Sorry that Ash vs Evil Dead isn't working for you. Not everything is going to be universally loved sadly.
That's alright. I feel bad too because I was really looking forward to the show, but that's how it goes. I was totally into the first few scenes but once it lost me I couldn't go back. Thank you for being understanding.
The cringe comedy and cheesy dialogue are just staples of Raimi's style. The man is a Three Stooges fanatic and its influence is practically in everything he does. The Evil Dead series are great for the quips but in all seriousness the moment to moment dialogue had always been cheesy. That's just part of its charm. No different here, but I actually think that moment to moment dialogue has improved a bit since the movies. "Give me some sugar baby" from AoD is a fun line, but if you start to look at the context of how and when it is said it can come off as very forced and awkward.
Yeah that explains a lot. I think the Three Stooges is insufferable and with that context it explains why I find his sense of humor so flat. I explained earlier in the thread that I absolutely hate Evil Dead 2 and its humor is absolutely a part of that. I like the quips. I don't like how they're constantly recycled (obligatory Groovy made me roll my eyes), but genuinely awesome stuff like "That's what we call pillow talk, baby" or my personal favorite "Feast on this, motherfucker" are fist bumping levels of cool. But the moment to moment wacky antics never worked for me. The fact it was concentrated in half an hour on top of other aspects I didn't like made the problem exponentially worse for me.
Those "forced" Evil Deadisms have been a part of each of the previous movies. From the unseen force, to the rocking chair, to the "unpossessed" partner, to Ash beating himself up in some fashion, these have all been present in some form or fashion in each of the movies. Why should they be missing here too?
I'll be more than happy to admit that that was one of my weaker points. I just felt that in its attempts to capture that magic, it didn't succeed in engaging me in a positive way and I'd much prefer a much radically different approach. I would have preferred them try to do something else than do what they did. That's all, but you're right in that it shouldn't surprise me.
Here is probably why you are getting the "you don't understand" comments to your criticism, and I'm sorry if this comes off as the same. Evil Dead has always been a series where they've had low budgets and shot for the skies. Could more of a budget helped with the effects in these movies? Of course! But they didn't have that money so they did whatever it took to get a shot done, whether you are able to see what's causing the effect or not.
Every film has had glaringly noticeable effects because of the lack of budget (ED- Exposed tubes and projected moon; ED2- Strings and claymation; AoD- Too much to mention). For a series as cartoonish as Evil Dead is, CG was more than likely going to be used at some point. Sam wanted a possessed doll? Stop motion takes too much time and money so go with CG! Get that shot done! Being subdued and constraint are not in the spirit of Evil Dead. If it became that then you would probably see a lot more backlash from the fans. "Loud and out there" was what made people fall in love with the series in the first place.
Here's the way I figured it and how it seemed to be described from all the interviews. Ash has fallen apart over the years. "The hero from the sky" is stuck with a crappy stockboy job, is still missing a hand, living in a trailer, and is aging. He's clearly lost touch and is falling apart. He is trying whatever he can to keep a grasp on his youth, but failing at it. I wouldn't doubt that for some selfish reason he kept a hold of that book in hopes that one day something does happen and he can once again feel relevant.
I'd like to take a beat to compliment you on your ability to convey your feelings without condescension while still getting hour point across. I greatly appreciate it.
Like I mentioned earlier in the thread, I hate Evil Dead 2. I hated the "loud and out there" tone of it and its wacky antics could not have missed harder for me. I didn't get into the series for that. Why I think it works for Army of Darkness is because instead of toeing on the line of horror and comedy, it became a full fledged cartoon where a fun chainsaw man kills a skeleton army. If it was any less, I would have hated it. But I easily think the series is at its best when it tries its best to be serious and having an undercurrent of comedy. I think Evil Dead 2013 is genius. But I didn't expect the show to hit the same tone as the remake (unfortunately). I was hoping something along the lines of Army of Darkness, but we got something along the lines of Evil Dead 2.
Also for more context, I absolutely hate the alternate original ending Raimi wanted for AoD. I'm not a fan of Raimi enjoying torturing Ash because I think Ash is a lovable goofball and I find the wacky antics bearable of they're met with optimism, which I think the normal ending nails. So what you said about Ash being a loser makes perfect sense. I just don't think it's a good look for him and I personally hate it.
Also yeah I agree completely about the CGI explanation. I'm still deeply unhappy about it because I think it looks dreadful.
Him releasing the evil and causing people to die is no different than what he did with 3 little words in Army of Darkness (where he was even more of an ass about it there). It isn't until the end of of the episode where you start seeing Ash the Hero that was at the end of ED2 and AoD.
As for his comeuppance? Well if tradition follows then Ash will have some kind of downbeat ending happen to him.
I think the circumstances of Army of Darkness made it more bearable. Don't get me wrong, I'm not crazy about it, but at least him forgetting the words after being attacked is somewhat understandable.
For more context, I am straight edge. I have never consumed illicit substances in my life and I never intend to. I have a lot of complicated feelings on the subject. The way it was triggered this time around was personally infuriating to me and made me lose any sympathy I ever had for his character. People are going to die for a mistake that was directly caused by his errors that upset me personally and that does not make me feel "go Ash go".
The show does stand on its own. There really isn't much plot to follow here. Bad book is read from, bad things happen. It's not like Evil Dead has a deep lore to it. Also fans, including myself, have been on a rollercoaster ride waiting for Evil Dead 4 to happen for decades now. If the show wasn't a good representation of what Evil Dead was, then Raimi and Campbell would never hear the end of it. Other than the use of modern technology, the first episode is pure Evil Dead through and through, and the darkly fun nature of it is something a lot of people who aren't familiar to the series can enjoy.
I misspoke and you have every right to call me out on it.
The show doesn't work for me personally. Granted I never wanted this show to exist. Nor Evil Dead 4. I wanted a sequel to the incredible remake, which is one of my favorite horror movies ever. So initially at announcement, I was very unhappy.
But I saw and liked the trailer and horror shows have been killing it so I thought this would be no different. All of my posts in this thread before I saw the episode were of pure optimism. But now seeing it and seeing people's reactions, I just realized that what I want out of Evil Dead is much different than what other fans want. I knew this coming in, but I didn't expect it to be this drastic. And if people want to dismiss my opinions because of all of that, that's fine. But nothing makes me more of a hothead than someone dismissing what I say because I don't understand.
I still plan on watching the show, but like I said I'm still very prepared to criticize it until I start enjoying it. Thank you for your kind response, friend. I hope my response contextualizes my personal position better and explains why I don't like the pilot
So is Cipher Peon this thread's equivalent of KubuwaraTheMan from the Doctor Who thread?
Doctor Who ranks highly on the list of things I hate in this world, so maybe? I don't know that person by name
