A blow by blow recap of the critically acclaimed first episode of ASH VS. EVIL DEAD.
SHOCK already gave you an advance review of ASH VS. EVIL DEAD but here, our TV Queen Alyse Wax lays into a blow by bloody blow recap of the first episode, ‘El Jefe’. Buckle in…here there be spoilers…
Its time to re-meet Ash Williams. It has been thirty years since EVIL DEAD II (actually, a little less; I figure he is splitting the difference between the first and second) and Ash hasnt changed much. He still works as a stockboy at Value Mart (formerly S Mart), where he cant be fired because of seniority. He lives in a trailer, is an egomaniacal flirt, and has a fake wooden hand on his stump.
Ash goes to the bar and picks up a woman of surprisingly appropriate age. They fuck in the bathroom, but halfway through, the woman turns into a Deadite and threatens that they are coming for him. Ash pulls away, terrified, but where there is a boner, there is a way, and he continues fucking her – albeit worriedly.
Back at his trailer, Ash makes sure he still has the Necronomicon. He does, but notices some pot stuck in the pages. He flashes back to a drug-induced encounter he had with a blonde, where he read her some of the Necronomicon in order to impress her. Ash is planning on leaving town, but there are a few things he has to do first. He calls Books From Beyond, telling them he needs help translating a book. Next, he flirts his way into some free housekeeping from his elderly neighbor Vivian. Vivian briefly turns into a Deadite with another warning for Ash.
Next stop is Value Mart, where Ash needs to get his check. The manager wont release it until the end of the day, so Ash stays to work the day. We meet Pablo, his co-worker and perhaps only friend, and Pablos neighbor, the sexy Kelly, who just started working there. A pass at flirting with her doesnt work, so he goes back to work. In the store room, the lights go out and Ash thinks he hears something. Investigating, he discovers a Little Lori toy has come to life. The two fight hilariously, but Little Lori wont give up and comes at him with a box cutter. Suddenly she goes splat and Pablo is there with a shovel.
Ash relents, and tells Pablo a really quick, one-minute recap of EVIL DEAD II and explains that he is leaving town. Pablo thinks Ashi s El Jefe, the man meant to contain all this, that he cant outrun evil. Ash doesnt buy it and leaves. Pablo tries to return to work, but notices Kelly is on an upsetting FaceTime call with her father. Her mother died six months ago, but now appears to be back, visiting her husband in the most menacing way. Pablo promises to take her to help her dad.
First, though, they need to make a stop – at Ashs trailer. Kelly is not interested in getting help from this aging creep, but the evil races toward the trailer and a Deadite arm grabs Kelly through the window. Ash returns to form, throws an axe at her, and it cuts the Deadite’s hand off. There is a momentary pause in the evil attack, but Ash knows it is coming. He rips off his work shirt, uses Kellys belt to strap a holster on his back, and steps on a button on the floor. A boomstick pops out of a secret hidden compartment. He grabs it and, without missing a beat, shoots a Deadite over his shoulder. He shoots another, and against all odds, Kelly is taken by Ash.
Kelly wants to go save her dad now, but Ash informs her this isnt a charity; he has to see a man about a book so that lots of people dont die. He slides open a secret compartment in the wall, and there, behind a sheet, we see the silhouette of the legendary chainsaw. Ash pulls back the curtain, and finds Deadite Vivian. We found you, Ash, she growls and the two start tearing it up. Ash goes for the chainsaw; Vivian throws it across the trailer, knocks out Ash, and stabs Pablo in the shoulder, pinning him to the wall. Next she turns on Kelly, but before she can infect her, Ash wakes and Pablo kicks the chainsaw to him. As we have all seen in the trailers, Ash flies through the air, connecting his stump with his chainsaw, and slices off Vivians head in a bloody display. You were right. No more running, Ash vows. Looking at the chainsaw, he says it is good to be back. Pablo asks how it feels. Groovy.
But ASH VS. EVIL DEAD isnt just about Ash. We also meet Amanda Fisher and her partner, Carson, a pair of state police who answer a call of a woman screaming bloody murder at a remote house. When they arrive, the house is silent and dark. Inside, they find a dead woman, and a live woman sobbing beneath a sheet. This is the woman Ash got high with and read from the Necronomicon with. She quickly turns into a Deadite, turns her head around, and attacks the cops. Amanda makes it out alive, but Carson isnt so lucky. Amanda is placed on leave while internal affairs investigate what they believe might be a homicide. Amanda is depressed by this. While having coffee at a diner, she hears a rustling noise and sees a little girl across the room with a Deadite face. She looks back, and sees the little girl is just a little girl. On cue, a mysterious woman in the next booth asks if she is ok. Amanda just thought she saw something. The woman, Ruby, assures her there is nothing wrong with her eyes. Sometimes what you think you saw is what you saw.
I really liked this first episode of ASH VS. EVIL DEAD. It has all the trademark humor and gore that one expects from an EVIL DEAD production, and stands on its own while still paying homage to the original (though it seems to ignore ARMY OF DARKNESS). I do wish there were more practical effects in the show. The Little Lori fight would have been perfect if it was done in Raimis stop-motion style, but at least the CG effects look better than Raimis abysmal OZ movie.
My biggest concern is that the show will fall off after the first episode. From what I understand, Raimi only directed this episode. Will another director be able to bring Raimis sensibilities to the franchise?
(Editors note: the second episode ROCKS!)
