ASH VS EVIL DEAD SEASON ONE (2015-16)

 

PHENOMENALITY: *marvelous* 
MYTHICITY: *good*
FRYEAN MYTHOS: *drama*
CAMPBELLIAN FUNCTION: *metaphysical, psychological*

Though I have respected the place of the EVIL DEAD movies in the history of horror, it's never been a favorite franchise for me. But along came the STARZ sequel series to the three movies, and now I have to re-evaluate a wild, thrill-ride grossout that at the same time makes me conscious of mortality as much as these words of D.H. Lawrence from his poem SHIP OF DEATH:

We are dying, we are dying, so all we can do

is now to be willing to die

ASH VS EVIL DEAD takes place thirty years after the events of the last EVIL DEAD movie, ARMY OF DARKNESS. The forces of darkness unleashed by Ash Williams (Bruce Campbell) in the first film were placed in abeyance in ARMY by Ash's heroic actions. However, at one point before the series' opening Ash-- who always devolves into a self-indulgent putz when his life's not in danger-- takes out the Book of the Dead, with which the Evil Dead demons were first summoned, and drunkenly reads passages from the tome at a poetry slam. And so once more the demons are unleashed upon mankind, usually possessing dead bodies (called "Deadites") to work their will. The ten episodes of this and the two ensuing seasons are always a congeries of high-octane set-pieces, so there's not a lot of involved storytelling. Rather, each episode I'll review mostly to keep track of notable kinetic effects. There's no rating for individual episodes because they're on the same "good" mythicity level.

EL JEFE-- It must be slightly toward the end of the thirty years when Ash spectacularly screws up and reads from the book, for his first new Deadite encounter is not slow in following (intruding on Ash's butt-sex session with a young trollop). He makes plans to leave his job and flee, much to the regret of his co-worker Pablo (Ray Santiago). In the first story Pablo seems to nurture some unexplained hero-worship for the fifty-something Ash; later it'll be revealed that Pablo has had some mystic training by a brujo uncle and believes that Ash is "El Jefe," a true champion of life. Less impressed with Ash is another co-worker, Kelly (Dana DeLorenzo), who responds to a pass from the boastful older man by putting him in an armlock. Elsewhere, two Michigan cops respond to a disturbance, and one of them is killed and turned into a Deadite. The surviving partner, Amanda Fisher (Jill Marie Jones), is saved by the intervention of a bizarre woman, Ruby (Lucy Lawless), who puts Amanda onto Ash's trail as the one responsible for unleashing the Evil Dead. After being attacked by two more manifestations, Ash realizes he has to take arms-- particularly with the arm that he can fit with a chainsaw--against a sea of undead troubles.

BAIT-- Kelly receives a call from her father, claiming that her dead mother is back, so she motors her way back to her home town. Ash is prepared to go off on his own mission, but Pablo tricks Ash into pursuing Kelly. Ash and Pablo arrive at Kelly's house, and all appears tranquil, with Kelly having convinced herself that her mother's death was just a mistake. But during a sitdown dinner Ash exposes Mother Suzy (Mimi Rogers) as a Deadite and to Kelly's horror the two of them fight it out until Ash destroys the Deadite. Kelly dedicates herself to expunging the threat, while far behind the trio, the pursuers Ruby and Amanda get closer.

BOOKS FROM BEYOND-- Ash and his allies seek out an occult bookstore, and Ash convinces the owner, a dabble in magic, to summon a minor demon, so that they can question it to find out the best way to dispel the demons as a whole. However, Amanda has tracked the trio to the bookstore, and her intrusion on the ritual allows the demon Eligos to get free. After the heroes dispel the demon (temporarily) and subdue Amanda, Ash gets the bright idea of binding the lady cop with her own handcuffs. But once the heroes are gone, the slain bookstore owner rises as a Deadite and threatens her.

BRUJO-- Fortunately for Amanda, Ruby comes along and defeats the Deadite, and the two join forces in tracking the trio. Ruby has a special means of doing so: she's gained possession of the dismembered hand Ash lost in EVIL DEAD II, which has a link to Ash. Meanwhile, since the heroes learned nothing from the demon Eligos, Pablo proposes that they meet with his uncle the brujo. They do so, and the brujo is not very impressed with Ash, acknowledging that he's a major player but one crippled by indulgence. The brujo gives Ash a hallucinogenic drink that sends him on a wild mental trip to Ash's favorite mental place: Jacksonville Florida. In the process Ash also has to fight demons, and in the process formulates his version of "Zen shooting," of slaying demons without consciously thinking of doing so. However, the questers aren't free of Eligos, who has possessed Kelly despite her not being dead. Eligos also works a whammy on Ash's mind so that he thinks he's batting the demon when he's actually strangling Possessed Kelly, so that Pablo and the brujo bind Ash, thinking he's been possessed.

THE HOST-- While Ash argues with the brujo to get free, Possessed Kelly comes on to Pablo, who's had a thing for her since the beginning. She's actually trying to get him to kill himself, but Ash finally convinces the wizard that Kelly's the possession victim, so that Pablo's saved and she's restrained. The heroes perform an exorcism and expel Eligos, though he kills the brujo before Ash slays the demon with his Zen shooting.

THE KILLER OF KILLERS-- Ash interprets his vision as an oracle to return to the cabin where it all started and bury the book there. Sometime after the trio leaves, Amanda and Ruby arrive, and Ruby tries to get information from the remains of the brujo. Ruby's caught in an explosion and Amanda drives off in the car. The trio stops to eat at a cafe, where Pablo tries to suss out Kelly's feelings for him but gets shot down. Amands catches up with the fugitives, corners Ash in the men's room, and after a brief fight (during which Ash ogles her breasts), Amanda takes him prisoner. However, the demons strike at the cafe by converting more humans into Deadites. The heroes defeat the zombies and finally convince Amanda to join forces with them.

FIRE IN THE HOLE-- Ruby rises from the ruins of the brujo's house, disclosing that she was never truly human. As the foursome enter the forest looking for the cabin, they butt heads with a group of survivalists. After various encounters with more Deadites and survivalists, Ash tries to spare his friends by leaving them behind while he seeks out the cabin. But his dismembered hand is also on the way to the cabin.

ASHES TO ASHES-- Kelly, Pablo and Amanda get lost in the woods, though Amanda goes off on her own and manages to find the cabin. Ash, unable to talk her into leaving, makes a pass, and Amanda isn't entirely unreceptive. Kelly and Pablo encounter three hikers in the woods and try to guide them away from the cabin. When a female hiker tells Kelly she's interested in Pablo, Kelly tries to discourage her. For some reason Ash seeks out the woodshed where he left the remains of his girlfriend Linda, whom he had to dismember, and of course demonic power seals him in the shed while the head of Linda, which still appears to be whole, rails at him. Amanda then encounters what she assumes to the real Ash, only to notice that he has two hands of flesh. She tries to escape the dupe Ash and is killed.

BOUND IN THE FLESH-- Kelly and Pablo arrive at the cabin and have to figure out which of the two Ashes is real by learning which is more obnoxious. While Real Ash uses his chainsaw to cut up the duplicate, Kelly and Pablo see the hikers approaching the cabin and try to guide them in another direction. However, Deadite Amanda escapes the cabin, overtakes the hiking party and slaughters two hikers. Pablo and Kelly are unable to retaliate, but Ruby shows up and fights Amanda, who then runs off. Pablo, Kelly and Ruby seek out the cabin, and Ruby tells Ash that they can only destroy the book by cutting it up during an occult ritual. However, during the ritual, Ruby reveals her true colors, causing the cover of the evil book to possess Pablo while boasting that she's the one who wrote the book, for the purpose of subjugating humanity.

THE DARK ONE-- Ash is distracted from Ruby's perfidy by another attack from Amanda, but he destroys her. Ruby takes the possessed Pablo down into the cellar. Ash follows but is briefly knocked out, whereon he gets a vision from Ruby, telling him he can end his sufferings by accepting a truce that allows him to retire in his beloved Jacksonville. Ash awakens and pursues Ruby, who brings forth a demon-child from Pablo. In another part of the cabin the demon-forces persecute Kelly and the last hiker, and the last hiker is killed. When Ash faces off with Ruby once more, she persuades him to accept the bargain of his vision. Ash does so with the stipulation that Kelly and Pablo will join him. The season ends with this uncertain bargain.

Though DEAD is replete with dozens of cartoonish ultraviolent stunts, something about the way the writers kept finding fresh ways to outrage human bodies struck me as having different roots than your average gore-gushing production. Maybe it's because, amid all the blood and guts, the writers also keep reminding viewers how vulnerable the human body is. Even comic actions like Ash being forced to cinch in his fat gut with a girdle may remind one of the body's destiny to deteriorate. In this season and season 2, Ash finds himself constantly being reminded of all the mistakes and missteps of his life, and as comical as this heroic meathead may be, he's also haunted by a lot of things besides death-dealing demons.