Tag Archives: Ash vs Evil Dead (2015)

TV

Ash Vs. Evil Dead, Season One (2015): A (mildly) belated review

I’m going to come right out and say it: I loved the first season of Ash Vs. Evil Dead, for the most part, but really –really- hated the ending.  (A quick counterpoint from i09: How Ash Vs. Evil Dead Took Everything We Loved From The Movies And Made It Better).

If you know anything at all about the Evil Dead films (the original Evil Dead, Evil Dead II, and Army of Darkness) and actor/God Bruce Campbell, there’s nothing I can add to the myth/legend that is Ashley “Ash” J. Williams, the “hero” of these three films and the new Starz! series Ash Vs. Evil Dead.

Good ol’ Ash (Bruce Campbell, of course), like all of us is a little older but -hopefully unlike all of us- not at all wiser than he was in the original series of films.  He’s still full of those delightful, often vulgar wisecracks and smart ass comments that endeared him to legions of fans, of which I’m one.

The Ash Vs. Evil Dead series started out incredibly strong with a premiere episode directed by Sam Raimi, who was the director of the previous three original Evil Dead movies (the less said about the modern remake, the better).  One of the biggest problems subsequent episodes of the series had was that Mr. Raimi didn’t direct any of the other 9 episodes and, while the other directors didn’t do a bad job by any stretch, that premiere episode looked and flowed, to my mind, much better than what followed.  Please note this was not a critical problem with the bulk of the series but became more noticeable when we reached the the last two to three episodes of the season.  It was in the climactic moments I wished Mr. Raimi was there, directing us through the greatest mayhem.

I’ll get back to the first season’s climax in a moment.

So the plot of the show goes like this: Ash screws up yet again and while stoned and with his latest “girlfriend” reads from the cursed Book of the Dead, the Lovecraftian Necronomicon.  Of course, this releases a new wave of deadly demons/deadites.

Ash comes to this realization and while in his dull Superstore job he reluctantly gathers his coworkers Pablo Simon Bolivar (Ray Santiago) and Kelly Maxwell (Dana DeLorenzo) and off they go together to try to end the deadite menace once and for all.

Meanwhile FBI agent Amanda Fisher (Jill Marie Jones) also has an encounter with the strange and this leads her to believe Ash is behind the menace.  We’re concurrently introduced to the mysterious Ruby Knowby (Lucy Lawless who, for most of the ten episodes is but a cameo player), who eventually joins forces with Agent Fisher in her pursuit of Ash.

The episodes that follow are filled with gory, bloody effects mixed with hilarious dialogue that further proves Ash is a blowhard fool.  The show, however, shows us that deep beneath the swagger lies a man who genuinely wants to do the right thing even with his mental handicap(s).

Again, this is played to great effect and I absolutely loved -and relished!- every moment Bruce Campbell’s Ash opened his mouth, so eager was I to hear the latest silliness he was about to utter.  My favorite line of the series came early and is found at the 50 second mark of the series’ trailer and concerns…churros?

So the series proceeded and characters got together and eventually made their way -it was logical- to the cabin in the woods that birthed the whole mess in Evil Dead and Evil Dead II.

Repeating once again: While the direction in these concluding episodes wasn’t terrible by any stretch of the imagination, one can’t help but compare the cabin scenes in Ash Vs. Evil Dead with those of the movies, particularly Evil Dead II.  And when one does this, one can’t help but feel that the Sam Raimi directed movie had a greater manic energy and humor and, once again (redux), one comes away wishing Mr. Raimi was again at the helm during these episodes.

Moving away from the direction, the crux of my critique lies in the way the series “ended”.  Or, rather, didn’t.

Evil Dead II, the movie that most resembles Ash Vs. Evil Dead, gave us a great story which had a definite ending.  It was then followed by a coda meant to get us interested in more Evil Dead material.  This coda was the jumping off point into Army of Darkness.

Unfortunately with Ash Vs. Evil Dead, we get a great story but even with the 10 episodes of approximately half an hour each for a total run-time of five or so hours, when all is said and done what we were given was nothing more than an introduction to a story.

Ash Vs. Evil Dead’s conclusion wasn’t much of one at all.  Through the series we move from place to place and reach that cursed cabin in the woods but instead of getting a conclusion to the story we’re effectively told the story is about to happen (hello, season 2!) and this disappointed me tremendously.

We still don’t know who/what exactly Ruby Knowby is.  Sure we were given some big hints but she remains an enigma that will obviously be dealt with in greater detail in the future.  Worse was the fate of another of the main characters (I won’t get into spoilers here) who wound up being nothing more than an overglorified victim.

As for the remaining characters, including Ash, its obvious his fight against the deadites has just begun.

In sum, I loved loved loved Ash Vs. Evil Dead…up to the conclusion which I felt wasn’t much of one.

Given the amount of joy the series offered versus that disappointing final five or so minutes, I suppose Ash would likely say, “quit your bitchin’, there’s a second season on the way”.

Of course that’s true.  And you know what?  I’ll be right there to see it.

Alright, I’ll quit my bitchin’.  Despite my reservations regarding the conclusion, I HIGHLY recommend the first season of Ash Vs. Evil Dead to anyone who likes their gory horror mixed with some hilarious -and vulgar- comedy.

Just go into this realizing that the full story will take at least two seasons to tell…I hope!

Movies, TV

Ash vs Evil Dead: “El Jefe” (2015) episode review

He’s back and I couldn’t be happier.

Count me among those who loves Bruce Campbell’s Ashley “Ash” J. Williams character featured in the films The Evil Dead (1981), Evil Dead II (1987) and Army of Darkness (1992).

Which means that with this past Halloween weekend premiere of “El Jefe”, the first episode of Starz! Ash vs Evil Dead, it has been a mind boggling twenty three years since we’ve seen a healthy dose of our anti-hero/screwup in action.  Sure, Mr. Campbell made a cameo appearance as Ash at the very end (after the credits) of the disappointing 2013 remake/reimaging of Evil Dead, but that’s all it was, a few seconds’ long cameo…

Here we finally, finally get what we asked for: Ash front and center doing what he does best: Kick demonic ass while simultaneously making an ass out of himself.

For that’s what the crew behind the original Evil Dead films discovered: That graphic, splatter horror could be merged with comedy to create something unique for these times.  While this wasn’t an entirely new idea (years before Abbott and Costello meet up with, among others, Frankenstein, the Wolfman, Dracula etc), the character of Ash, a knucklehead with a penchant for spouting some of the strangest/hilarious lines…

…was.  He’s a clod, a dim bulb.  An arrogant, selfish fool who nonetheless has one very unique ability: To effectively fight evil.  Though the first Evil Dead movie was more of a straight up horror film, it was in the second Evil Dead this unique comic-Ash character really flowered.  The clip above, from Army of Darkness, continued and expanded on that interpretation.  Ash was the dufus character from a comedy that just happened to find himself in a full fledged horror feature.

Happily, Ash vs Evil Dead follows that path beautifully.  Though older, Ash is certainly no wiser.  In fact, other than dentures and a bigger belly, he’s the exact same fool fans have come to know and love.

The first episode of this 10 episode series (with a second season already approved!  Yay!) succinctly re-establishes Ash while introducing us to his modern world, a place where he’s still a low level worker at the “Value Stop” chain (alas, the S-Smart found in Army of Darkness -and indeed all the elements present in that movie- could not be used in this show as that film is owned by another studio.  No big deal: Strong continuity isn’t an important element in the Evil Dead universe).  Ash also remains a lothario, readying himself in comical fashion in the opening scenes to cruise down to a seedy looking bar and pick up the only woman in the establishment…by lying and boasting about how he lost his hand (one can imagine how many times before he’s used this pick up line).

But all is (of course) not well and Ash realizes the evil he faced all those years before may be back.  And the person responsible for its return could be…Ash himself.

I won’t go into all the details of this episode but we are introduced to a larger cast of characters who will accompany Ash on this new adventure.  Some, like Lucy Lawless‘ Lucy appear only for a few seconds in this episode while three other regulars are given more time.  Whether there are more characters to join in this journey, I’m not sure.

Yet.

If you’re at all into Evil Dead and, more specifically, the legend that is Ash, you’ll have a blast with this new series’ first episode.  Let’s hope what follows is up to this highly entertaining premiere.