Ash Vs Evil Dead Episode 1 Review: Gory Stupid Fun (Series Premiere)

For those who haven't heard of the "The Evil Dead" franchise, let me provide a quick recap. "The Evil Dead" was released in 1981 and tells the story of five teenagers (Ash, Linda, Scot, Cheryl, Shelly) who rent a cabin in the Tennessee woods. There they find a creepy book written in Sumerian called the "Necronomicon ex Mortis". Of course, someone has to open the book and start reading incantations. There's one in every crowd. The group also uncovers recordings from a professor chronologging his wife's possession. Each of the friends eventually turns into a demon until Ash (Ashley) is the only one left. He has to fight off the ones. And demons are REALLY hard to kill.

The original movie was definitely LOW budget. I don't think it was mean to be a comedy but it was so bad it was funny. "The Evil Dead" eventually became a cult classic and spawned two more movies ( "Evil Dead II" in 1987 and "Army Of Darkness" 1992) and lots of other stuff including a musical (go figure). There was also a 2013 remake of the original with actress Jane Levy playing a character named Mia Allen (the female version of the Ash character).

The Starz ten episode series airs on Saturday nights at 9 ET. Each episode is only 30 minutes long. It's directed by the Raimi brothers (Sam and Ivan) and produced by Bruce Campbell and Rob Tapert (who cowrote/directed the first film).

Ash is twenty some years older. He's trying to squeeze into a girdle but still thinks he's smoking hot to the ladies. His hand is still missing from his previous encounter. Ash hasnt gotten any smarter though. He meets a woman in a bar and has sex with her. She turns into a demon in the middle of the deed but that doesnt slow him down...much. He meets another girl. While getting high he tries to impress her by reading from the "Necronomicon". Dude has learned nothing from his past experiences. And I'm sure we wouldnt have him any other way. Let the demon massacre begin!

A demonic doll attacks Ash at ValueStop where he works. Great fun! Little dolls are super freaky normally. Ash is later joined in the battle against the Deadites (that's what they call demons) by coworkers Pablo and Kelly. There's also a demon granny who's pretty scary. She is dispatched by Ashe after he attaches a chainsaw to his arm stub. Good stuff. Across town, two Michigan state police detectives enter a house but one is turned into a demon. Amanda Fischer manages to survive. I'm sure she'll meet up with Ash later.

A million bonus points for Lucy Lawless (wife of Rob Tapert) being in the cast. She only makes a brief appearance in the premiere but will be back. Her character is named Ruby Knowby. She apparently is the daughter of the professor from the first movie. I will absolutely watch anything with Xena Warrior Princess in it... no matter what.

Grade: 4 Monsters (out of 5). If you're expecting a traditional horror movie you'll be disappointed here. "Ash Vs Evil Dead" is straight up gory stupid fun. Watch it for one armed chainsaw kills, possessed doll fights, evil grannies, Ash hitting on the ladies and Lucy Lawless.