Ash vs Evil Dead |OT| Kanda... Es-trata... Montos...

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Fantastic second episode. That dinner scene was incredible. Ash is so fucking awesome lol. It made me want to rewatch Evil Dead 2.
 
I think 30 minutes is perfect. The show is about Ash, no need of secondary stories and meaningless characters to fill 40 minutes.
Two first chapters were very fun.

If the season continues this way, it can exceed the movies for me.
 
That beef wasn't medium rare
1.0


Great episode I thought it was just as good as the first, fun as hell.
 
I like that even when I thought all was to wind down right at the end, they still managed to perfectly inject some surprise with the burial sendoff.

Such a great series.
 
I like how Ash drinking and driving is what saved him because of the bottles.

He exists in this weird space between smart and dumb.
 
Great episode, not every joke landed but it was still very entertaining throughout the entire thing.

Speaking of jokes not landing, after Ash and Pablo crashed into the family's home, while Ash was explaining why they're full of blood, I wasn't really feeling it and the explanation went on for too long until Ash got to the "...so I had to cut it up with my chainsaw........uh, arm.", and then I just lost it.

The girl doesn't seem too shaken up about her parents' brutal death though.
 
I liked the tone of this episode even more. If the whole series manages to be this entertaining this could be among my favorite tv shows ever.
 
Does anyone know what the legal issues are with Army of Darkness? It seems weird they can use the Evil Dead franchise name, the Ash Williams character, but can't reference Army of Darkness at all. Which is a real shame because I think it's the best of the 3 films.
 
Does anyone know what the legal issues are with Army of Darkness? It seems weird they can use the Evil Dead franchise name, the Ash Williams character, but can't reference Army of Darkness at all. Which is a real shame because I think it's the best of the 3 films.

Universal has rights and I think that they want a cut big enough that it doesn't make it worth it. I'm also a huge fan of AoD - but IMO, they capture AoD in this like I'd wish. I'd just like an explanation of how he is where he is (it's cool that it's open-ended - every movie has changed the previous film anyway), I'd also like to see him use an old rusty metal hand from AoD, but the wooden hand works for tons of reasons, and his line in the bar is hilarious.

The dismemberment change is what I'd like an explanation for, but it's no big deal.
 
The close up on the windmill spinning and stopping near the house was a cool homage to Army of Darkness and really help set up the silent foreboding mood. I'm glad they are still trying to uphold the atmosphere and not go straight comedy. Episode 2 was great.
 
I think it wasn't as tight as the opening episode and some of the jokes that could have worked fell flat due to lack of comedic timing on director's part, but it was still fine. Not as bad as I expected given the negative reception, tbh.
 
Fun episode 2. Lol at Ash feeding his lizard the little chunk of meat from Pablo's hair.

Dinner scene was amazing. "Oh good, I almost felt like a dick"

God bless you Bruce.
 
I actually quite enjoyed the 2nd episode on several levels!

As a huge horror buff I devour horror films like they're candy. With that comes my weakness for horror sequels. I've seen all the Friday the 13ths, Children of the Corn DTVs, Hellraisers, Wishmasters, etc. There's a morbid curiousity in me to see how another director/writer takes on the source material. Many of these times the sequels are bad, but it's fun to pick it apart and see what worked and what didn't.

Evil Dead is one of those rare horror series that's had its creator still attached throughout the films (reboot aside). The only other standout horror series that's really had this was Night of the Living Dead and Phantasm (that will be changing with the 5th movie though). Raimi has a very distinctive style in all aspects: writing, camera work, editing, action choreography, pacing. You see a single scene and you know it's got his fingers all in it. So like watching all those horror sequels it was a morbid curiousity to see someone else dabble in another's creation.

It's pretty clear that Bassett's eye isn't nearly as strong as Raimi's. Some of his camera work came off as shoddy rather than stylish, and I felt the deadites in his episode lacked the fun of Raimi's despite the entertaining situations the character were put in. Also this episode should've helped satisfy the non CG gore crowd that hated those effects in the pilot. The all natural gore spewed pretty stong in this time!

The dialogue here flowed differently than Raimi's. Closer to actual conversations than a Sunday comic panel. Didn't hate, just was a little odd for Ash. Still lots of funny moments, especially at that dinner scene. The lines from the deadites were sorely lacking for me though. I didn't get a sense of that gleeful, wicked torment that Raimi's deadites had, but that's only judging from this one episode. My fear in the future is them relegating the occassional deadtie encounter into something like a stereotypical Buffy the Vampire Slayer vampire encounter.

As for the show's length. I'm totaly fine with it. I do wish it was closer to 30 minutes as opposed to 25. For those wanting an hour show, want are you wanting? More Amanda Fisher investigations? Lucy Lawless walking around? Pedro flirting with Kelly more? More wating until the next set piece? A lengthy Ash monologue where he delves into his past? Since that's what you would be getting with a show that length. Ever been into a thread for an hour long horror show on GAF before? Usually the main complaints are on the same thing: A certain character or side story that drags down the main plot, or even a moment in the main story that drags out far longer than it should've. Admittedly, I am contemplating on holding off on the rest of the season after the next episode so I could watch everything as one long, epic Evil Dead movie. That'll take a lot of sheer willpower though.

Some quick thoughts (SPOILERS):

- Where'd the CG missing hand go? Lol.
- First thing I thought of when I saw the boss deadite was Jeffrey Jones in Howard the Duck. Couldn't unsee. Wish he had Jones' voice.
- Liked how they're playing around with the opening title and theme. Hope that continues.
- Music choices in this episode were spot on. I just wish Joseph LoDuca had more time to shine.
- The deadite car scene was a lot of fun, but the bossite's dialogue really only amounted to "I hate you". Ooh scary.
- Cute tribute to AoD's windmill gag.
- The whole dinner sequence was fantastic. Different for Evil Dead. When that "punch" line happened I had a big "holy shit" look on my face.
- Bruce always joked about how Ash was reeeally fast at reloading the shotgun in AoD. Now we almost see it in action.
- I loved how the MiMite's tone of voice was really close to Evil Dead 1's deadites.
- As much as I love ED1's music, I hope they don't abuse the Ash & Linda theme every time a deadite wants to get all sobby and human.
- That Mimite kill!
- Kelly seemed to be getting over that real quick. Hey Kelly! Did you know the man without a hand is responsible for you current situation?
- I hope down the road after a decapatation, a body or head randomly comes back to life and Ash just jokingly says something in the lines that he forgot to mention that cutting head off doesn't always mean the end of the possession.
 
I think the short length is the show's secret weapon. The pacing is comparable to a cartoon, which is what Evil Dead more or less is. I would not object to a few more minutes but it's a slippery slope toward standard television where the plot is moved forward by dialogue rather than action.
 
Just watched the 1st 2 episodes,my God is it good.Enjoyed the 1st more than the 2nd.But overall it captures the magic of the early evil dead films perfectly.Long may it continue
 
Kelly seemed to be getting over that real quick. Hey Kelly! Did you know the man without a hand is responsible for you current situation?

You just know that a deadite is gonna rat him out to the others.

The singing was an homage to Evil Dead right? I'm positive the mother in the basement does it.
 
Laughed quite a bit throughout episode 2. I can't wait how the series is exactly going to onward. It's so weird that after all these years were getting a continuation.


I just hope that with this some studio is willing to go look for the lost reels of Evil Dead 2 and restore all the cut gore that was removed. Seeing the behind the scenes stuff used as filler is actually rather interesting and I'd love to see more.
 
All the pre-release reviews of the second episode had me worried the show was going to take a huge dive after the pilot.

I'm so happy that wasn't the case. I freakin' loved it nearly as much as the first episode.
 
I'm with all of you guys. I loved the first episode, but the pre-release reviews had me worried the second episode was going to dive off the first one.

But not really, the second episode was actually still quite entertaining, a very solid episode. While some of Raimi's techniques missing were felt a bit (I don't mean the obvious stuff like the POV camera, more something... subtle about how he directs), there was a high number of effective jokes, fun Deadite scenes, and honestly gave me a bit more faith it can hold its own. Let's see if it can keep it up, but I think both episodes are worth watching, and not just the first one.
 
The car fight with the the Deadite was hilarious.

And then the entire last ten minutes was pure gold. Ash smacking the mother, I did honestly think she was telling the truth for a bit there...
 
I thought the second episode was excellent. I slightly preferred it to the first in all honesty. It was funny throughout and their was a nice bit of tension. Great overuse of gushing blood as well.
 
Just watched the second episode. I thought it was excellent and better than the first for me. The 30 minute run time helps it. I thought the dinner scene was classic and I'm warming to Kelly and Pablo now.
 
"You know they were Jewish, right?"

Some good gore but it still feels like it's building to something bigger. This episode felt like a pipe-laying one.
 
I loved the dinner scene.
This is basically Ash the show (well it is literally) because every other character fills like a lot of time wasting for now, and he has had 100% of the good jokes/screentime.
Pablo should be the Morty (from Rick & Morty) like characters, but they didn't do much of anything with him yet.
The cop is.. what, exposition lady? Not even that, clearly prepping a future conflict, but i'd wish they found a way to induce some comedy or interest to her side of the story already, without having to involve Ash for that too.

Still, far too early to complain about that.
Just a consideration on the fact that as a TV show, i don't if they can rely ONLY on Ash for every decent beat.
 
I thought episode two was great. Sure, there was an obvious departure from Raimi's direction. The tone remained on point and had a couple great gross out moments.
 
Yet the term 'Deadites' is used, which if I recall correctly was created for the name of the undead army in Army of Darkness.

'Hail he who has come from the sky to deliver us from the terror of the deadites!'

Cue Evil Dead 2 end credits.

As to why they aren't referencing it, from what I read in a Bruce Campbell interview it's not so much about money, as it is about not wanting to involve yet another studio that might want a say in what the show does and doesn't do. He was clear to point out that Universal hadn't made any silly demands, but that given how easily avoided mentioning AoD is, it wasn't worth adding another cook to work on the broth.

And given that the broth is the same perfect balance of flavors that Evil Dead 2 delivered, I'd say it was absolutely the right call.
 
Off topic ish, but Bruce Campbell is on tonight's episode of Fargo, he's playing Ronald Reagan.

Finally! I was wondering when he was going to show up. He and Lucy Lawless are also going to be on The Late Show With Stephen Colbert tomorrow night as well.

Also for some good laughs I HIGHLY recommend giving the recent interview Campbell did on The Nerdist podcast. Not your typical Campbell interview. Lots of great non Evil Dead related stories and Campbell doing tons of random impressions including Reagan and Shatner. Definitely a must listen for fans:

Nerdist Podcast: Bruce Campbell
 
Episode 2 was great as well. I think they did a good job of keeping the Raimi energy up. I also legit laugh out loud during this show which is something I rarely do. Bruce Campbell's straight faced delivery just kills me.
 
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