Distributor: 20th Century Fox
Episodes: 10
Duration: 30 minutes (per episode)
Ash vs Evil Dead: Season 1 (Blu-ray) – Series Review
It’s been nearly 24 years since we last saw Bruce Campbell shine as the unconventional hero Ash, in the Evil Dead trilogy. What first started out as a B-horror series, quickly gained a cult following and was formed into something more comical, with heaps of humor, blood, gore, guts and of course enough spooky elements to remain in the horror category. Even though we loved Ash’s escapades, the story could go on only thus far, but now, it seems he hasn’t learned from his past mistakes and has once again messed with the Necronomicon, Ex-Mortis, otherwise known as the Book of the Dead. Hail to the king baby!
It’s been nearly thirty years since Ash (Bruce Campbell) lost his arm, after he sawed it off because it was possessed by an evil spirit, and also thirty years since he lost all his friends and girlfriend. He’s been through hell and back, quite literally, and now he is resuming his life as a clerk at the local Valuestop store. The only thing to remind him of his past is the Necronomicon, the Book of the Dead, which is in his possession. He believes that he’s keeping it safely stored, but during one of his escapades, he gets stoned together with a broad who likes poetry. In an attempt to impress her, he decides it’s a good plan for them to read aloud from the book, and as expected, things go down the crapper quite rapidly. Deadites, this world’s equivalent of monsters, reappear and they have found Ash, who has been on the run for said thirty years. Trying to flee from it all, Ash wants to cash his last paycheck, and get the hell out of town. The only thing he didn’t take into account was his younger co-worker Pablo (Ray Santiago) would start asking him to stay. Another new hot piece of weight on the scales is Kelly (Dana DeLorenzo), Pablo’s friend and a new employee of the Valuestop.
After Ash has an encounter with a possessed doll, he decides to bolt, and leave before he gets his paycheck. In the meantime Kelly gets a video call from her father, who states Kelly’s mother is back home, which wouldn’t be a big deal if she hadn’t been dead for six months. Pablo is convinced they will need Ash’s help, and he decides to ask Ash to help them with their predicament. Sadly, in Ash’s trailer they are immediately attacked by the forces of evil, both showing Ash’s hidden Deadite-hunter personality and the fact he can actually be serious.
This all occurs when the police starts an investigation about a random spree of murders, which involves Amanda (Jill Marie Jones) who lost her partner in a freak accident, where he seemed to be possessed. Seeing she had to shoot his head off, she was put on suspension and is frowned upon by many of her colleagues. She is determined to get to the bottom of this, even though it was a traumatic experience she still can’t comprehend, and when the wind blows a small sign the Ash could be a serial killer, she decides to pursue him.
The first season of Ash vs Evil Dead is comparable to a speeding train that’s powered by conflicts. Seeing every episode is only about half an hour in length, things have to go rapidly, and you’ll stumble from one conflict or discussion to another, which makes this fairly gory series quite light, and if you’re not too squeamish, you’ll appreciate what the creators are aiming for. Nonetheless, this first season is action packed, but there’s still enough room for the fairly limited plot to unravel at an understandable pace.
As expected, Bruce Campbell is the star of this show. Of course, the actor isn’t as young as he used to be, as he’s pushing sixty in a year or two, but he still feels like the same jovial actor that has starred in other ‘older’ shows such as Hercules and Xena, and even now he still has an inexplicable charm surrounding him. Sometimes it’s actually quite difficult to determine where his acting begins, or if he truly is such a nonchalant person in real life, a sort of loveable douchebag. Nonetheless, as the series also realizes the star is becoming a tad too old to do everything by himself, they introduced two apprentices, namely Kelly and Pablo, played by Dana DeLorenzo and Ray Santiago respectively. Both fairly young actors do a great job to find their place in the Evil Dead universe, as a character that doesn’t die, that is.
This Blu-ray edition of the first season of Ash vs Evil Dead doesn’t have that many extras, but the few ones that are present are rather pleasant. You’ll get to dive inside ‘the world of Ash’, which is pretty much the equivalent of a making of, albeit with a hefty dose of gore and blood. Other than that, there’s a small featurette about how to kill a Deadite, and a promotional trailer. The latter might not be such a great addition to the extras, the ‘tutorial’ on how to kill a Deadite proves to be rather witty and funny.
Conclusion
Ash vs Evil Dead: Season 1 is one of those concepts that was either a hit-or-miss scenario, and in this case the risk was well worth it. With the series closely tied to the Evil Dead trilogy, giving a pleasant walk down memory lane for fans, but also enough information for those who were too young, or simply missed the original movies, you’ll simply be treated to something fairly unseen during this day and age. It’s pretty much a great homage to old school humor, and B-movies of a forgotten age. If you’re a fan of Bruce Campbell’s antics, lots of blood, monsters and a hefty dose of humor, you’ll probably see all episodes of this box in one sitting.
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