After many false starts and a reboot/sequel that failed to engage its fanbase we finally have an Evil Deadsequel featuring our favorite Deadite slaying blowhard Ashley J. Williams,Ash vs Evil Dead. The show which aired on Starzlast fall incorporated many of the rumored ideas for Evil Dead 4picking up 30 years after the events of Evil Dead 2,with our hero working as a one-handed stock boy at Value Mart and living in a trailer. One night while trying to impress a new lady friend with a soft spot for poetry, a very inebriated Ash decides to read from the Necronomicon Ex-Mortis and accidentally summons the Evil Dead again.

Ash vs Evil Deadseason one starts off strong with Bruce Campbellright back in his element as the wisecracking Ash, this time joined in his adventure by Pablo (Ray Santiago) and Kelly (Dana DeLorenzo) two of his Value Mart coworkers. This casting addition gives Ash not only a comedic foil in the pair but also helps give some much-needed likability to his character, since part of his journey is Ash attempting to give up his selfish ways. The first episode written and directed by Sam Raimi sets the frantic pace for this monster of the week series that simply doesn't slow down as the trio dispatches Deadites as Ash has to figure out how to undo summoning the Evil Dead before they can take over the world.


Lucy Lawless (Xena!) plays the mysterious Ruby who is the key to something much bigger at play as Ash just simply wants to make this all go away while dropping as many of his trademark one-liners as possible. Throughout the 10 episode run a mythology begins to slowly build around these run-ins that sets the stage for the eventual face-off where it all began, in that cabin in the woods.  Pablo adds to this mythos with the prophecy of “El Jefe” “The man that would stand against the evil”. Pablo, as it turns out, was the son of a witch doctor and after witnessing Ash fighting off the Deadites in Value Stop is sure this man his father told him about who is sent to dispatch the evil and save the world. The problem is Ash is not sure he is cut out to be “El Jefe” which offers its own issues through the season.

As a show it definitely works, I actually picked up Starz just for Ash vs Evil Deadafter catching the first episode at the NYCC premiere, realizing how much funnier and gorier it was than I expected (seriously buckets of blood in every episode!). The casting originally was probably my biggest worry since Campbell has basically evolved into Ash over the years, but Ray Santiago and Dana DeLorenzo manage to hold their own with the egomaniac carving out a niche for themselves in the show that’s more than simply sidekicks. Rewatching the season a second time it still feels to me like the writers had painted themselves into a corner by the time they came to the season finale, with one ending planned out and that having to change when the show was renewed for another season thanks to fan reaction.


The set comes on 2 Blu-ray discs from Anchor Bay ironically, with commentaries on every episode and a few featurettes that if you watched the show on its initial run you are more than familiar with. Of special note is the first episode’s commentary that features Sam Raimi himself with Campbell and company talking about not only how this all came together, but also dropping a few fun factoids that I haven’t read anywhere else. The biggest surprise for me was Netflix originally passed on the show, and there was also a version of the Evil Dead 4 script that used the two different endings from Army of Darknessto have two versions of Ash simultaneously from two different timelines. It’s the kind of internet fodder that will fuel more than a few thought pieces in the coming weeks about what could have been. The only thing missing from the set is deleted scenes that are mentioned here and there on the commentaries, but are nowhere to be found.

Even with that omission the set definitely is a must buy for Evil Deadfans who will not only want to rewatch some of their favorite episodes, but catch up in time for next season. One thing this show has in its favor is it definitely holds up to multiple viewings. I know for my money nothing gets better than the first episode which I watched every time I caught it on Starz (which was a few too many by the end of the run.) Even with my issue with the finale,Ash vs Evil Deadis one of the best shows currently running for horror fans and a show that finally gave us exactly what we wanted from Raimi and Campbell. I only hope it will continue to go on for a few more seasons given there is a back log of 18 years of ideas for Evil Dead 4 to work through. It's great to have the king back and let's hope his reign continues to be this badass.

I’ll leave you with my questions for season 2:
  • Will Raimi direct more episodes?
  • Raimi said that they were forced to ignore the events of Army of Darknessdue to rights issues at his NYCC Q&A, but recently they have mentioned in publicizing season two that those issues have been resolved, so it will be interesting to see how that’s incorporated.
  • Will the sequel/reboot timeline intersect at all with the show? I actually dug it and hope we see a connection.
What do you hope to see?