The Groovy Gore of Ash vs Evil Dead!

It’s been 23 years since the last adventure of chainsaw-wielding demon-slayer Ash, in Sam Raimi’s Army of Darkness.

Since then, Ash has become a bonafide cult icon, propogating comic books, action figures – hell, there’s even a “live” touring production of Evil Dead The Musical…!

All this is evidence that star Bruce Campbell’s fanbase (of which I count myself an avid member) is thriving and has been hungry for more splatter.

Gang, your patience has been rewarded.

The reckless folks at Starz have gleefully unleashed Ash vs Evil Dead, and it’s everything fans could have hoped for, and more.

It’s an unusual and possibly brand new genre – the 30-minute horror comedy. But everything we’ve been craving is there, and then some.

Make no mistake, it’s the Bruce Campbell show – THANK GOD. As Bruce is at his raised-eyebrow, lantern-jawed finest as Ash. He’s squeezing into a corset to hide that gut these days, but he’s still working as a glorified stock boy, still driving the same Oldsmobile. And thanks to a pilot directed by Raimi, still annihilating Deadites in explosively gory fashion. Raimi and Campbell make sure you get equal doses of the same two key ingredients – laughs and splatter – and we get plenty of both. We even get Ash’s first sex scene! Yikes! 

Why are the Deadites returning? Well a lot of it seems to be due to Ash needing to find some poetry to read to a gal he’s hot for, so in his drunken zeal, he reads aloud from the Necronomicon. Look out!!! The makeup is exellent – and prolific. Lucy Lawless appears briefly in the pilot, who we’re bound to learn more about shortly. Plenty of mayhem ensues, backed by Deep Purple and The Amboy Dukes, no less! 

This is a ballsy and really smart move by Starz. They’ve wisely kept the same fairly low budget sensibility and gleeful affection for practical effects that folks love about Evil Dead. They’ve clearly got a hit on their hands, as they renewed it for a second season even before its Halloween debut last week. Best of all, they’ve kept it short. “Thirty minutes a pop, baby.” Ash vs Evil Dead is fun, and if you’re already a fan, this new chapter’s a no-brainer! Catch it on Starz, Saturday nights.