El Jefe

Raimi's energetic direction is back on full display, as well as perfecting Evil Dead's memorable balance of horror and humour, being both scarier and funnier than Evil Dead II and Army of Darkness (taking more time to establish its tension for its horror while relying less on slapstick and more on sharp and witty dialogue for its humour). The gore is effectively over-the-top, Campbell's acting and comedic timing is at its best, the new additions are quickly likeable (despite some iffy acting at times), the score is fun, and the pacing is swift. I couldn't have asked for a more entertaining, fitting and laugh-out-loud fun return to the series.

I've watched the three original movies and i loved them, I wasn't aware there was a series based on them. well, I'm glad I found out.

this is as good as the movies. it got the same energy, humour, & gore that make the movies classic. Bruce Campbell is charismatic as ever. the vfx is not bad. I'll surely watch the rest.

30 years after the events of "The Evil Dead", Ash (Bruce Campbell reclaims his most famous role in high style) is now ageing and pathetic. When not picking up ladies at the bar, he still works as a stock boy.

But all these years later, Evil has again found Ash. It turns out that the damn Necronomicon Ex Mortis has remained in his possession, and he and a lady friend foolishly recited passages from the book while stoned.

Ash is reluctant to return to the role of hero. At first, he would rather turn tail and get the Hell out of Dodge. But you can never keep Ash down for long.

After four feature films, the franchise begun by Campbell's friend Sam Raimi certainly has had some real longevity. This debut episode isn't always terribly funny, but it does its job at setting up this universe and the people living in it. The other characters introduced are Pablo Simon Bolivar (Ray Santiago), an immigrant from Honduras and co-worker obviously destined to be the sidekick, another co-worker named Kelly Maxwell (the sexy Dana DeLorenzo), whom Ash unsuccessfully tries to hit on, Amanda Fisher (Jill Marie Jones), a state trooper who will want to avenge the death of her partner, and a mystery woman named Ruby Knowby (played by Xena herself, Lucy Lawless), who seems to know the score right from the start.

Fortunately, 'El Jefe' does bear the trademarks of "Evil Dead" goodness, namely the manic energy and the wild camera moves designed to portray the "force" bearing down on victims. The only thing that traditionalists may find truly objectionable is the use of much CGI violence.

But, overall, this was good at bringing back Campbell & Ash for a new generation & audience.

Seven out of 10.

Evil Dead was one of those first scary movies I watched as a teenager back in the mid 90's. It was so scary I was afraid of the dark for a while. First two parts were kind of serious scary, so the third movie was such breath of the fresh air with it's twisted dark humour. I think watching this third part made me less scared of all the creeps in the night.

That is why I loved the direction this show went. It's scary/funny/silly. Without going to the extremes of violence. It is easy to see, that creators and cast had a real fun working together, creating the beasts and spilling the blood all over the place.

Ash is a cool guy. He might as well become a new great character on TV, cracking silly jokes and heads of the monsters. Hope we'll see development of other characters as well. For now we met Amanda - cop, struggling to keep her sanity. Pablo and Kelly - two now ex colleagues of Ash from the store. Both are pretty weak so far. But good and important in regards to waking up the inner hero in Ash. And mysterious Ruby. Who we have yet to figure out. Beautiful women in white.

First episode definitely made me excited about the rest of the season. It is a good 30 minute format. Hope the humour will be at the good level without going to silly. Feels like there is some really fresh and great potential here. With creating a new kind of superhero. Without him being too much of the serious Comic book's hero.

There aren't many horror franchises in the genre that means as much to me as the "Evil Dead" franchise. Sam Raimi came up with something beautiful with his friends back in the days and made an iconic horror film with almost nothing to do it with. Now, it's turned into one of the most iconic horror franchises ever and was given a TV follow-up in 2015 titled "Ash vs. Evil Dead." As a fan, I was expecting great things and man did I get that. This premiere episode is everything I could have asked for and a glorious return of the great king Ash Williams.

I've always said that Bruce Campbell was never given his due. He proved with these films that he was an excellent comedic actor and that he could carry a film on his shoulders. He wasn't given that before now, where he's the lead of his own show and back in the role that made him a household name. And he hasn't skipped a beat. It feels like him and Sam Raimi are right back where they left off with this world and they're having a bunch of fun. Ash is definitely a different guy, having gone through thirty years of thinking he was free of this curse, only to make it all happen again by mistake. It's a hilarious way that he gets dragged into the circus again, and it seems like it would be completely in-character for him to do it like that all these years after the fact. And with Raimi behind the camera, it makes for some awesome action sequences, with a standout being a fight between Ash and a little doll with a boxcutter. Who comes up with stuff like that? The brilliant mind of Sam Raimi does. This episode works on its own as well as the beginning of a show, and for fans of the original film, it'll be a nice reunion, but for first timers, it will also work because of the interesting world and the eccentric characters, including the new additions to fit perfectly into this Raimi crazyness. I'm so excited to see what happens going forward.

"El Jefe" is not only a brilliant "welcome back" for fans, but a genuinely amazing opening to a show that also invites new people in. It features the Ash that we know and love and bloody action sequences that Raimi helms with the stylistic crazyness that he always has, making this such an enjoyable ride.