Series Review: "Ash vs Evil Dead" (2015-18).

"Glory, Gory, Hallelujah!" This is Ash vs Evil Dead. This comedy horror television series developed by Sam Raimi, Ivan Raimi, and Tom Spezialy, based on the characters by Sam Raimi, and produced by the Starz network. The series acts as a sequel to the original trilogy, although it doesn't directly address the events of the reboot. Ash is baaaack! The heroic, chainsaw-handed monster fighter Ash Williams, now an aging lothario who has successfully avoided responsibility, maturity and heinous villains for the past thirty years. Constantly peering over his shoulder, Ash somehow knew that the Evil Dead would return for him. That day arrives when Ash commits an act of carelessness, unleashing a Deadite plague that threatens to destroy mankind.

Sam Raimi originally intended to follow Army of Darkness (1992) with a fourth Evil Dead movie. The plan for which was to follow the theatrical and director's cut endings of the film, with a film that followed two different timelines simultaneously. However, Raimi wasn't able to get funding for the film, and the concept was eventually abandoned. So it was then conceptualised as a TV show instead. Writing for the medium presented new challenges for Sam as he had to make the series accessible to new viewers as well as create new characters to "bounce off of". At the 2014 San Diego Comic-Con, during a surprise appearance, the project was first officially revealed by Raimi. In early November, Starz announced that they officially put an order in for the series. Campbell said the channel was the only network that would give them the ability to be unrated and unrestricted; Campbell has stated that Starz does not require the crew to create alternate, "wimpy" versions for television. By late April 2015, Bruce Campbell, Ray Santiago, Dana DeLorenzo, Lucy Lawless, and Ted Raimi were cast, and Starz released a new graphic teaser advertising the TV show is coming in the fall of 2015, along with a new poster for the series. At the same time, principal photography commenced and took place in Auckland, New Zealand. Additionally, the producers made it clear that they wanted to resolve the legal issues with Universal Pictures, where the events from Army of Darkness could not specifically be mentioned in the first season. In mid-2016, producer Robert Tapert stated that the rights issue had been solved. In late October, Starz greenlit the second season three days before it premiered. In late April 2018, it was announced that the series had been cancelled after a three-season run, with the last episode airing on April 29, 2018. Following the news of the show's cancellation, fans of the series created petitions to renew the series for a fourth or fifth season.

The series stars Campbell, Santiago, DeLorenzo, Lawless, and Raimi. The mix between nostalgia and modern day is well balanced thanks to the great performances given by the cast led by Campbell.

Ash vs Evil Dead continues the Evil Dead series with a blend of irreverent humour and bloody violence, elevated by a cast of well-written characters.

Simon says Ash vs Evil Dead receives:

Also, see my reviews for Oz the Great and Powerful and Evil Dead.