The Evil Dead Trilogy is for many one of the greatest cult franchises of all time; it made Ash Williams (and Bruce Campbell) an instant icon and Sam Raimi a prolific film director. In 2015, Raimi boldly revived Ash Williams on the small screen, extending his adventures against the book that never seems to leave him alone: the Necronomicon. Now in its second series, Starburst took a look at the forthcoming Blu-ray release.
Ash Vs. Evil Dead picks up with Ash, along with his comrades in arms, Kelly (Dana DeLorenzo) and Pablo (Ray Santiago) living in Jacksonville, after striking a deal with Ruby (Lucy Lawless), the immortal writer of the Necronomicon, for a quiet life if she can unleash some demons. Unfortunately, said demons have turned on Ruby and now she needs Ash’s help to vanquish them. The trail takes them back to Elk Grove, Michigan, Ash’s hometown, where Ash catches up with his estranged father, Brock Williams (Lee Majors), and the other people he left behind, but the Deadites are waiting with ideas of their own for the Necronomicon.
What makes this series excellent is that it did all its character (re)establishing in the first series, allowing the second series to be a gleaming tribute to the Evil Dead Trilogy: the Michigan location, the appearance of Ted Raimi, the “evil force” travelling shots and several other key Evil Dead cameos (we won’t spoil the surprises) all blend with the development of the story, which feels like a natural successor to the series. We see Ash contemplate what his life has done to the people he left behind in Michigan, but this doesn’t stop him having to behead and disembowel any Deadite getting in the way, with Pablo and Kelly being developed strongly in their own rights to have their own problems running alongside Ash’s. All this coupled with a strong set of behind-the-scenes features and audio commentaries makes the second series of Ash Vs. Evil Dead the strongest continuation of the franchise so far.
ASH VS. EVIL DEAD (SEASON 2) / CERT: / DIRECTOR: VARIOUS / SCREENPLAY: VARIOUS / STARRING: BRUCE CAMPBELL, DANA DELORENZO, RAY SANTIAGO, LUCY LAWLESS / RELEASE DATE: 23RD OCTOBER
