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Oct 30, 2015 By Hays Davis Web Exclusive

Only after zombies became bankable TV regulars could anyone have imagined the self-described “Ultimate Experience in Grueling Horror” becoming a TV series. And as the character Ash lived on after surviving 1981’s The Evil Dead to flourish in its two sequels, the chainsaw-armed ass-kicker of the dead was too much fun not to make a comeback.

Ash vs Evil Dead finds our hero aware of his aging, even if he gleefully refuses to live accordingly. During a tryst in the ladies’ room of a bar, Ash (Bruce Campbell) is unsettled when he seems to glimpse an evil presence. Later, when he returns home, it turns out that he’s in possession of the Book of the Dead that was a pivotal part of the first movie. Ash begins to remember showing the book to a curious date while massively under the influence. And then he realizes he might have done something horrifically stupid.

The show serves as a sequel to the movies, and Campbell throws himself completely into bringing Ash back to life as a party-loving, girl-chasing guy who’s always only a step away from a bad decision or the celebration of one. Once his buddy Pablo (Ray Santiago) and their new co-worker Kelly (Dana Delorenzo) realize that something worse than bad weather has come to town, it looks like Ash won’t have to be a lone wolf this time around. Meanwhile, detective Amanda Fisher (Jill Marie Jones) tries to make sense of what Ash has known about for decades.

Ten minutes into Ash vs. Evil Dead it’s clear that the show is pulling none of the maximum blood-and-scare punches of the movies, and their humor is thankfully intact. Sure, there’s undoubtedly a bit more of a budget involved, but it’s to the creators’ (director Sam Raimi and Campbell) credit that the frights follow the style of the original movie without CGI-boosted phantasmagoria. It’s simple: What’s even more entertaining than the realization that a dead guy is not where you left him? The moment that he shows up again. (www.starz.com/AshvsEvilDead)

Author rating: 7.5/10