Ash Vs. Evil Dead Ep 01: El Jefe Recap

Hail to the king, baby.

Ash vs Evil Dead made its debut last night and it surpassed every expectation I had. The TV show somehow retained the over the top campiness that made the movies so great, while bringing one of my favorite characters into the 21st century. The episode picks up with Ash being Ash, inaccurately retelling her the story of how he lost his hand, in an effort to pick up a woman in a bar. Of course it works, and before you know it, old Ash is getting busy in the bathroom. Midway through the most (intentionally) awkward bar sex-scene ever, Ash hallucinates and sees a Deadite in the woman’s face and it immediately freaks him out. It’s here that we see the revelation that Ash has accidentally reawakened the Evil Dead by reciting a passage from the Necronomicon Ex Mortis, in another prior effort to get laid.

We fast forward a few scenes where we’re introduced to two Michigan Detectives (Score! It’s still based in Michigan!!) investigating a report of a woman screaming. Of course it’s a giant, spooky abandoned house, and we know things are about to go down. This is where we get to see Sam Raimi at his absolute best, making sharp camera cuts, and using brooding angles and lighting to make the atmosphere as creepy as possible for the viewer. The detectives stumble across a young woman upstairs in the house (who just so happens to be the young woman Ash read from the Necronomicon with), and she goes full on Deadite baddie on them in seconds. Easily overpowering the two cops, we get to see the classic badassery of the Deadites, complete with the insane body contortion, and extreme gore. One detective manages to blow half the Deadites head off before he gets impaled on a pair of antlers above a mantle, while the young woman detective takes a pair of scissor to the hand before blowing off the other half of the girl’s head and dispatching her recently turned partner.

Ash still works for a low-end retailer, called Value Stop and it’s here we meet the other protagonists of the show, Pablo and Kelly. Pablo seemingly worships the ground Ash walks on, while Kelly doesn’t immediately pay attention to Ash’s advances. The dynamic between this trio could get very interesting as the season goes on, as Ash’s attempts to win Kelly over with laser sharp wit, and unmatched charm seemingly leaves Pablo with no chance at all in being with her. The trio end up back at Ash’s double wide as he’s making plans to skip town before the Deadites can get to him, and this is where the most action takes place. One ghoul bursts through the window and takes a hold of Kelly, and it’s here that Ash is forced to take action in effort to save his Value Stop buddies. After disposing of the first Deadite, the gang is immediately threatened by a second, Ash’s next door neighbor, a sweet, innocent old lady who ends up being an even bigger challenge. Ash gets the better of her thanks to his trusty chainsaw, and makes it his mission to try to re-undo the evil he’s returned to the earth.

Season 1 is definitely off to a fantastic start, and if Raimi and Campbell keep this up for the rest of the season, they’ll have a surefire hit on their hands.