Ash vs. Evil Dead: The Complete First Season - BLU-RAY [Standard] [2 Discs]

I have been waiting years for this, years!! Well, a lot of us have been waiting years for this. Luckily Universal Studios didn’t let Raimi use the original cut for Army of Darkness (originally titled Medieval Dead and with a different ending where Ash uses the Necronomicon to return home but ends up in a post-apocalyptic future). For years there were rumors of another Evil Dead film, or a reboot, but since television has gotten so good, I’m really glad that this was the medium they chose to tell more adventures of Ashley J. Williams. I watched the pilot Halloween night on Starz as was intended, and it was everything I wanted it to be. Bruce Campbell was perfection as always, it was so amazing to see Bruce back in the role of Ash after all these years, it’s almost like no time has passed. After picking up a girl and taking her back to his trailer, they “party” and to impress her Ash reads a bit from the Necronomicon, not a good idea. Never read from the book! There are tons of awesome deadites in the pilot, lots of creepy and gross moments that harken back to Evil Dead 1 and 2. I love all the call backs to ED 1 and 2, music cues and flashbacks (though there is no mention of Army of Darkness at all, maybe in future episodes but that adventure was not mentioned in this first episode). I want to say more but I won’t spoil anything either. I loved that there was more Three Stooges style slap stick humor, this just felt right at home with the rest of the films. Ash is a lone hero, but often times his stubbornness and arrogance gets in him in trouble. Luckily for Ash, he has some help. Ray Santiago plays Pablo, Ash’s coworker who looks up to Ash and sees the potential in him to be a true hero. Dana DeLorenzo plays Kelly, Pablo’s friend and also works with he and Ash, she doesn’t really see Ash in the same light that Pablo does. We are also introduced to Jill Marie jones as Amanda Fisher, a cop who runs into some deadites and has a very brief encounter with Lucy Lawless who plays Ruby. Sam Raimi gives us a lot to chew on in the pilot, but is also keeping a lot secret, and as the first season unfolds you really can't tell if Ash will be the hero he has been in the past. Who is Ruby and what are her real motivations, will Pablo and Kelly become an item? Will Ash ever get to see Jacksonville, FL? There ended up being only 2 references to Army of Darkness that I caught, but there were some great callbacks to things that happened in the past, especially ED 2. Some of the episodes in the middle of the season are a bit light on action and horror and focus more on character development. But boy does the last half of this season really kick s&%# into 12th gear with the gore and horror and action. I ended up loving all of the first season, the show retained the campiness and style of the original films while injecting some new blood and modern touches that I think really helped the show overall. The humor, the action, the horror, it’s all on point. This is everything I wanted it to be and more. I think any fan of Evil Dead 1 and 2 or Army of Darkness is really going to enjoy watching more adventures of Ash vs. Evil Dead. FULLY APPROVED.

Was a great show. Sucks that it was so short lived. For a few years, that's tradition, I would get these sets for my buddy for the holidays. Unfortunately that was a 3 year traditional only. Bring Ash vs. Evil Dead back!

Avid fan of the Evil Dead series, even the 2013 reboot, which may be the best of the past decade+ craze of remake/ reboots. But, as much as I loved the 2013 reboot, there was a certain sadness that Ash and that original universe wasn't revisited. Here to tell you, Ash vs Evil Dead, the TV Series, is not just a cash-in, it's a weekly return to that original, over the top universe. Bruce Campbell returns as the titular Ash, now more aged, (yet still no more grown up,) and getting into the amount of shenanigans you'd imagine from the character, when, during a drunken hook-up, attempts to impress his date with a showing of the infamous Necronomicon, which sets events in motion that will once again force our puckish rogue to set aside (or not,) himself to save the world. AvED is lovingly crafted to recapture everything that made ED2 & Army of Darkness such memorable films. Humor, blood & guts, special effects, even camera angles are all used in a way that does its job in making the series feel like its part of the original storyline. The new characters fit right in, but its Ash, the Chin himself, Bruce Campbell, who slides right back into the role he made 30 years ago. All the greatness aside, and while it keeps the "feel" of ED2 & AOD, one needs to understand that AOD is ignored as continuity here, but it's not missed; any questions you may have about events of AOD is quickly overshadowed by just how entertaining this series is. Lucy Lawless, a Raimi favorite, plays main villain Ruby, and for a real treat, pick up season 2, when Lee Majors appears as Ash's estranged father and Ellen Sandweiss, who played Cheryl (Ash's sister,) in the original 1981 film, makes a return. This is a wonderful return, and any fan of the original series that hasn't added this to their library already is missing out.

Bruce Campbell did an awesome job in this series I totally recommend this to anyone who is a fan.

I loved the Evil Dead trilogy and the Ash Vs Evil Dead is just as funny and sweet!