The journey goes all the way back to the 1970’s, when the project started off as short film entitled Within the Woods; this was the prototype for what the series would eventually become, with Sam Raimi even generating word through showing it along with The Rocky Horror Picture Show during midnight screenings. Personally, I have yet to witness this, but what matters is that people got interested, and soon Raimi was able to get his funding.
This leads us to what would eventually become the horror film to put Raimi and Campbell on the map, The Evil Dead. My first discovery of this came long after I found about Army of Darkness, but we'll get to that later on. I knew that it was third film in the series, so while browsing Netflix on my XBox 360, I came across the movie and decided to give it a watch. From there on, I was hooked on how far something like this was able to go. I also got to see where the character of Ash was simply the lucky virgin (or not majorly tough ) who survived. But all that would change later with it's sequel.
Evil Dead II: Dead by Dawn is a bit of an interesting case here. As many have pointed out, the movie starts out as a remake of the first movie, only with different beginning circumstances; this was done out of two different studios owning the movies, so Raimi decided to recreate an opening that gives the audience a sense of what happened in the first film. This also works later on in the story as sort of what Ash imagines in his head. But after we get past that, we end up with one of the most chaotic cabin in the woods movies you will ever see in your life; from the fountains of blood flowing, the puppetry and makeup on the deadites, and all the cheesy joy you could ask for, in the best possible way. This was also the point in which Ash transitions from the coward we first saw into the badass who goes “fuck-it” and face the madness head on. Also, that scene in which he assembles his gear, then it goes into that tracking close up of Ash revving the chainsaw and preparing his sawn-off, was the first time I heard someone coin the phrase “groovy.” To me, that is the most badass moment ever captured on film (I will fight you on that)! People often associate this film as the best installment, and that's a fair choice.
Now we come to the third installment of the original film trilogy, Army of Darkness; once again, this was my introduction to the series, but it took me until I was 16 to finally finish the whole movie. Once again, with studios changing again, this time by Universal, rights were shuffled around again, this time in name; the title of the film was planned as “The Med-Evil Dead”, but while it does continue where Evil Dead II left off, it still works as a standalone film, much like the previous two do. However, this one isn't as highly praised, due to it focusing more on action-adventure than it does horror; honestly, it doesn't bother me as much, considering how drastic the tone transition between the first two wasn't as jarring. Plus, this lead to Ash embracing who he becomes truly known for: the smug asshole who we all wish we could be, that also saves the world. It's the character type that protagonists like the Marvel heroes would take after, including Spiderman whom Sam Raimi would later direct.
While we’re on the subject, I do want to mention the 2013 remake by Fede Alvarez. People are pretty divided with this movie, but I honestly think it’s a strong contender for the best horror remake, or remake in general. If you want to read more, I did a review of it back five years ago, but needless to say, it's definitely worth giving a watch if you're a fan of the series.
Thanks to the remake bringing word of mouth back to the franchise, discussions about brining Ash Williams back into the mainstream seemed like a possibility yet again; originally it was planned as a sequel movie to Army of Darkness, but Starz said otherwise and gave us Ash Vs. Evil Dead. Yes people, we got three groovy seasons of all the charm and gore you could ask for, along with new characters, including Xena herself, Lucy Lawless. As I'm writing this, I've only just finished season 2, but I have been absolutely in love with the show. To put it simply, we get more Ash kicking ass! The supporting team, played by Ray Santiago and Dana DeLorenzo, are a really fun duo for Ash to travel with; hopefully they have another shot at a show such as this.
I wanted to take the time to talk about this, not just because Bruce is hanging up the chainsaw, but mostly because it happened the year I lost my brother, Mickey. He was the one who introduced me to the franchise, and was also a major fan of the both the franchise and people attached; the series was one of the fandoms that he held to the best of standards, and was always open to seeing what the team was up to. Heck, one of my favorite memories he told me was getting Bruce to sign his book saying my brother was an idiot, just cause, and did it again with the next book. But to say that only covers a fraction as to what all that meant to him, or even what it meant to me being introduced to it. Since then, I’ve had ups and downs when it came to showing people these movies, but I love witnessing the first time experience, because it reminds me a little of what my brother was seeing.
I don’t want this to get too personal, but I felt like needing to share what this series means to me. It isn’t just my favorite horror franchise because of the effects, the memorable sequences, the dialogue, and the characters; it’s my favorite horror franchise, because it connected family, and that’s something that no other horror series could have.
And to Bruce Campbell, if you’re reading this, to you, Raimi and Tapert, I want to say on behalf of my brother: Thank you for everything! Hail to the king, Ash!
Rating: A+
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