Weird, a bit silly, ridiculous, disgusting and nearly vomit inducing, all the things you will like about Ash vs Evil Dead: The complete Collection. It’s the kind of horror and bloody mayhem that when presented with tongue-in-cheek comedy can be very amusing. It’s for those who have become fans of the Starz TV Network program or just need a break from the ordinary. Although I am a fan of Army of Darkness, it was my first time seeing this spin off of Ash vs Evil Dead Trilogy all three seasons. It’s available now on Blu-ray, DVD, and Digital Download.
The first season sets the characters and the tone of the series. It expands Ash’s (Bruce Campbell) role from The Evil Dead franchise and starts a whole new adventure. Along with his best friend Pablo (Ray Santiago) and the lovely whimsical Kelly (Dana DeLorenzo), the trio strive to clear out those that would destroy the existence of life on Earth. See trailer for Season 1 below.
Jump way forward to season 2 and we find Ash sporting his chainsaw artificial right hand at a party in Jacksonville. Still wowing the ladies, he’s having a good ole’ time until a cyclonic wave shakes up the place. At first thinking it’s a freak storm, he looks back to two lovely ladies that have now turned into fierce devils about to attack him. When he finds out they have been sent by the malevolent immortal Ruby (Lucy Lawless), he cannot believe his eyes, or all the blood for that matter.
Following this confrontation, Ash, Pablo and Kelly head for Elk Grove, Illinois were Ash was born. There we find ash’s dad played by Lee Majors who shares the rest of season one helping his son. From there on Ash gets into one hair raising situation after another throughout the 30 episodes. It’s a fun ghoulish romp fighting the Spawn and Deadites with an untold number of frames filled with blood, guts and surprises. It’s a series fit for horror fans and those that just want a laugh along with their need for the sight of carnage.
In Elk Grove we get a more in depth look at Ash as they throw back to his Evil Dead/Army of Darkness days. It’s here he has to confront the daemons of his past. The list of chapters tell some of the story, but you’ll have to watch the unrated wild and wicked second season to savor the fine acting and skills of the whole crew. Disc 1 has “Home”, “The Morgue”, “Last Call”, “D.U.I.”, and “Confinement.” Switch to disc 2 for “Trapped Inside”, “Delusion”, “Ashy Slashy” (My favorite as it’s a look back at his school days), “Home Again” and finally “Second Coming”.
Well that’s too much description and information on the Starz three seasons it will be a lot more fun if you just watch it yourself. Trust me, what I have already described has no spoilers and I wiped off all the fingerprints so you cannot track me down if I did. But, the following will give you some of the other stuff that some readers like to know before they obtain a Blu-ray or DVD.
Ash vs Evil Dead is filled with amazing CGI special effects, make-up, props, prosthesis, gallons of blood juice, stunts, costume changes, creative sets, brawls, slicing, dicing, stabbing, shootings, piercing and dismemberment. The excellent stunt doubles take a lot of the beating portraying the evil daemons attacking Ash and his friends. Speaking of the actors, they’re also paired off with some exceptional stunt doubles themselves. A tip of the hat to the unsung heroes of the clean-up crew, it must have been an awful job of tidying up after every take. (Pass me some of the raspberry sauce for my sundae, will ya?)
I don’t know when in this year that I’ve had so much fun watching a series so well balanced with good scripts, devoted actors and direction that interprets just what Evil Dead heads would love. I’m sold on the adventures but am also sad that there will be no more. What the heck, after you have finished disc 6, wait 9 months and start the series all over again.
BONUS FEATURES:
But, the fun and gore doesn’t stop there as the discs have some very nice extras. Do not watch the bonus features until you have seen all the episodes as there are a LOT of spoilers.
SEASON 1 BLU-RAY / DVD / DIGITAL SPECIAL FEATURES
“Inside the World of Ash” Featurette
“How to Kill a Deadite” Featurette
“Best of Ash” Featurette
“Audio Commentaries” featuring Bruce Campbell (Ash), Ray Santiago (Pablo), Dana DeLorenzo (Kelly) and Lucy Lawless (Ruby).
SEASON 2 BLU-RAY / DVD / DIGITAL SPECIAL FEATURES
“Season 2 First look” A quick compilation of the season.
“Inside the World of Ash vs Evil Dead” this featurette is very cool. It takes each episode and dissects it.
“Up Your Ash” this featurette shows the making of the episode with special effects.
“Women Who Kick Ash” It’s a featurette where the girls talk about the power of their roles in the episodes.
“Puppets Are Cute” Featurette. Here they show how the episode with the puppets was filmed.
“Dawn of the Spawn” Featurette. This one gets very creepy as they show how the Spawn are made.
“Bringing Henrietta Back” Featurette. How they copied Henrietta from the original Evil Dead film to make her return to this series.
“The Delta” Featurette. The story behind Ash’s Delta 88 Oldsmobile featured in the episodes.“How to Kill a Deadite” Featurette. Includes a lot of slicing, shotgun blasts, chainsaw, etc.
“Fatality Mash-Up” a gory featurette with enough blood to fill a truck load of oil barrels.
“Audio Commentaries” featuring Bruce Campbell (Ash), Ray Santiago (Pablo), Dana DeLorenzo (Kelly) and Lucy Lawless (Ruby).
SEASON 3 BLU-RAY / DVD / DIGITAL SPECIAL FEATURES
“Season Overview” Featurette
“Inside the World of Ash vs Evil Dead” Featurette
“Audio Commentaries” featuring Bruce Campbell (Ash), Ray Santiago (Pablo), Dana DeLorenzo (Kelly) and Lucy Lawless (Ruby).
Ash vs Evil Dead: Seasons 1, 2 & 3 have not been rated by the TV Ratings Bureau, but contains nudity, sexual innuendos, and bloody violence mixed with rude, crude and unglued language. Not recommended for immature adults. I know it sounds like I am hawking for Lionsgate, but believe me I am so bummed out from watching many terror/horror flicks the past month that this one just caught me at the right time.
Oh, don’t forget to call all your friends over to your house for a night of Trick or Treat with Ash vs Evil Dead. If they know the horror series, set up a Trivia Night.
FINAL ANALYSIS: If you are looking for ghastly horror this Horror fest is your cup of blood. (For me it is a hoot 4.5 out of 5 Starz)
Specifications and additional video information:
Starring: Bruce Campbell, Lucy Lawless, Ray Santiago, Dana DeLorenzo
Genre: Horror, Comedy
Running Time: 14 hrs. 20 min.
MPAA Rating: Not Rated, contains, language, violence, gore, nudity
Original Theatrical Release:
Video Release Date: October 16, 2018
Language: English
Reviewed Format: Blu-ray
Audio: Dolby True HD 7.1
Video: 16×9, Aspect Ratio 1.78:1
Subtitles: English SDH, Spanish, French
Number of Discs: 6 discs
Distributed by: Lionsgate/ Starz
Released Formats: Blu-ray, DVD, Digital Copy
Writer, critic, film editor John Delia, Sr. has been on all sides of the movie business from publications to film making. He has worked as a film critic with ACED Magazine for more than 20 years and other publications for a total of 40 years. He earned a Bachelor’s degree in communications from the University of Florida. John is a member of the Southeastern Film Critics Association and Critics Association of Central Florida Send John a message at jdelia@acedmagazine.com
