Eh, I think they're worthwhile, if anything it shows how may people were watching and interacting with it live.
It is easy to game them though - look at Scream Queens, which did very well in Soc. its' first few times and drew a 1.3 in the ratings. The reaction is just weirdly muted after all the intense hype on my end and I was wondering what was afoot.
I just think most people on Twitter and/or Facebook have short attention spans, and when they are on they will post all kinds of different stuff like cats along with whatever they are doing. Locally here in Indiana the trends are about a missing kid who was found safe, and the football and baseball last time I checked.
Alright i'm gonna go through this episode with a pro's, con's and mixed list so here it goes
Pro's
*The practical effect's were great, alot of love was put into the effect's (except the cgi, i'll get to that in a moment) and it shows.
*The action felt great and intense, i can't wait to see what kinda mayhem there gonna pull in the later episodes, and judging by the this season trailer, it's gonna be great to watch.
*The one liner's were on point in this episode and im sure there's gonna alot more memorable one's coming in the later episodes.
*The chemistry between Ash, Pablo and Kelly, how they interact with each other is great and should lead to some very great moment's between the three.
*The pacing of the show is GO GO GO, and it's very smooth how it works, im glad it's a half hour show so it leaves you wanting more.
* Joseph Leduca score through out the episode, especially when ash finally put's back on his chainsaw, it was glorious .
*Ash's transformation over the episode from a douchebag deadbeat loser whose trying to skip town and basically run from the evil he caused, to finally facing it head on and now wanting to put the evil to bed by the end of the episode. (Pablo had a huge part talking some sense back into ash, and i have a feeling his gonna be the heart of the group in the later episodes)
*It was legit scary with amanda scene and whatever ash did in the incantation must have given the deadites new ablitys and now there gonna be even more unpredictable then they were in the films.
*Pablo and Kelly's characters had great introduction's in this episode and i love the fact that they showcased in a subtle way what pablo and kelly will be like when the deadite's appear, even when scared to death they still came in swinging for the fences especially kelly. Can't wait to see how they evolve as well over this season.
*Rami's camera work.
Mixed bag Critiques
*The cgi is kind of mixed bag for me and it will be taking some getting used to through this season so hopefully they managed to keep it low on some parts, the reason it's here in the mixed bag session is because it looked ok in some parts and in other parts is a sore on the eyes but hey it's tv show cgi, not expecting groundbreaking work here. (I'm still gonna say that they probably had to do shortcut's on scene's because the doll scene actual was practical for some spots and cgi for when it was moving, i noticed that on my second viewing.)
*The side plot with Amanda felt very wired for me, i know you gotta have a side plot for the show but for some reason it felt just there to be there until they got back with ash, granted this is just the first episode and it's gonna be awhile before we fully get to know amanda's character plus ruby's so the slow start is probably what made this feel out of place for the overall pace for this episode.
*I do feel that how the deadites came back was very lazily done on the writers part but at the same time it felt fitting/not fitting character wise for ash but it had to happen i guess :-/
Cons (It's very bare down here)
*The doll scene was just there to be a reference to ed2 and it felt very forced, while the other references were subtle and it didn't feel ham fisted in.
Overall it was a great opening episode to start the season, let's hope the other directors do a good job. From what i can tell from the "this season" trailer, it looks like they knocked it out of the park but we'll see.
I think everyone knows by now the names of the two songs that played at the start and at the end of the episode (Space Truckin and The Journey to the Center of the Mind). Bud does anyone know the name of the rock song that played in the sequence when Ash remembered reading from the Necronomicon? It has no lyrics, so I don't know if it's an older song or something composed by Joseph LoDuca.
By the way: I can't wait when his soundtrack for the show comes out. The music was for me one of the best things about the episode.
....I was frustrated and I felt betrayed about AoD because it didn't follow the rules. One important rule is you must decapitate the possessed to get rid of it. Many times in AoD Ash just shot the Deadites and it was enough to kill them. But when Ash apply the rule and cut in pieces Evil Ash, he was bring back to life for no real reason...
It's actually untrue that they're following the old rules here. In TED and ED2, you decapitate a Deadite and they keep going (humping, biting Linda, anybody?). Here, Ash decapitates his neighbor and it's all over; he headshots his neighbor and again, over. Amanda headshots her partner and again - boom, dead. That ain't 'total bodily dismemberment'. If anything, it's like they're doing Romero zombie rules.
(Also Bad Ash bring brought back when Ash screws up the words is just like Kelly's dead mother coming back after six weeks after the words are said).
I agree this is not total dismemberment but in previous chapters heads was severed not blown away. This is why they keep walking. When Ash blow Henrietta's head she's dead (she still have her legs). Yes It's more like Romero zombie rules BUT it still more logic than Army of Darkness. Also in AVED when Amanda first shot the girl in the head, she damaged her brain and she was still walking. She only stop when she destroyed the whole head. The granny should be able to walk again but it was the end of the show....What's happen to her next? I guess we will never know. This is just like Evil Ed in Evil Dead 2. They decapitated him but we never really saw Ash bury him somewhere.
The difference between Kelly's Dead mother and Bad Ash is nobody dismembered Kelly's mother. We didn't see her at all in her dead form, so I guess it's all about illusion. Deadites are good illusionists. Probably the father is already possessed when they arrive to the house. I think she's the one trowing the table at Ash in one of the video. She didn't seem so fresh. The point is the deadites know who they are and they are now playing with them. Time doe not matter they use what they need to make them suffer.
When Ash screws up the words in AoD this is exactly where the plot fall apart. Deadites can possessed the living. Why do they need an army of skeletons when they could possessed living people inside castle walls? There's not even a roof to protect them.
....Yeah, but that's definitely Romero Zombie aim-for-the-head logic, which has never applied to Deadites before ever. It was a weirdly exclusive way for every single character to die, when we've seen that there are many ways to get rid of a Deadite - chop them up and bury the pieces, cut the heads in half, melting, explosives, etc.
****Not even Henrietta? She wasn't fully decapited.
Then again baseline logic is kind of confounding at this point in the 'verse, it was weird to watch them just dispatch Deadites with headshots.
****I admit this is a new element which wasn't clearly explained before. Romero logic is to destroy the brain not blown the whole head off. They can still walk with a bullet in the head. (ex : Shelly, TED) Look like a short cut because they couldn't get budget for dismemberment for everyone...but a logic one IMO.
Ash actually chops Ed's head into pieces with an axe but it was cut out of the movie to avoid an X rating, even though they made prosthetics for it, as far as I can recall.
The answer is "because dusty skeletons are less threatening to the MPAA than goo-spewing people," ultimately.
****I just want to point out that most people watch movies for what they are on screen. Not what happened behind the scene. I knew they cut some parts to avoid X rated in TED 2 and turns out to be a plot hole. He just disappeared even the green blood on the deer. They turn down blood in AoD to please a bigger studio. In fact AoD was a sell out movie Bruce admit it in an interview. But at the end it should make "a bit" of sense.
SHIT TIER QUALITY VIDEO,but there was a season preview and it show's footage from the cabin !!!!!!!!! , i'll update if there's a better quality video[video=youtube]https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=KqD00qO_K0g[/video]
Plus the rami cam is still there in the future episodes, which is a plus in my book.
Don't have time for in-depth reviews or anything, but I was happy with it.
Did I cringe in a few areas because of script, acting, or sfx shortcomings? Yes, but that's no different than everything else the series has put out. It's bloody, scary, funny, at times inconsistent, or charmingly flawed. That's Evil Dead folks, and if you're expecting perfection then I'm not sure what to tell you.
My only critique about the first ep, is that I wished it had been an hour long. I'm fine with the rest of the series following a fast-paced 30 min format, but I think they could've benefited from a little more time to establish the world, new characters, and build toward Ash's fist face off with the Deadites. It seems like they were rushing just a bit.
Glad to see Bruce can still handle the physical stuff, as well as some of the more contemporary humour. You can tell he really cares and is giving this his all, and I hope that helps the supporting actors with their performances as the season progresses.
Favourite moment: Ash trying to "finish up" with the bar fly, while scanning the room with a frozen expression of fear and paranoia on his face the whole time, but it's still not quite enough to make him stop what he's doing. I died.
It SHOULD have been an hour long! I don't understand why they had to cram so much in 40 minutes. Would have been nice to use the extra time to flesh out Kelly and Pablo. Oh well. I honestly am not one for in depth online discussions of the show. (Super time consuming and that is something I have so little of lately).
I just think most people on Twitter and/or Facebook have short attention spans, and when they are on they will post all kinds of different stuff like cats along with whatever they are doing. Locally here in Indiana the trends are about a missing kid who was found safe, and the football and baseball last time I checked.
I just love that what I discovered that Boston, of all places, loves Evil Dead.
@SC: I agree that Henrietta's death is iconic, I just don't think it's the only way to kill a Deadite. Five of them died last night, and only two felt like really unique kills (I give them credit for the antler rack kill on Amanda's partner). I know - I think at this point we just have to accept the lack of central logic as logic.
@Joe - I think my favorite camera move was the Raimi zoom on the bathroom door. It was such an "oh Sam" moment.
I think my biggest problem with the CGI was the unnecessary sweetening that kept happening. You'd have clearly practical blood with some sudden spurts of CGI and it's so obvious it annoys me.
It's not like I didn't have fun watching the episode - it was just less fun than I wanted to, if that makes sense?
The mixed reaction to me is interesting; on some places it's pure praise, in others it's mixed, on Twitter it's a ghost town. Like I'll see big patches of praise and then big patches of "I'm disappointed" on my Twitter or over on Tumblr. The live fives are going to interest me.
I think they didn't go a full hour because they knew they were up against such heavy competition, or they wanted to set the mood for the rest of the show.
@ c_m: I don't think that counts as an actual explanation for the heavy ammount of CGI used, tbh. One close gag isn't worth it, anyway; there have been so many complaints about it.
[video=youtube]https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=X93X77g-jTU[/video]
ETA here's Obscurus Lupa and Phelous' podcast of the first episode.
Overall I enjoyed it, if only for the massive nostalgia bump. I mean c'mon - even if the rest turns out to be crap, at least we got to see a live-action Ash return to our screens.
That said, the bad CGI really distracted me. I suppose you could argue that a big part of the charm of this series is them making due with a low budget, but that should result in cheap practical effects in my opinion.
Though the little "behind the scenes" thing at the end did have Sam Raimi discussing how he really had to focus since TV production moves so much faster than film production, so that could also be part of the issue with the CGI. Even with a pilot, you only have so much time to get it right - once things are green-lit, its GO GO GO!
I'm with everyone else, though - the way the evil comes back is pretty dumb, though it is quintessential Ash (doing an incredibly stupid thing resulting in lots of dead people). My guess is they wanted him to be ultimately responsible, and that was their only idea as to why he'd make such a stupid decision. Don't forget - they were all supposedly drunk and high the first time the Evil got released!
Personally, I would have preferred a scenario where he tried to hide the book in an incredibly stupid and easy-to-access place, and naturally someone found it and read the words. That would give us a potential "big bad" for the season, and an easy-to-follow season plot line: find the book, dispel the evil, get some sugar. Plus, Ash would still have to feel responsible for not finding a better way to get rid of the book, so that part of the plot would remain intact.
How about you guys? You've all said things you like/dislike - what would it take to make the premier episode perfect in your eyes?
Also Maid - on the Entertainment tab on my Facebook Trends, Ash vs Evil Dead sits at number 1.
EDIT - one more thing I didn't mention - went to booksfrombeyond.com - website has been registered, but there's nothing there. Shame.
My big question is: what happens when the nostalgia squee wears off?
I'd argue that Ash was never that dumb (a lot of his so-called "dumbness" reads as stubbornness to me in the movies): and that it's Scott's fault that the Evil is primarily unleashed in the first place (And that he's completely sober when it happens in Evil Dead 2). There are a billion ways for the evil to be unleashed that aren't Ash's fault but would still unleash it.
I keep hearing that Facebook is where it's popular, but I have no idea how metrics work over there. Does it show up per mention or per discussion? Is it counting in all of the articles that get posted or it it all grouped together. It's interesting because it hints the show is skewing older. It keeps falling up and down off the trends in Boston too (and only Boston) on Twitter. I don't know why Boston.
My "perfect" (Lol) reboot ideas:
1: I'd like/go with the suggestion you made - something like 'hid it somewhere like a loose floorboard under the cabin'. Even better - he managed to burn it halfway, but there's enough bespelled magic in the thing to heal it. Ash had settled into a relatively calm suburban life since returning from AOD and gets an unpleasant shock when some local kids get their hands on the book and unleash the evil. He goes in pursuit of the only kid who hasn't been turned by it to try to keep he/she from making the same mistake (like running away from his problems). He's accompanied by his lazy teenage son who thinks this is an adventure and counterpoints Ash's grimness.
2: The "We Have Access to Army of Darkness" brand: The Knowby Artifacts are going up for display in a museum, something Ash only finds out about while he's working a hot dog stand (or the like) in the museum lobby. The curator shows off for the press by reading an excerpt, unleashes Deadite plague, whirlpool, Ash has to fight his way through a whole room of very vicious high-society Deadites to get to the book. Ash ends up in the past, where he finds out the book has immediately gone missing where it landed. He's stuck going on a danger-filled quest to find the thing again, this time with Arthur's most trusted knight at his side and a tag-along page for help (And yeah, I'd make Sheila the knight in question and no, he wouldn't figure out until two episodes in that it's her). The ultimate big-bad would be a necromancer who has secret ties to the both of them and who wants to wreck revenge on the time stream and earth itself for precieved slights slung against her. I'd cast Ray as the squire and Dana as the necromancer, of course.
Ok, so I have now watched it about five times and can't get enough of it!!! Absolutely fantastic! 30 years in the making and it was awesome!!! I really think you need to watch it several times to really get all the minute sight gags, (Magnum condoms, Hi-C, etc,) Deadites looked great, and plenty of blood! Great start! I am on board! Groovy!
I'd like to know why this isn't on the official Starz YouTube channel. Not this, not the behind the scenes video from the first episode, not the "this season on Ash vs Evil Dead" trailer. Starz is always putting all the videos for their original series to their YouTube channel, so what they are waiting for?
I'd like to know why this isn't on the official Starz YouTube channel. Not this, not the behind the scenes video from the first episode, not the "this season on Ash vs Evil Dead" trailer. Starz is always putting all the videos for their original series to their YouTube channel, so what they are waiting for?
Because Starz' social media team continues to be the pits when it comes to timeliness for this show (Insert my evergreen complaint about how they run the Tumblr here).
In the scene where Kelly and Pablo are leaving Value Stop, the force is charging through the parking lot. It breaks through a car window and exits out the other side. On a re-watch, when the glass initially breaks there is a scream and someone or something in the passenger seat.
Has anyone else noticed this or know who/what it was?
Ok, so I’ve been thinking about the pilot episode all day, and I do have a few more comments up my sleeve after all. Some of what I have written below are nitpicky little critiques, so I would like to clarify that I absolutely LOVE the show overall, and will slowly savour every single blood soaked minute. So here goes… The Aging Lothario: I’m fine with the whole “Ash is a loser” intro, living in a trailer borrowed from MNIB, still working as a lowly stock boy, and spending his off hours in dive bars convincing drunk, lonely women for sympathy fucks in the restroom. That’s all fine, shows how far he’s fallen since his heyday, and gives him someplace to come back from when the heroics are needed once again. I would love to have seen the a few repeats of that bar sequence, just to hear a few different lies about his hand, and better establish this pathetic pattern in his life. They probably could’ve milked this gag a bit more. I’m ok with Ash hitting on Kelly the first time he meets her, and love that she quickly puts him in his place, as she should. I just wish they hadn’t shown her swoon in any form for Ash later on. I was hoping when he dispatches the deadite in front of her, and then utters that line about crossing her mind or whatever, that she would stare at him blankly for a moment, then quickly switch to an expression of disgust and shoot him down (again) and completely disrupt the big heroic swell going on in that scene. I dunno, I just don’t want to see Kelly swoon for Ash. Value Stop: I’m assuming we won’t see any more of this place after the pilot. It’s too bad we couldn’t have spent more time with stock boy Ash. Would have loved to hear at least one customer interaction, and a cameo from Ted as the Store Manager or CEO. Maybe even a subtle allusion to the company changing its name, or being bought out years earlier. Seems like there was more comedic potential for this place. Would’ve loved to see a bit more time elapse between Ash revealing the “problem” to Pablo, and Pablo getting Ash to eventually come around and face his.. ahem.. demons. This is where they could’ve used another 15 mins or so to have Ash come around. Pablo comes to terms just a little too quickly with the whole deadites are here and ash is the chosen one revelation, that it really highlights the pacing issue (with the pilot) more than anything else. If I were Pablo, I probably would’ve had more of a reaction to the impending threat, and freaked out a bit, before eventually realizing that in order to survive, I must champion for Ash to stay and fight. Amanda Fisher: I enjoyed seeing someone else affected by the Deadites who isn’t affiliated with Ash for a change, and has no access to his usual exposition about the book. Nice to get that other perspective. The parts with the backwards Deadite were fantastic to me, and so evocative of ED2. The possessed partner fell a little flat for me though. His ceiling crawl was awkward, and the evil chuckle played too long and didn’t quite land for me. The kill could’ve saved it, but the questionable CG left me unsatisfied. So that whole scene left me feeling a little uneven. I have some thoughts about the last scene with Ash’s grand return to form, but I may want to watch it again tonight before commenting further.
Hi Deadites. I'm a long time lurker here, especially in the last couple of months as this has been the best place for AvED news. I've even had a couple of forum accounts before, but managed to forget my password each time. Not the kind of guy to trust with an ancient spellbook and a big bag of "Doob" then.
I was very cynical about the show when it was first announced, (for reasons we may get into another day...) but figured the pilot at least would be worthwhile as Raimi was directing. For me, Raimi proved he could still deliver awesome horror-comedy with Drag Me To Hell. And if Raimi was involved, Bruce was likely to make some effort for his performance, too. My cynicism melted away patheticly fast with the first Ash-Pablo-Kelly promo shot and I've been giddy for this show ever since. Now, while it didn't live up to my expectations EXACTLY, I did enjoy it a lot. Thoughts follow. Mainly niggles, I guess.
The Sex Scene. Tonally, I dunno. Didn't offend me, and It IS a quick way to show Ash as a fallen sleeze. In execution..? At best its a continuity flub, at worst its a strangely amateurish screw up. I mean, I don't need to see "little Bruce" or anything but if you want an audience to believe a character is having sex, don't make it completely obvious he isn't. They could have had Campbell hitch his jeans down a little in that reveal shot, or just go for a closer crop so we can't see anything below the waist. This gets more scrutiny than is necessary because it was in that 4 minute preview that I watched a half dozen times. I admit that in the episode itself, it was barely noticeable.
The scene with Fisher jibes noticeably with the tone of the rest of the episode. And you know what? I absolutely loved it! It is always such a (rare) treat when Raimi returns to Horror. I feel like he shows up more modern Directors every time. Two actors, a little make-up, and some inventive lighting is all he needs to smash it. Which brings us to...
The CGI. It sucks. It just does. Walking Dead cut back on CGI splats in later seasons, I hope AvED does too. I will say, while these shots stood out like a sore thumb on my first viewing, they were easier to ignore on the second.
Man crush aside, how does Pablo come to the conclusion that Ash is "El Jefe"? He wasn't exactly holding his own against that dolly. Maybe if Ash was able to finish his backstory (which was accompanied by more lovely Raimi visual wizardary...) with "And then I travelled back in time to save medieval England from an Army of the Dead..." But he didn't, so I don't know.
Maid, Its weird that Bruce's "Groovy" was cut off in the broadcast you saw. I actually liked the sound of this. (It didn't happen in the version I got. Pirated I'm afraid, but I'll get the Blu-Ray when its available) A little twist on fan expectation a' la the end of Avengers: Age of Ultron. Also, I'm still sore that I sat through what seemed like 15 minutes of credits at the end of Fede Alvarez's remake just so Bruce could mug a bored reading of the line at me for a reward. I feel like I could happily live the rest of my life without hearing another Bruce Campbell "Groovy" now...
I liked it. Sorry I got carried along with the hype, maybe, but I feel like I'll enjoy it the more I see it. And I'm interested to see where future episodes go.
, i'll update if there's a better quality video[video=youtube]https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=KqD00qO_K0g[/video]
