Ash vs Evil Dead: Season 1
I love the Evil Dead trilogy. When I was pregnant with my first child and told I should take a movie with me to the hospital, I took Army of Darkness with me. When I heard that Starz was going to make a series based on Ash’s adventures, I was excited and bummed—mainly because we didn’t have the Starz channel.
I did, however, have the opportunity to watch a few episodes when Starz had a free preview weekend, and I wasn’t disappointed—until later, when I couldn’t finish watching the series because I still didn’t have Starz.
And then Netflix stepped in and made everything all right.
I’m pretty sure I squealed when I discovered that Ash vs Evil Dead was available for streaming. I instantly started watching, thrilled that I was able to see it from the beginning in all of it’s glory (and gory!). Once again, I wasn’t disappointed.
The story takes place 30 years after the original films were made, and they continue the narrative of how Ash finds himself plagued by demons and having to save the world from evil. They introduce some new characters, Kelly and Pablo, who help him in his mission. To hinder him in his mission is Ruby, played by Lucy Lawless, who turns out to be a complicated character.
As expected, there is action, demons, some scares, and a lot of gore—and I mean a lot of gore. I don’t think there was one episode where one character didn’t get completely covered in red goo. I couldn’t help but wonder if they knew they would get covered before they started filming or if it was a surprise. There’s also humor, which makes the movies and the TV show so enjoyable.
Ash vs Evil Dead, like the Evil Dead films, doesn’t take itself too seriously. It knows it’s over the top and ridiculous, and it will point that out—just in case you miss it—but that only adds to its charm. Adding humor to horror isn’t anything new, and it helps balance out the audiences’ emotions. Everyone needs a moment to relax and breathe before the next big scare finds its way onto the screen.
I was not disappointed by the Ash vs Evil Dead rehashing of the Evil Dead trilogy. I think each episode added to the story and fleshes out the characters in a variety of ways. Season 1 was fun, funny, full of gore, and had some scares. There are currently two seasons on Netflix (season 2 review coming next week), with a third in the making, which probably won’t be available on Netflix for a while.
If you haven’t seen the Evil Dead trilogy, I highly recommend watching those movies first before watching the series. It references them a lot, so you might be a little lost if you don’t have the background. Plus, they’re great movies. Then, sit back and enjoy the Ash vs Evil Dead series.
