Incredible Pinball Machine | Unboxing Spooky Pinball’s Evil Dead – First Look & Gameplay Showcase!

Gonzo's Pinball Flipperama·video·29m 42s·analyzed·Aug 27, 2025

Analysis

claude-haiku-4-5-20251001 · $0.026

TL;DR

Evil Dead unboxing, assembly, and gameplay showcase highlighting Spooky's artwork quality and manufacturing evolution.

Summary

Gonzo and Shane unbox and showcase Spooky Pinball's Evil Dead machine in Perth, Australia after air-freighting it to avoid the standard September/October shipping delay. They extensively praise Christopher Franchi's artwork and color palette, detail the unboxing contents and assembly process, demonstrate gameplay across multiple balls, and discuss Spooky's manufacturing quality improvements and the machine's rapid sellout success.

Key Claims

Evil Dead sold out at The Pinball Expo and Beach Pinball League after public play became available, with customers still calling daily asking if machines are available.
high confidence · Direct statement by Gonzo about sales and customer demand post-public play
Christopher Franchi was discovered by Spooky after posting Batman '66 artwork on Facebook, which caught the team's attention.
high confidence · Gonzo references Franchi's own Facebook post from the previous day describing how he was found
Evil Dead shipped with 797 collector's edition units and includes a standard topper (unlike most games which don't include toppers).
high confidence · Direct observation during unboxing and assembly
Spooky's earlier games (Looney Tunes, Scooby-Doo, Texas) are underrated and reliable, with minimal quality issues in Australian market.
high confidence · Gonzo and Shane's personal experience with multiple Spooky games over time
Spooky's next announcement is expected in October/November 2025 and will be family-friendly themed (rumored to be Beetlejuice).
medium confidence · Gonzo's speculation based on typical Spooky announcement timing; Beetlejuice identification is community speculation, not confirmed

Notable Quotes

“Take the foam out before you turn the game on. Take the foam out. Take the foam out. Take the foam out.”
Bug (Spooky Pinball co-owner) @ ~1:07:30 — Safety instruction during unboxing; referenced in an unboxing video Bug created
“Your support means everything to us and our family. Here's a few notes... Have fun.”
Spooky Pinball (included in game box) @ ~12:45 — Tone of Spooky's customer communication emphasizing community relationship
“One of the things about Spooky's evolution is acquiring Franchie because that honestly makes and breaks the game.”
Gonzo @ ~42:15 — Recognition of Christopher Franchi's artistic contribution as critical to Evil Dead's success and Spooky's quality trajectory
“The artwork and the color scheme and the palette is like next level... in person, it just is a completely different game.”
Gonzo @ ~38:00 and ~1:10:00 — Emphasis on how photography/video doesn't capture the visual impact of Evil Dead's playfield design
“I don't really like the genre... but it was the FOMO and basically Don from Don's Podcast was like, 'Dude, you need to get one. Like, you're going to regret not getting one.'”
Gonzo @ ~44:30 — Demonstrates FOMO-driven purchasing motivation even for players outside horror theme preference

Entities

Evil DeadgameSpooky PinballcompanyChristopher Franchiperson BugpersonGonzopersonShanepersonDon Pinball Podcastperson/content_creatorRetro Ralphperson

Signals

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business_signal: Spooky Pinball maintaining strong supply chain relationships with international distributors (Australia route: Chicago → Japan → Perth) and managing logistics to support early access for media/influencers.
high · Gonzo air-freighted machine from Chicago via Japan to Perth; coordinated through Spooky team (Morgan) and local distributor (Mark); machine traveled Thursday-Monday delivery, cleared customs by Tuesday
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community_signal: Content creators (Don Pinball Podcast, Retro Ralph, Gonzo) actively promoting Evil Dead and providing public play opportunities at conventions, generating demonstration effect and demand for machines.
high · Gonzo mentions Don's Expo unboxing provided feedback to Spooky, encourages viewers to see it. References Retro Ralph and Don recommending purchase despite their own preferences.
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design_philosophy: Spooky prioritizes vibrant, detailed color palettes and artwork quality as core differentiator from competitors (referenced Looney Tunes green, Scooby-Doo bright orange as distinctive), with Evil Dead's dark blue-purple palette noted as exceptional.
high · Shane: 'The games have always like, Scooby-Doo was like the green and then Looney was the bright orange... their lineup of games always just looks so cool just because of the color palette.' Gonzo repeatedly emphasizes Evil Dead palette as 'next level.'
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market_signal: Evil Dead achieved rapid sellout at The Pinball Expo and Beach Pinball League public play events with sustained customer demand, suggesting strong market appetite despite boutique manufacturer status and $9,999+ pricing.
high · Gonzo: 'Once the more public got to play it and people are still ringing them every day saying, Is anyone cancelled? Can I get one?'... this game has gotten so much attention.

Transcript

youtube_auto_sub · $0.000

0:11

All right, guys. Enzo, obviously, you've seen me before on the channel. It's my friend Shane. You've seen him on the other channel, but we're going to that there's more to come on that. Uh, finally, Evil Dead has arrived in Australia. Thanks to Spooky, Bargain, the team, Morgan, especially Morgan. She's fantastic. And obviously with collab with Mark, our local distributor. Um, we decided to get this game air freighted because basically it's not going to arrive till like end of September, maybe early October if there's any delays. And to be frank, kind of don't want to wait anymore. We've been waiting since January for it. And uh, I just thought maybe there's an opportunity obviously with the channel. We can show you guys the game like as soon as possible cuz we haven't had it on the channel yet. And also, you know, end of October, November, we're probably going to get another announcement from Spooky. So, you know, the game's going to be old. Uh, so we're going to unbox it and then we'll give you a closeup and then hopefully, fingers crossed, we'll do some gameplay. Um, so obviously we got a big bad topper box on top. We'll take that off for now. We'll do that after. Might do a separate video with that. Uh, do it. Um, so uh, we've seen a few unboxings online. Don did an awesome unboxing on uh, Don Pinball podcast. If you haven't seen it, go see it. Uh that's where uh basically Spooky learned what to add in the boxings for like do not do this because uh Don did some stuff that wasn't supposed to. wasn't supposed to. Wasn't supposed to and it flagged some Wasn't supposed to and it flagged some ideas, you know, in in a good way, not a bad way. Cut the box. Cut the box. So yeah, we just cut the box down. Yeah, So yeah, we just cut the box down. Yeah, we don't need to cuz

1:44

Oh man, I can already see that Frenchy artwork. It's pretty cool. Yeah, It's pretty cool. Yeah, it was amazing. There was a post by Christopher Franchie on Facebook just yesterday and where he basically put up a story about how he got chosen or found to do pinball. All it was is he had a picture that he had done of the uh Batman 66 show and the guys were looking for an artist and they came across his um his artwork and were blown away and uh yeah, awesome. awesome storytelling. It's all about being in the right place at the right time. So, so yeah, so we, you know, typically in Australia, we do get everything late, um, unfortunately. So, this went from, uh, obviously, um, Chicago area to Japan and then from Japan to Perth. So, basically left on Thursday, arrived on Monday night, midnight, and then cleared customs late this afternoon being Tuesday. So, uh, yeah, fun times. There we go. You got a There we go. You got a nice nice spooky spooky cheese. cheese. It's amazing how much, um, this game has It's amazing how much, um, this game has gotten so much attention, you know, and people getting to play at uh, thing the beach and then TPF and basically sold out, you know, once the more public got to play it and people are still ringing them every day saying, "Is anyone canled? Can I get one?" And, you know, it's really set them up. Uh, I I think their next game is probably going to be a day one seller, especially considering it's meant to be familyfriendly theme. Um, I still think everyone still reckons it's Beetlejuice. Hey, so look at that. I didn't even know what color it was. Look at that. Yeah, it's like a dark bluey purple. Yeah, it's like a dark bluey purple. It's not. So, that's nice. Um, this is a little that's nice. Um, this is a little checklist they give you and some So, they go through they have a sign someone that usually signs it and then a little some details. So, everyone who was JW at Spooky has said that there's four legs, eight bolts, four leg levers, the nuts, the head bolt, the washers, the key chains, instructions, power cord, tilt bolt, pack of six balls, four leg protectors. I get leg felt leg protector 18 red servo, 180 red servo, right plastic headphone. Nice. Yeah, you get an extra servo driver just Yeah, you get an extra servo driver just in case. Uh, thank you for purchasing this. Uh, thank you for purchasing this. purchasing the game from the smallest, happiest, goofiest little pinball company on the planet. Your support means everything to us and our family. Here's a few notes. So, ideally, play till Peaches 6 and 12°. Your coin door keys are located inside the leg box. Once your game is up on all four, flip the back box up. The usual stuff. Undo latches and take lock down bar off. Plug the game in. Flip the power switch. Important. Yeah, we know that game is your game is factory set to free play. Have fun. which is a cool cool cool little side note. All right, let's get these legs on. Normally, traditionally, we tend to put the front legs all the way down and then the back ones I tend to leave like two fingers, but it depends who's two fingers. Mine are pretty popular with the ladies. It's a nice It's a nice It is, isn't it? a nice It's a nice It is, isn't it? Yeah, the games have always like, you know, the games have always like, you know, Scooby-Doo was like the green and then Looney was the bright orange. Um and then like it was just always like their lineup of games always just looks so cool just because of the color palette. Um I think guys one thing that um in the discords uh we were talking about the fact that like a lot of the a lot of people haven't really given Looney Tunes or Texas a good like a really good opportunity really underrated uh games. Um I I really love Looney Tunes. Texas is a really it's so different from Looney Tunes 2 as a game, which is kind of cool. So, yeah, I think if you really haven't had a chance to play those games, I think they were kind of a bit of a sleeper. Not everyone got got a chance to um to essentially play them. So, um

Looney Tunes (Spooky Pinball)game

Scooby-Doo (Spooky Pinball)game

Texas (Spooky Pinball)game

Rick and Morty (Spooky Pinball)game

community_signal: Christopher Franchi's transition to Spooky Pinball as primary artist represents talent migration from larger manufacturers to boutique shop, with his hiring directly credited as 'makes and breaks the game' for Evil Dead's success.

high · Gonzo's statement: 'One of the things about Spooky's evolution is acquiring Franchie because that honestly makes and breaks the game.' Franchi's Facebook post about being discovered through Batman '66 artwork indicates recent hire.

product_strategy: Evil Dead includes premium accessories standard (topper, extended cables) and optional paid modifications ($450 shotgun handle referenced in KB) representing post-sale customization market.

high · Unboxing reveals standard topper included (unlike most games), extended cables in topper box, mention of road bridge car mod and bigger hand mods available

product_concern: Spooky's earlier games received criticism for quality/reliability in 'early days' but have demonstrated significant improvement, with Evil Dead representing manufacturing quality benchmark. Minor transit issues noted but quickly resolved.

high · Gonzo: 'A lot of people used to criticize Spooky's early days... all the games that I've had of theirs... we've never really had any issues.' Also notes Scooby-Doo small transit issue fixed fast, TNA/Rick and Morty/Looney Tunes never missed a beat.

sentiment_shift: Even non-horror enthusiasts (Gonzo, Retro Ralph) purchased Evil Dead due to FOMO despite theme preference mismatch, suggesting effective marketing and community enthusiasm transcending typical theme boundaries.

high · Gonzo: 'I don't really like the genre... but it was the FOMO.' Retro Ralph referenced as 'doesn't even like horror. He hated the film growing up as a kid and he's obsessed with it.'