Support NeoGAF

[mariachi507]

Damn, the episode was quite brutal. I even cringed in a few spots, which is awesome.

 

[jond76]

Great finale. I knew Ash

Spoiler

would take the deal

I have no idea what to expect for season 2. That's a good thing.

 

[NotTheGuyYouKill]

I actually didn't like Ash taking the deal. Didn't jive with his character development, but I guess they needed Ash to make things worse.

 

[Kevin]

I actually didn't like Ash taking the deal. Didn't jive with his character development, but I guess they needed Ash to make things worse.

I absolutely LOVED the season finale until this happen. I get that Ash is an idiot and selfish or whatever but this just seemed a little TOO much even for Ash. Ash usually never knowingly took a deal that would screw over everyone else. I mean he has always fought to save people. Way out of character.

Still I really likely this show and the setup for season 2 in theory could be amazing. Especially if they have deadites everywhere and a whole apocalyptic feel going on. Not sure if we'll actually get that big of scope but I'm still excited for more of this show.

 

[asagami_]

I would prefer

Spoiler

Highway to Hell instead Back in Black, but an ACDC song to remind us that the things going to be very very bad is a nice touch.

Now I will try to wait for the second season.

 

[liquidtmd]

The final episode of the season was definitely the best. Rick Jacobson and Craig Digregorio did a fantastic job directing and writing this one.

.

Some of the violence was off the charts in terms of what I was expecting. They juggled fear, comedy and the visceral very well. I'm not familiar with their work but they deserve kudos - they filmed to me an authentic cabin Evil Dead experience. Expectations were high but met.

Spoiler

The scene when the Australian got blown out of the door in pieces and the bit when Ash chainsawed Amanda - I laughed and cringed together, the hardest of things to get right

 

[CloudWolf]

Loved this entire season. Can't wait for the second season, it's gonna be great.

I actually didn't like Ash taking the deal. Didn't jive with his character development, but I guess they needed Ash to make things worse.

It's actually 100% an Ash thing to do. Have you seen Army of Darkness? That guy constantly makes things worse by taking the easy way out.

 

[Spaghetti]

i didn't feel like ash taking the deal reversed his character development at all. he was about to smoke ruby until she gave him a way to save kelly and pablo. don't get me wrong he was being selfish too, but it's not like it was a "fuck you guys" deal.

good episode though, you could tell some of the... cheaper episodes were so they could end things with a bang.

 

[internetwolf]

Loved this entire season. Can't wait for the second season, it's gonna be great.


It's actually 100% an Ash thing to do. Have you seen Army of Darkness? That guy constantly makes things worse by taking the easy way out.

Yeah I could tell that was coming from pretty early on in the episode. Total Ash move.

This whole season was amazing I can't wait for next Halloween! (Assuming S2 premieres then)

 

[Kuroyume]

Incredible season finale.

Loved every episode of this show. Fills the void left by my other favorite shows ending/leaving (BB, Hannibal, etc.)

I think it matched the horror and comedy aspects of the last two movies perfectly. Both in terms of visuals and the content of the humor. Kelly and Pablo were great, as was Ruby. Amanda kinda sucked as a human, but was a great Deadite.

Just so happy we got a show out of this. A movie sequel would have been nice, but multiple episodes of Evil Dead? Just awesome. Cabin scenes were the best. Linda's head in a vice... Jake's body in the celler. The tape recorder. The deer's head! Enjoyed all the references.

Btw, show scenes are so much better at night. Loved the spookiness of the woods vs. the fight at the book shop, restuarant, brujo's place. Obviously, the entire show can't remain at night but I want to see more darkness in the show.

 

[Vampirolol]

Even though I liked the side characters in this episode I would really love to see them gone in season 2 and just have stupid, selfish Ash back.

 

[ElectricThunder]

That freaking Brujo pendant has to actually accomplish something positive in Season 2 unless the entire purpose of it was a trolling red herring---finale was great, loved the deliberations at the top of the stairs at the start of the episode with the blond's realizations that the foreshadowing isn't exactly going her way.

 

[obin_gam]

So all in all a mediocre series thus far. Good beginning and good ending, but the middle was kinda flat. The main issue for me is how clean the show looks. Not just Ashs wardrobe (his shirt never got dirty enough, it just looked cartoonishly blue all the way), but the gore and effects were too modern. The "requel" was way better in catching the Evil Dead feeling imo, both with the grittyness AND the gore-level. The last episode came close with the demon shild vs Ash, but nothing during the season ever came close to this:

I hope they "up" everything next season.

 

[liquidtmd]

So all in all a mediocre series thus far. Good beginning and good ending, but the middle was kinda flat. The main issue for me is how clean the show looks. Not just Ashs wardrobe (his shirt never got dirty enough, it just looked cartoonishly blue all the way), but the gore and effects were too modern. The "requel" was way better in catching the Evil Dead feeling imo, both with the grittyness AND the gore-level. The last episode came close with the demon shild vs Ash, but nothing during the season ever came close to this:

I hope they "up" everything next season.

Disagree - from episode 1 I think the show perfectly captured Raimis aesthetic in terms of gore. The last episode, where

Spoiler

Ash impales a flying Amanda onto the chainsaw and rams it into her again and again as she jiggles about on it

matches the gif you've posted, not to mention

Spoiler

the avalanche explosion of blood from the remains of the Australian flying out of the cabin

.

Really not sure what else you're expecting from a TV show. Grittyness? Tonally it was Evil Dead 2, not 1, but that seemed a conscious choice on their part.

Side note and not a response to you! - on looking for these gifs, I found this one too and I love it muchly. Gonna get some use!

 

[obin_gam]

Disagree - from episode 1 I think the show perfectly captured Raimis aesthetic in terms of gore. The last episode, where

Spoiler

Ash impales a flying Amanda onto the chainsaw and rams it into her again and again as she jiggles about on it

matches the gif you've posted, not to mention

Spoiler

the avalanche explosion of blood from the remains of the Australian flying out of the cabin

.

Really not sure what else you're expecting from a TV show. Grittyness? Tonally it was Evil Dead 2, not 1, but that seemed a conscious choice on their part.

I can live with the tone being ED2. What I was disappointed is how clean the show looked (although this is probably due to difference in digital cameras v. film stock), so yes, more grittyness, dirtyness. The last episode came close, as I said. If you look at everyones faces during the "ending battle", everyone cleans up to much between takes. The blood doesnt stay on them, it just washes of which removes some of the feeling.

 

[AlexMeloche]

Loved the last episode. Such a great way to end an amazing first season.

Can't wait to see Season 2.

 

[strafer]

I'm on episode 5.

Fuck me, this is way better than the movies.

 

[Dr.Acula]

That final ep was so great, loved how it ended too.

Everything once they got to

Spoiler

the cabin

picked up. I lol'd at the

Spoiler

Australian backpackers.

 

[spookyfish]

The blonde backpacker is Hugo Weaving's niece. Nice.

And this makes me wish more than ever the requel didn't exist. That was horrible. No humor in that at all. Even the first Evil Dead, a balls to the wall horror flick, had humor.

 

[obin_gam]

The blonde backpacker is Hugo Weaving's niece. Nice.

And this makes me wish more than ever the requel didn't exist. That was horrible. No humor in that at all. Even the first Evil Dead, a balls to the wall horror flick, had humor.

The long haired dude getting

Spoiler

injured all the time without dying

was hilarious

 

[strafer]

Okay all done with the show.

Man, what a gory filled series.

Bruce Campbell needs to be a bigger star.

The cabin stuff was great. But I wish she didn't die.

 

[XxSlasherMcGirkxX]

I absolutely LOVED the season finale until this happen. I get that Ash is an idiot and selfish or whatever but this just seemed a little TOO much even for Ash. Ash usually never knowingly took a deal that would screw over everyone else. I mean he has always fought to save people. Way out of character.

I'm gonna have to agree. I still love the series though.

It's actually 100% an Ash thing to do. Have you seen Army of Darkness? That guy constantly makes things worse by taking the easy way out.

Yes but in the end he helps unite the armies and makes the right choice when he could have easily went back to his time.

 

[Enk]

That finale was ace! This series started on a strong note and thankfully ended on a note just as equally strong. Those involve with this ep did their damnedest to capture the tone of what Evil Dead is on a TV budget and did it damn well. After all the talk up of Craig Digregorio being the show runner, he went in and wrote an episode that shows he knew what makes Evil Dead tick the best. Being his only episode, director Rick Jacobson came in strong and full of energy and insanity, and with the constant, creative camera work needed for the appropriate amount of chaos to cap off an Evil Dead story.

I only wish the lessons that have been learnt from these past three episodes carry on throughout next season. For most of this season they used deadites as a crutch for the action (very boring deadites at that), but they need to think about the Evil Dead taking over the environment as a whole instead like they've done with these cabin episodes. The gang stops at a diner? Have the pancakes come alive or some crazy shit like that! Anyways, these past three episodes and especially the finale have made up for the speed bumps along the way this season for me. Digregorio, Jacobson, and Bassett really should step up to the plate more often next season if Raimi isn't coming back to direct another episode. They've shown that they're quite capable of handling the Evil Dead style pretty well.

Finale quick thoughts: (SPOILERS)

- Amanda turned into such a solid deadite and had the best kill of the season! Such fun, manic energy in that whole sequence from her running at Ash with the chainsaw like headless Linda from ED2 to the imagery of Ash sawing her in the air while she's still grinning with wicked glee.

- Am I the only one that was expecting him to say something on the lines of "Time to split" but never came.

- The "Hero from the sky" clearly has not been forgotten. Hopefully it will once again be brought up as a future plot point.

- Nice touch on having this episode come full circle to the very first one. It's effective when trying to communicate how Ash has grown throughout the season and the reasoning for him to succumb to the deal in the end.

- Freddy's glove is still there!

- I could've done without the lengthy Evil Dead 2 Jake flashback to make us understand the corpse. Could've just shown it and most of us would've gotten it just by the clothes. Speaking of which where is Annie's corpse at?

- They went full hog on the Evil Dead cabin craziness in the Kelly & Other Girl segments! Roaches in the pants, giant eyeball in the wall, moving couches, nails coming out of the boards, talking doorknobs, a geyser of blood, etc. Most of that was new to Evil Dead but is very much what this series is all about.

- Ash screaming "Pedro" instead of "Pablo"! Funny in several ways. One being that was originally Pablo's name in the old scripts for the show.

- That scene with Ash and the creepy kid is worthy to be amongst the classic Evil Dead moments.

- They really put "Other Girl" through the ringer, but I hope next season they really give it to Kelly and Pablo. They came out fairly unscathed this season. Time for them to lose a limb or two next.

- The scariest thing about this episode: Kelly trying to set the cabin on fire! Thankfully they didn't show it burning down so by movie/tv law it lives for another sequel. Whew!

- They finally tore Ash's shirt!

- After the sheer insanity this episode brought, the final confrontation with Ash and Ruby (?) was a little subdued. It was like coming down off an intense high. I kept expecting a bit more fight with PabloBook vs Ash and Kelly, but it all came down to the battle of the deal. It's a very different note to end on for the Evil Dead series. It wasn't bad, just unexpected.

- As for Ash's choice? It makes sense. Yes it was dumb. Yes it was selfish, but he went with what his heart could take. When he was first offered the deal he went with the answer that the old Ash would've gone with, but when offered again at the end, knowing that Pablo and Kelly wouldn't make it out alive, he knew couldn't take being an "Alone Wolf" anymore. It's pretty much the theme they've been building on with him this whole season. Ash kept mentioning throughout the series that he was tired of seeing all his loved ones dying so of course in the end he was all "Fuck the world. I'm going to Jacksville with my pack". In the car you could tell Ash knew it was the wrong choice in the grand scheme of things, and he seemed to have gone a little mad because of it. And now Kelly and Pablo are now starting to see the kinks in the jefe’s armor.

- Sad to see them leave the cabin so soon. Thankfully it still stands for another trip back someday. They kind of have to. Still got to bury the book and find Knowby's notes that Amanda found about the dagger sealing it. Plus all the love that went into making that set look so authentic!

I'll post some thoughts later on with my views on the season as a whole, but as a long time Evil Dead fan I'm glad that I'm leaving this season with my long time thirst for Evil Dead 4 feeling mostly satisfied. Very curious what the next season is going to bring if they do end up in Jacksonville. Deadites on the beach?! Ash joining a surfing contest to save an orphanage from a Kandarian take over?!! We’ll find out next October!

 

[~Kinggi~]

So guys, did this live up to the hypes and shit? Havent watched, havent read much of thread. Brief scan seems to confirm they didnt fuck it up.

 

[ElTopo]

It was okay. I'm glad the cop character is FINALLY dead and out of the picture. I still don't like the sidekicks. There was some great gore but the finale was kind of weak.

 

[Enk]

So guys, did this live up to the hypes and shit? Havent watched, havent read much of thread. Brief scan seems to confirm they didnt fuck it up.

I tend to be very nitpicking when it comes to Evil Dead. It's really one of the very few movies/game/tv franchises that I turn into a fanboy over. For me there were some really rough spots throughout the show. Mainly through eps 5-7, but the last 3 episodes ended on a very satisfying note as far as this fan is concerned.

 

[RPGCrazied]

Well, that was a little to gory in the final episode, and the children of the corn shit was unsettling.

So season 2 huh? I thought the show was getting average to below average ratings. Cool to see it get renewed. It did say see you in 2016.

 

[muntersaur]

This series would have been better if it had the first couple of episodes and went straight into episodes 8, 9 and 10. Only in these final episodes did I feel as if I was watching a new Evil Dead and not a pale imitation.

Although I did not think they reached the heights of the movies, the final episodes finally saw the TV producers embrace more of a horror aesthetic and become more creative in their filming and scenarios. Shots such as Ash's shadow cutting up his twin's corpse, Ash falling down the cabin stairs, the necronomicon talking, and the cabin and all of its contents coming to life show that the creators can create an authentic Evil Dead experience on a TV budget.

Evil Dead works best for me when its horror feels surreal, oppressive or threatening, and the black humour, whilst important, is secondary. I felt most of the series, the middle in particular, reversed this by trying to be comic foremost with touches of horror as more of an afterthought. The comedy in the middle episodes was forced and the deadites were unimaginative and could have been from any lazy zombie film. It is only because of the final episodes that I am interested in seeing season 2 although I hope Ruby's 'children' are going to be more interesting than simply being small demon children.

 

[strafer]

Spoiler

kid in the fan was a bit much tbh

 

[DiscoJer]

This series would have been better if it had the first couple of episodes and went straight into episodes 8, 9 and 10. Only in these final episodes did I feel as if I was watching a new Evil Dead and not a pale imitation.

I think the thing is that there is Evil Dead and there is Army of Darkness.

Although they have a similar premise and same characters/background, they have vastly different feel.

Evil Dead is sort of a gonzo horror movie. Army of Darkness is an action comedy with horror elements.

For much of the season it was more Army of Darkness than Evil Dead. Only in the last episodes was it more Evil Dead.

And conversely, that's when I stopped watching. I like Army of Darkness a lot, but can't stand Evil Dead

Spoiler

kid in the fan was a bit much tbh

Not to mention, ceiling fans don't actually do that to people. I've hit my head on one more than once and it hurts, it doesn't chop you up.

 

[tryagainlater]

I wouldn't mind a series of episodes in the one location again. I know it's iconic to the series but I hope they're done with the cabin. They can do more than just that. I saw 1 and Army of Darkness before seeing 2 and I can't remember why but I thought 2 was set exclusively in S-Mart. And as much as I adore 2, I always wanted a movie that was just S-Mart. The couple supermarket scenes in the pilot didn't quench that desire either. I'm not really asking for them to do another supermarket thing but I just really want them to develop a location more, show us the ins and outs, before moving on. Not just 30 minutes in one place before fucking off. They should create their own iconic locations.

 

[Dalek]

What a finale. Terrific look and feel to the entire episode. Man, to think they when this series started I didn't really care for Pablo and Kelly. They've really come into their own. I loved the scenes of Kelly trying to burn down the cabin and get back into the basement. Ash vs the demon child was a lot of fun and gave us an opportunity for a classic Raimi Three Stooges gag.

 

[Charlouie Jonesman]

Not to mention, ceiling fans don't actually do that to people. I've hit my head on one more than once and it hurts, it doesn't chop you up.

Now to be fair, that ceiling fan was fueled by demonic power.

 

[gatti-man]

That ending really left me raw. Whole episode was great but geez it just made no sense to me. I also don't really see how they are going to make a second season out of this unless their budget gets much much higher which of course would be awesome.

 

[RPGCrazied]

That ending really left me raw. Whole episode was great but geez it just made no sense to me. I also don't really see how they are going to make a second season out of this unless their budget gets much much higher which of course would be awesome.

Apparently there is going to be a season 2. Did you miss the "See you in 2016?" And the budget seems fine to me already.

I'm guessing season 2 will premier around Halloween again.

 

[ThatStupidLion]

finale felt a bit weak imo. some neat aspects, but the ending was a let down to how the season built it all up imo

 

[Sinatar]

Amazing Finale. Amazing Show. Give me season 2 now.

Also this was the most Sam Raimi shit ever, more camera work like this please:

 

[dukeoflegs]

Amazing Finale. Amazing Show. Give me season 2 now.

Also this was the most Sam Raimi shit ever, more camera work like this please:

I loved that shot, I had the biggest grin when that came up.

 

[liquidtmd]

Amazing Finale. Amazing Show. Give me season 2 now.

Also this was the most Sam Raimi shit ever, more camera work like this please:

The whole freaking show, production and 10 episodes were worth it for this shot alone.

That and maybe the Ash doll fight in episode 1. Perfection. Everything else was a nice bonus. Hoping for a solid season 2 and maybe Raimi getting in for a trio of Cabin directed episodes but I thought the three we had this year were very well done.

 

[gatti-man]

Apparently there is going to be a season 2. Did you miss the "See you in 2016?" And the budget seems fine to me already.

I'm guessing season 2 will premier around Halloween again.

Yes they renewed the show pretty early into the run of the first season. Just wondering where they go from here with giant holes coming out of the ground.

 

[Trojan X]

So all in all a mediocre series thus far. Good beginning and good ending, but the middle was kinda flat. The main issue for me is how clean the show looks. Not just Ashs wardrobe (his shirt never got dirty enough, it just looked cartoonishly blue all the way), but the gore and effects were too modern. The "requel" was way better in catching the Evil Dead feeling imo, both with the grittyness AND the gore-level. The last episode came close with the demon shild vs Ash, but nothing during the season ever came close to this:

I hope they "up" everything next season.

Remember that this is a TV Show. You are comparing a TV Show to a 18-cert/R-rated movie. My case in point, the age rating, which is not fair for you to do. You can't have everything; there have to be some cleanse somewhere otherwise the show would never be aired on TV as a series for there are limitations due to the age-rating. In fact, the show has got away with quite a bit already.

However, if you really do want to compare the Evil Dead 2013 anyway then in my view, I'd say that the movie sucked in comparison to this TV show. In fact, the gif animation you highlighted is actually the best part together with the basement tongue splitting and proposed dick sucking (i.e. soul sucking) argument scenes. This TV show is like a cross between the original Evil Dead and Army of Darkness, which makes it perfect to work as a TV show and more than satisfies the fans of the original movies.

 

[tokyocrusher]

Did anyone else notice the Freddy glove hanging on the wall?

 

[Hamlet]

Fantastic finale. Loved every minute of it and can't wait for season 2.

 

[Moff]

So all in all a mediocre series thus far. Good beginning and good ending, but the middle was kinda flat. The main issue for me is how clean the show looks. Not just Ashs wardrobe (his shirt never got dirty enough, it just looked cartoonishly blue all the way), but the gore and effects were too modern. The "requel" was way better in catching the Evil Dead feeling imo, both with the grittyness AND the gore-level. The last episode came close with the demon shild vs Ash, but nothing during the season ever came close to this:

I hope they "up" everything next season.

while this is an awesome gif

1) it doesn't scream raimis evil dead to me
2) somehow it was not awesome in the movie at all because the ending was so mediocre just like the whole film

the show is much closer to evil dead than the remake in my opinion.

but I do agree that the middle had a few episodes that were mediocre, 7 and 8 I think.

apart from that, expecting the worst I was very surprised how good this first season 1 was.
I also loved the ending, I did not expect that to happen.

I am ready for season 2, just one wish: please no more cgi. I'd rather have cheap practical effects, it's ok if they look cheap. cheap cgi are not ok.

 

[ElTopo]

Remember that this is a TV Show. You are comparing a TV Show to a 18-cert/R-rated movie. My case in point, the age rating, which is not fair for you to do. You can't have everything; there have to be some cleanse somewhere otherwise the show would never be aired on TV as a series for there are limitations due to the age-rating. In fact, the show has got away with quite a bit already.

It's a TV show on a movie channel that plays everything uncensored... Argument invalid.

I think what you were trying to say is that a TV show doesn't have the budget of a movie and that would be somewhat accurate. The budget of Evil Dead was about 20-30 million but the budget of the show is about a million per episode and a lot more is going on.

Personally, I think the show would have been great had it not been for the filler.

 

[Sadist]

Watched the final two eps

That. Was. Awesome. Final scene seems totally Ash. I think there is character development, he cares for both Pedro and Kelly. I mean, he really hesitates when given the choice.

 

[Cracklox]

Holy crap. What a finale! Kelly vs The Cabin with aussie backpacker chicks life on the line was so, so good. I mean, I figured the backpackers were all just redshirts from when they were introduced, but there were a few times I thought she might get out, and it would harden her up for a more prominent role next series. Nope lol.

I lost it laughing at the 'Pedro' line, and asking a Deadite Queen for 10 grand + gas money, and her subsequent response. Also holy shit at the shotgun kill on the demon child thing.

I thought he'd go the other way at the end, but it shows how far Ash as a character has come in the series, that he gave enough of a shit about Pablo and Kelly to doom humankind in the long term to save them in the short term. Plus there's the whole 'A city so nice, they named it............ Jacksonville' so his allure was pretty strong. Still, the showrunners did something right, where a major decision like that could go either way and still make sense.

All up, l absolutely loved the series. I'll echo the sentiment that some of the middle episodes weren't as strong, but they were still really good. They could have just about made the series the first 3 and the last 3 and you wouldn't lose much. The middle eps, I think, were mainly there to push Pablo and Kelly and get them ready for the cabin, so the audience gave a shit about them. It worked for me as I liked both characters, but I could understand people considering it just filler.

Anyway, much excited now for season 2

 

[AlexMeloche]

So happy Pedro and Kelly survived the first season. Can't wait to see the second one!

 

[NotTheGuyYouKill]

Tbh, I kinda wish Heather had survived.

So all in all a mediocre series thus far. Good beginning and good ending, but the middle was kinda flat. The main issue for me is how clean the show looks. Not just Ashs wardrobe (his shirt never got dirty enough, it just looked cartoonishly blue all the way), but the gore and effects were too modern. The "requel" was way better in catching the Evil Dead feeling imo, both with the grittyness AND the gore-level. The last episode came close with the demon shild vs Ash, but nothing during the season ever came close to this:

I hope they "up" everything next season.

I hope Mia shows up in Season 2 and becomes a main character

 

[davidwhangchoi]

I think the thing is that there is Evil Dead and there is Army of Darkness.

Although they have a similar premise and same characters/background, they have vastly different feel.

Evil Dead is sort of a gonzo horror movie. Army of Darkness is an action comedy with horror elements.

For much of the season it was more Army of Darkness than Evil Dead. Only in the last episodes was it more Evil Dead.

i was going to say the same.