Ash is back with boomstick in one hand, chainsaw firmly attached to the other and gore flying in every direction! And it is about time too! After 23 years, fans get a long-awaited return to the Cult-Classic Evil Dead Trilogy, and Bruce Campbell's narcissistic wit, with new Starz series, Ash vs. Evil Dead. The gory show debuted with the pilot episode, "El Jefe," on Friday and re-aired Halloween night for all to bask in the blood-soaked glory that is Evil Dead.
To be sure, there are those of you out there who have seen the 2013 Evil Dead movie that served to both reboot and continue the story, but come on. You have to admit, seeing Campbell's patented smirk scream, "Come and get me, you Deadite scum!" just isn't the same without the original director, Sam Raimi, behind the wheel.
Campbell and Raimi have been a nearly inseparable duo since the release of the first Evil Dead movie back in 1981. Now, Raimi causes the actor to suffer in various hilarious and humiliating ways every chance he gets. The latest of Raim's antics? The first episode of Ash vs. Evil Dead opens with Campbell putting on a corset, and looking for a set of dentures in a futile effort to combat his battle with middle age. Cambell goes so far as to say "[Raimi] knows I'm going to read in every review, 'The aging Lothario starts by hooking up a geezer girdle and lookin' for his teeth.'"
The official synopsis gives us much to look forward to, and does a decent job of getting you caught up with where Ash's life has gone since our last encounter with the skirt-chasing hero... absolutely nowhere! "Bruce Campbell returns as Ash, the stock boy, aging lothario and chainsaw-handed monster hunter who has spent the last 30 years avoiding responsibility, maturity and the terrors of the Evil Dead. When a Deadite plague threatens to destroy all of mankind, Ash is finally forced to face his demons -personal and literal. Destiny, it turns out, has no plans to release the unlikely hero from its 'Evil' grip."
For the first time, Cambell has sidekicks who may live to tell the tale... At least, for a while. Pablo Simon Bolivar (Ray Santiago) and his co-worker crush, Kelly Maxwell (Dana DeLorenzo), seem to compliment Ash perfectly with their sharp tongues and potty-mouth humor.
They also illustrate two sides of Ash's enigmatic self in how each view him. Pablo sees Ash as the leader, or "El Jefe," his uncle prophesied would save humanity from the Deadite threat, a role Ash can never escape and always revels in. Kelly sees him as the philandering, white-trash, egomaniac we have all come to know and love.
There may also be yet another Evil Dead movie to add to the much-loved movie franchise! Den of Geek certainly seems to think so, anyway. While attending the San Diego Comic-Con on Friday, Sam Raimi admitted, "he also plans to make a fourth Evil Dead film where Bruce Campbell's, Ash teams up with Jane Levy's Mia from the Evil Dead remake!"
In the meantime, grab your boomstick and hold on tight! Ash is back every Saturday night at 9 p.m. Eastern on Starz to dish out some well-deserved punishment to Deadite for all of his gore-loving fans.
