Scott Spiegel, the screenwriter who co-wrote Evil Dead II and later helped shepherd the Hostel franchise, has died at 67. News of his death surfaced over the weekend through industry tributes, with Deadline reporting the passing and highlighting his long ties to the horror community.
Born in Michigan, Spiegel was part of the tight-knit creative circle around Sam Raimi and Bruce Campbell dating back to their school days. He shared screenplay credit on Raimi’s 1987 cult favorite Evil Dead II and later earned a studio credit on Clint Eastwood’s The Rookie (1990). He also popped up in small roles in Raimi projects, including a pizza-thief cameo in Spider-Man 2.
As a director, Spiegel made his feature debut with the late-’80s slasher Intruder, set in an after-hours supermarket and remembered for its gruesome practical effects and single-location ingenuity. The film later found a second life on home video in its uncensored cut, cementing its reputation among genre collectors.
Spiegel expanded into producing in the 2000s, co-founding the horror banner Raw Nerve with Eli Roth and Boaz Yakin and serving as an executive producer on Hostel (2005) and Hostel: Part II (2007). He returned to the director’s chair for Hostel: Part III (2011), while continuing to write, act and consult across low-budget and studio projects.
Tributes from collaborators arrived swiftly. Bruce Campbell called Spiegel’s death “a big personal loss” and recalled their years growing up and working together; special-effects veteran Robert Kurtzman was among those to share the news publicly.
Beyond his filmography, colleagues often credit Spiegel with making connections that shaped modern genre cinema. Accounts over the years have noted he introduced Quentin Tarantino to producer Lawrence Bender, a meeting that preceded Reservoir Dogs and a wave of collaborations among their peer group.
