as high-visibility centerpiece at major UK pinball events (Pinfest 2025, UK Open), driving community engagement and venue traffic (confidence: high) — Neil: 'This is actually out of Pinball Republic... I thought it'd be good to bring it up here' and 'it's in the main bank at UK Open' scheduled September 26
- **[market_signal]** Evil Dead ~800 unit production run completely sold out, indicating strong demand and rapid secondary market absorption for Spooky titles (confidence: high) — Neil: 'they're making I think about 800 of them. They're all sold out.'
- **[community_signal]** Christopher Franchi confirmed as exclusive artist with Spooky Pinball, representing creative talent concentration and strategic differentiation for boutique manufacturer (confidence: high) — Host: 'to get him and to get him exclusively is incredible' and discussion that 'all their games will look stunning whatever they do next'
- **[product_strategy]** Evil Dead widebody format successfully addresses ergonomic concerns through playfield flow design, avoiding typical widebody gameplay friction (confidence: medium) — Host: 'It's also a wide body, but it doesn't feel like a wide body' and comparison noting Spooky 'really did make the best pinball machine they possibly could'
- **[product_strategy]** Spooky achieving feature parity and perceived quality superiority through comprehensive playfield design, mechanical toy density, and artistic execution vs. larger competitors (confidence: high) — Host: 'There's nothing you can feel that they've sort of left in a design room on this. They've just put everything into it.' Emphasis on artistic execution and mechanical quality
- **[product_concern]** Evil Dead demonstrates Spooky Pinball's manufacturing quality breakthrough with 400+ plays over weekend with zero downtime, establishing reliability benchmark for boutique manufacturer (confidence: high) — Neil: 'It's been bulletproof. It's had 400 plays for the weekend.' Host: 'it's been here all weekend and it's always been on.'
- **[rumor_hype]** Goonies and Beetlejuice confirmed as next Spooky Pinball titles with Christopher Franchi artwork expected to continue elevated design standard (confidence: medium) — Host speculation: 'Some people some people saying Goonies or... Goonies and Beetlejuice is the two titles.' with expectation that 'the artwork's going to be beautiful'
- **[sentiment_shift]** Positive sentiment reversal regarding Spooky reliability concerns; hosts acknowledge past 'bumps' but confirm quality improvements with Evil Dead as evidence (confidence: high) — Host: 'I have to say I was a bit nervous about Spooky reliability. They've had a couple of bumps, but they've stepped it up.'

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## Transcript

Evil Dead did not expect to be here this weekend. Neil smuggled one up.
Yeah.
Um
rob robbed uh robbed a van.
Yeah.
Loaded it in mine. Blow it up.
So this has been there's been two games that have been absolutely packed out this whole pinfest. Evil Dead
and June. Um do you know what, Spencer? get here and film it and then Neil can tell us all about it. Uh, they didn't make many of these, Neil, did they?
No. So, they're making I think about 800 of them. They're all sold out. I actually bought this at Texas Pinball Festival and shipped it back.
Really?
This is actually out of Pinball Republic. So, if you want to play this game, come to Pinball Republic and it uh I thought it'd be good to bring it up here. Uh, cuz it's a it's a phenomenal game. Spooky's best game by a mile. Uh, super reliable, a lot of fun. Um, you kind of have a lot of uh you kind of play as Ash, but Ash is taunting you. The call outs are amazing. Done by Bruce Campbell from the movies. They've got all the video. It's from the films Evil Dead and Evil Dead 2. And you can kind of pick each film and then you got a set of modes. Uh, you got the the boom stick and ob the house that that Spencer show now. You lock balls in the house that starts a volleyball. You can steal the balls in the house as well like TNA. H you got the um amazing art by Christopher Franchie. I mean I don't know about you Chris but it just stands out. It's like it's like something very special.
He's so good at it. He's he's so good at his colors as well. And you know what he's got I think it's the easiest thing in the world and I say this I'm not an artist. I say it's easy but to photoshop something. It's incredibly different if you can actually draw it. Make it look lifelike but also make it look original. This is stunning this game. picked it up. It's stunning.
100% just stands out. The colors, purples, blues. I just when I saw the game, I was resisting trying to buy it cuz
I have to say I was a bit nervous about spooky reliability. They've had a couple of bumps, but they've stepped it up. Um you saw the top of it, Spencer um shot. That's that's uh weighs a ton and it's animated. Yeah. I mean, it's a real heavy thing made of metal. Proper uh proper topper. It's integrated into the game actually. When you're not expecting it, it will start going in the top of moves.
Yeah. Yeah. Yeah. I don't know if it probably won't move now that we're talking about it, but it's um it's a it's a phenomenal uh package. You got a lot of playfield. You got these kind of popup things. You got this pop-up thing. You got the this the this really cool toy here, the the shotgun where you load each shell and that starts a multiball which kicks off down here. You got the hand that moves.
In fact, if I if I press start on it, then it might the topper might start moving and um the animations are amazing on it. Uh by the way, uh this this shotgun is incredible. Oh,
so you got the skill shot there. That's it. That's That's the That's the goon shot. Yeah. So, you got the interesting is because you hit both of them, it doesn't you got to hit one by itself, so there's a bit of skill involved.
Sure. Sure.
But, uh, yeah, it's it's um,
you got a hand movement. The game is packed. And actually, it's a wide body, so when you lift it, it weighs an absolute ton. They've just rammed it through stuff.
Oh, I tried to I tried to risk the boat. Yeah. Yeah. Yeah. [Music] And and to be fair, you know, it's been here all weekend and it's always been on.
Yeah, it's been bulletproof. It's had 400 plays for the weekend. So,
has it really?
It's been busy.
We've also got this other flipper here.
Oops.
The gravy. Look, the gravy flipper.
Look. Sorry. There's another flipper here.
Look. I did not know about No. Oh. Oh. Hold on.
I did not know. It's taunting me. It's telling me I missed my shot.
It's correct.
And it shoots well, doesn't it?
Yeah.
Oh, it's actually that was that I mean, it wasn't a great game. Far from it. Um, actually, Neil won the other game cuz you know you know it better than me and we're going to get some footage of the top of it. was playing it in because not many people will see this game.
It looks this is this the only one in the country. I think the rest of them coming by pinball heaven in about three or four weeks time. But um it's it's it's a stunning game. I'm a big fan of the um
I'm a big fan of the of the movie. So that means we're skilled. It's incredible. [Music] that up. But that little flipper, that's funny, isn't it?
These um this volleyball shot is very dangerous. I actually normally ignore it and go for the other volleyball.
I mean, you can tell that they put a lot of love into this game.
Oh, yeah.
And they're still doing they're still the clear isn't finished. They're still adding loads of stuff to it. So you see that
the um
this popup drop target now. [Music]
That's really cool.
I mean it's packed. You think about it. There three separate things that pop up from the playfield, aren't there?
Yeah, it's just loaded. You got this moves these pop ups. You got this pop up. You got two big lamps. You got the house. Um, this thing spins. You got a hand moving. You drop targets. You got a lower play field. I mean, it's just rammed.
Yeah. [Music]
Course whenever you play on video, you play like an idiot.
Yeah, it is. It's completely packed. It is completely packed.
You go first.
Yeah. And it's just like we were saying, this has been here all weekend and I've never seen it switched off. It's always a, you know, you come to a pinfest or you come to any event, um, it's always a really good test when everyone's going to play it.
This tape deck moves in one of the modes like like from the movie.
And is this going to be at the UK Open?
Yeah, it's in it's in the main bank at UK Open.
So, see you there. [Music] trying to start a mode. If you keep hitting the captain's ball,
it starts this kind of scary laughing mode. Let me see if I can start it.
I was trusting the center post there. Yeah, I know. Yeah, I do love a sense of hope when you you trust them at your peril, don't you? [Music]
Right. So, I've I've started the the mode shot. So, now I'm going to start a mode. The modes are listed on the back for each game. So, this is quite a simple one. Hit the shots. [Music] Keep moving. Go ahead and shoot the blue shots.
You probably don't need me to tell you this, but it's right behind you.
Shoot the blue.
I mean, it is just an incredible pinball machine. It's just they've left nothing. They've not There's nothing you can feel that they've sort of left in a design room on this. They've just put everything into it.
Yeah, they've got um just disappointed.
They've also It's also a wide body, but it doesn't feel like a wide body.
I think Barus, they got this bit here, but just feels really flowy.
Yeah. No, they they definitely got they b they really did make the best ple machine they possibly could here. There's no you don't feel that they've scrimped or
or done anything cheaply. It It's It's stunning. The colors on it and the artwork are just stunning. And I think we what we were saying last night there, weren't we? Um we they've done s they've been coup by getting Chris Christopher Franchi.
Oh, yeah. you know, um who's been doing such good artwork for so many years and but to get him and to get him exclusively is incredible.
And so all their games will look stunning whatever they do next. Some people some people saying Goonies or
Yeah. Goonies and Beetlejuice is the two titles.
Yeah. So you know that those the artwork's going to be beautiful on those. Um yeah, I mean they're just serious contenders now. Spooky for games and
Yeah. I mean,
brilliant Neil, thanks for sharing.
Yeah. So, again, like I say, you want to play it, come down to Pinball Republic. It's there. And, um,
and at the UK Open.
And the UK Open.
What's the date for the UK Open?
26th September. We'll be streaming it on Backham Pinball. Uh, and should be good. Uh, some big players come over for it. And, um, but yeah, we've both we also got Kong. It's it's uh, it's at the club as well now. So, um,
yeah, the club is packed there, you know, a real beautiful mix of new games.
We got 76 games there now. So, if you want to if you want a day of pinball, come down and, uh,
and you can you can park there, can't you?
The train station's 2 minutes away. It's really easy to get to. So, uh, yeah, it' be great to if you really want to like play a lot of pinball. Uh, it's great. You've got all sorts of games from Zakaras, classic Sterns, classic bales to to all the modern stuff. whirlwind, all the kind of um system 11s, some gauntlets, uh couple of em, but um yeah, it's uh it's a great venue. We've got great bunch of guys that run it and um we're doing pretty well in the in the new location, but um what do you think of the show, Chris?
What do you think of the show?
Good face. Yeah.
Oh, I think it's been the best fun. I I love the way they've moved the the tournament downstairs. I think that's really worked. I think it's freed up the hall.
Yeah.
So you've got, you know, it's like it's serious stuff doing a tournament. So you people that want to have a beer and and and a laugh and a joke. So you've had it's almost felt like a little bit more fun in there, more serious down there. It's separated. It makes extra space.
Yeah. I mean down there watching. I think the extra space makes a big difference.
Yeah. I think it's been a great weekend.
It really has. We had we had a nice curry last night. Bought everyone a curry. So uh
um Yeah, that was I was I needed a sleep after that. I know. I know. Yeah. My my son had a food coma afterwards, so he's still sleeping off now. Neil, cheers. Cheers, guys. Really appreciate it.
Good luck. Cheers. [Music]

_(Acquisition: youtube_auto_sub, Enrichment: v3)_

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*Exported from Journalist Tool on 2026-04-13 | Item ID: 950e507c-6df6-4f34-a7ab-e86dbef384ad*