Travis Sheldon Posted December 1, 2015 Share Posted December 1, 2015 Like I'm sure all red-blooded Americans did, I wrapped up my Thanksgiving by marathoning the first 4 episodes of ASH VS. THE EVIL DEAD. It's good! But it definitely loses something once Sam Raimi steps away after the pilot. By the end of the second episode, it's clear that Raimi's careening camera moves and rapidfire zooms and cuts and weird angles are as integral to this world as Bruce Campbell and buckets of gore. Without him, it's evident that something is missing. The other directors try to imitate it from time to time, but it mostly comes off as just that: an imitation. By the time I hit the 3rd episode, it's clear I was watching Just Another Cable Horror/Fantasy/SciFi Show, replete with a thin supporting cast of variable acting abilities, dodgy digital effects, and tropes, tropes, tropes to build stories around (an occult book dealer! a shaman to take Ash on a spirit journey!)...only with Campbell doing his signature shtick in the lead. But as far as those types of shows go, this one is pretty good. And at only 30 minutes per episode, it never overstays its welcome. Any time I felt my patience waning, there was usually a legitimately funny gag (Ash's spirit journey takes him to....Jacksonville, FL?) or the episode would end, with enough of a tease to pique my interest for the next one (Lucy Lawless has Ash's hand!). Also, I don't remember Ash being *quite* this much of an asshole in the movies, but I was young when I first saw them, so "asshole" probably registered as "awesome cool person" in my brain. Between this and American Horror Story, it's probably my favorite thing being aired at this moment in time. My wife actually has gotten into it, and she normally is into the procedural type shows and films. I'm 95% confident she doesn't remember me showing her Evil Dead 2, so all the little nods to the old stuff is lost on her. At first I thought the CGI would be detrimental, but The Walking Dead has made that a moot point with me. Fun show and I think the cast is fine. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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