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Ash vs Evil Dead, Season Two (Starz, 2016)
Following the disappointment that was the last Evil Dead film of 2013, a movie that fans of Ashley Williams (the character played by Bruce Campbell in the original films, released in 1981, 1987, and 1992 respectively) had waited for over twenty years to experience, the prospect of a television series based on the Evil Dead films may have raised a few critical eyebrows.1 However, the success of Season One of Ash vs Evil Dead, which premiered on American television network Starz on 31 October 2015, served to remind horror fans that Bruce Campbell, Sam Raimi, and Robert Tapert (who were all involved in the original films) can still deliver when it comes to comedy gore, body horror, and demonology, by transposing their cult-film expertise onto the small screen.
For audiences who adored the gore-laden, chainsaw-wielding wisecracks of the first season, Season Two of Ash vs Evil Dead, first aired by Starz on 2 October 2016, aims to further satisfy fans at the expense of its long-suffering, entrail-encrusted characters (and actors). From the opening episode, 'Home', we are immersed in Ash's hometown of Elk Grove and meet his father Brock, played by the perfectly cast and suitably large-chinned Lee Majors. As Ash wallows in nostalgia, the audience may be surprised to learn that their hero has been cast out by the local community, labelled a multiple axe murderer, and is known as 'Ashy Slashy' for having (unwillingly) killed his possessed girlfriend and closest friends in a cabin in the woods, many years before. When evil entities arrive to inhabit the townspeople and turn them into Deadites (a person who is possessed by an ancient demonic spirit), it falls to Ash once again to save the neighbourhood and carve himself a new reputation.
One of the main problems with director Fede Alvarez's 2013 Evil Dead film was its absence of humour. The original franchise revelled in bad-taste jokes, terrible puns, and visual gags, all of which thankfully has been restored in Ash vs Evil Dead. In fact, if the Oscars gave an award in the category 'Best Comedic Use of a Cadaver', then the second episode of the second season, entitled 'The Morgue', would surely earn a lifetimeachievement honour....