Groovy

In 1981 a film was unleashed upon the world that brought to everyones attention the genius of a young director by the name of Sam Raimi. More than that however it also brought the world a young man who would go on to become the most beloved 'B' movie actor of all time, that actor was Bruce Campbell and the film was of course the horror classic The Evil Dead.

Now being that I was only 5 years old at the time of it's release I of course was not part of the crowd that got to appreciate it right from the off. In fact it was not until sometime in my teens that I even began to have an appreciation for horror films (thanks in no small part to my sister) but right from the very beginning there was a trilogy of films that stood out for me.

Well in truth it was one film in particular that really caught my attention and that was The Evil Dead II, a sequel/reboot of sorts that ramped up the comedy but kept a firm hold on its horror roots. For me it is impossible to watch any of the original Evil Dead films without being in awe of the greatness that is the aformentioned Mr Campbell. Not only is he a vastly under-rated actor who for my money could have been a Hollywood leading man if he had so chosen to be but the abuse he was prepared to put himself through in those early days is a sight to behold.

I could go on but this is not meant as a review of Raimis horror classics I am merely looking back at the past in order to give a better understanding of my feelings for the present. You see Raimi, Campbell and co made what was for me the greatest trilogy in all of horror/comedy, a trilogy that was neatly wrapped up with 1992's Army of Darkness. AOD had an ending that gave us a sense of closure for Campells Ashley J Williams (regardless of which of the two endings you happened to see) and left the viewer content with the knowledge that there would be no more.

21 years later however somebody somewhere decided that The Evil Dead was to be the next in a long line of classic movies that were ready for a remake, true I'm sure the decision was made with dollar signs in their eyes but frankly the era of the remake/reboot has been groosly overdone and needs to stop as soon as possible. Now I will admit that there has been the odd occasion when a remake has worked out ok and I have enjoyed it (Dawn of the Dead is a prime example) but these are few and far between.

So The Evil Dead 2013 style came and went making absolutely no artistic impact on the world of cinema. In fact it was nothing more that a paint by numbers modern horror film with none of the charm of the original. The creative geniuses behind the project (Raimi and co were onboard as 'producers', meaning of course they had nothing to do with it) tried to appease the old fan base by tacking a Campbell cameo onto the end credits but that came across as nothing more than a desperate attempt to plug the hole on a sinking ship (it did take $54 million dollars against a budget of $17 million but for me it was just bland, boring and not worthy of the Evil Dead monikor.

Following the remake there was talk of a sequel or even an Army of Darkness 2 both films being touted as potentially crossing over the worlds of Ash from the original trilogy and the characters from the new film, thankfully neither of those projects appears to be progressing which appeared to once again bring the franchise to a close. Until that is Halloween Night 2015, a night when the network Starz aired the debut episode of Ash vs The Evil Dead.

The show was first announced by Sam Riami at 2014's San Diego Comic Con which gave fans a year to digest the news and wonder what was to come, the big selling point of course was that Bruce Campbell would be returning to the role that launched his career. All of which brings us to the point of this review which is my feelings on the first episode that has now been and gone.

I should firstly point that at the time of writing Ash vs The Evil Dead is not available anywhere that doesn't have the Starz network but the fact that a second season was commissioned before a single second of season one had aired gives hope that it will be picked up soon.

With this in mind I don't really want to spoil it for anyone who has not yet had the opportunity to watch it, besides I normally reserve spoilers for those films and shows that you should avoid like the plague, by spoiling the plot I am in fact fulfilling a civic duty to you the loyal reader by saving you the pain of trawling through the sheer awfulness of what I have seen.

What I can say however is that if the 2013 film did its best to put the final nail in the coffin of The Evil Dead then the new tv show far and away blows away the stench that we have had to endure for the last two years. Campbell clearly has a love for Ash that maybe even he would not want to admit and as not only a fan of the original trilogy but a HUGE fan of everything that the Mighty Bruce has ever done I marked out like a little kid from the moment Ash showed up onscreen.

The show channels the spirit of the original films and both looks and feels just like a continuation of the story told over 20 years ago. The Deadites look awesome, there is blood by the bucket load and the comedy that we loved back in the day is front and centre admist the madness. Will this show be for everyone? No of course it wont. Anyone who loves the Walking Dead will not find more of the same here and people who have either never seen the original films or ever heard of Bruce Campbell may not 'get' the show but for this fan boy it is the greatest show in the history of television and nobody will ever be able to convince me otherwise.

In closing I give Ash vs The Evil Dead Episode One 9.5 out of 10, the only reason it loses half a mark is for the ommission of Ted Raimi who for me deserves to be there every bit as much as my man Bruce.