It’s not every day that one of your favorite films gets a resurgence of some kind, and you get to continue the adventures of one of the most bad-ass, smart-ass characters ever to grace the screen. However, STARZ, in their infinite wisdom, somehow pulled it off, and managed to bring Ashley J. Williams back to kick some deadite ass. And of course, SPOILERS will follow.
By all rights, it was destined to be good. Bringing back the original creative team of Sam Raimi, Rob Tapert, Ivan Raimi, and series star, Bruce Campbell, was the right choice. Instead of the often clamored for Evil Dead 4, the gang decided that the serialized adventures of Ash, on our TV screens, would be the best route.
They weren’t wrong, and we weren’t disappointed. Though it’s been some time since we last saw Ash (over 20 years, in Army of Darkness), the story actually ignores that journey altogether. Instead, much like the films, the show does a great job of retro-actively changing the endings we are used to (as the films often do), and wiping the slate of time traveling adventures clean. Instead, the events of Evil Dead and Evil Dead 2 DID happen…but how Ash managed to get away from the cabin is still unknown…and quite frankly, unnecessary to know.
Which IS known is that Ash vs Evil Dead picks up nearly 3 decades later, with Ash living a life of obscurity, working a shitty job as a stock boy, and of course, accidently releasing deadite mayhem during a stoned escapade in his luxurious trailer home.
Reluctant to stand up to the things that ruined his life 30 years ago, Ash is ready to flee…but as the deadite problems become too difficult to ignore, he picks up his old boomstick and chainsaw to kick some Kandarian ass.
Ash is a sort of mixture between the persona we see in Army of Darkness and Evil Dead 2, a womanizing, one-liner spewing aging Lothario who is past his prime and has been avoiding responsibility for 30 years, but is totally OK with ignoring that fact. But, when the threats get real, he’s back to kicking ass again, ready to take on the deadites, much to everyone’s surprise.
Campbell, despite having not played the character in a long time, perfectly fits back into the role of Ash. The second he appears on screen during the first episode, it’s like visiting an old friend. It’s clear that he had a lot of fun re-visiting Ash, and he definitely brought his A-game into the series. Honestly, it was refreshing to see him take this role and run with it, showing us that, despite Ash’s age, he’s still a total badass.
One of the things that worked really well during the course of the show was adding two new characters to accompany Ash on his quest to stop evil once and for all: Pablo, his loyal co-worker and sidekick who never gives up on believing in him, and Kelly, a woman trying to outrun her past, and reluctantly pulled into Ash’s mission.
Both Pablo and Kelly are perfect foils for Ash, acting as a voice of reason to his ridiculous actions. Ash is still not the sharpest knife in the drawer, as evidenced by his numerous stupid actions throughout the series, but having Pablo and Kelly there to ground him, and bring out his caring side again, was quite nice. Really, if anyone was to join the deadite hunting team, Pablo and Kelly were fantastic choices. Ray Santiago and Dana DeLorenzo were nicely suited for their roles, and seemed to have a blast, no matter how much blood was spilled on them.
And the blood was a-plenty. The show was especially gory, dumping buckets of blood on our heroes through the entire run, and never letting up with the relentless demons being thrown their way. The production design was top notch, with Kandarian demons old and new looking better than they had in years. Kudos to the production and practical special effects team. That said, some of the CGI effects seen were a little cheesy, but at the end of the day, they totally fit in with the tone of the series, and worked quite nicely.
Also added to the cast was Jill Marie Jones as Amanda Fisher, a state trooper on Ash’s trail after her partner is killed by a deadite. I liked her, but I was a little disappointed by her arc over the show. She didn’t seem to have much to do, aside from being along for the ride, and didn’t stand out as much as she should have. There was even a throwaway line in the opening episode, when a deadite claims “We know who you are!” just before attacking her…but is never followed up on. Perhaps something to explore later? However, might be hard, considering her fate and being cut into pieces.
Lucy Lawless as the enigma named Ruby was also a good addition, albeit a bit confusing. While Lawless always inhabits any role with gusto, her claim of being Professor Knowby’s daughter for the entire series (the man who brought the Necronomicon to the cabin to begin with) was undone in the second to last episode when it was revealed she actually WROTE the book. Now…was Ruby Knowby really on the tail of Ash until she met her end at the brujo’s cabin, and then became possessed by the Dark One? Or was she ALWAYS the Dark One, and Ruby Knowby doesn’t exist? And where the hell did she get those high-flying, acrobatic super powers?! Either way, it’s great to see Lawless kick ass again, even if not as a warrior princess.
Overall, the story delivered, and seemed perfectly suited for a look back at Ash and the powers of the Necronomicon all these years later. As mentioned earlier, Ash accidently sets them loose again, and has to step up to the plate to end it once and for all. Along the 10 episode journey, we learn a little bit more about the book (it can talk!), the Dark Ones who wrote it, and what other nasty things can be summoned from it. At the end of the day, though, it was inevitable that the quest was going to end the same place that it started: in the cabin.
Getting to see the cabin again, after all these years, was a real treat. It’s still as nasty and full of surprises as when we last left it, and hell, it definitely got worse. On top of that, all of the visual flairs we know and love from the film series are back, making us feel right at home again.
Overall, the series was pretty solid week after week, with no weak parts in the story, albeit, in my opinion, the very end. The action, blood, jokes, and everything as on point the entire time, but already being renewed for a second season may have hurt the final scene a little bit. Having Ash take the easy way out (though, it did take Ruby two tries to convince him) almost seemed like a cop out in a way, leading into the second season very easily, where we know Ash will have to face the consequences for his actions. That said, taking the easy way out, after spending all this time busting his ass to defeat the evil and failing, is TOTALLY an Ash move. He doesn’t think it through, really, and honestly believes he will be riding off into the sunset with his friends (which, seeing him grow to care about over the series was pretty nice, too).
Ash spent three movies, and 10 episodes, saving a lot of people…but he also got a lot of people killed, too. Having an ‘out’ to end that, however short lived that end may be, is definitely something he would have taken for a little piece of mind. I was expecting a little more of a brawl to defeat Ruby, but I’m perfectly fine with waiting (impatiently) for season two to see how it all shakes out.
Really, for any fan of the films, or even newcomers to the series, Ash vs Evil Dead was perfect for us. For years, we’ve been asking for more of his buffoonery, and we got it, in spades. It could have gone horribly off track, but it worked out nicely. Kudos to all involved for totally pulling it off, and continuing to make Ash the tragic figure he doesn’t want to be.
Check out the show. You won’t be disappointed. Just don’t read from the book.
