Nerds That Geek Blu Ray Review - 'Ash vs. Evil Dead: The Complete First Season'

​Written by John Edward Betancourt

For the longest time, fans of the Evil Dead franchise were faced with a horrible truth; that most likely, they were never going to enjoy another incredible adventure with Ashley J. Williams and that was an outright shame since Army of Darkness opened up all kinds of possibilities of the Deadites finding their way into our world. 

Sure, there were rumors of an Evil Dead 4 eventually coming to fruition, but they were always just that...rumors. But lo and behold, a miracle arrived, after years of lamenting and dreaming of what that fourth film might look like, the horror Gods smiled upon fans of the franchise by giving everyone that next chapter in the story on television instead. Ash vs. Evil Dead was everything we could have hoped for and more and as we count down to season two, we have also been blessed with that amazing first season arriving on blu ray and this disc set is truly a sight to behold.

For starters, the high def transfer on this disc set is absolutely outstanding. There are wonderful little details to be found in just about every single frame, allowing for the world that Ash inhabits to pop off the screen and when the evil comes into play, these newfound details allow for that world to suddenly take on a sinister life of its own. Not to mention, the Deadites look worse for the wear (in a good way) in this set, and that actually manages to enhance the story and make them appear more lethal in the process. Case in point, the pilot episode when Amanda's partner becomes possessed. There's a new atmosphere to that already tense scene thanks to all that perfect detail and all of that is further enhanced by a beautiful 7.1 surround sound track. The sound effects and the music are all used to draw you into the story further and believe me, it works like a charm.

The only downside to this particular set, is that the special features are a little on the light side. There are some audio commentaries that I need to get through, but otherwise, it's mostly featurettes on this set that highlight Ash and the Deadites and while they're entertaining to watch, on a personal level I think I would have preferred a grand documentary on how this whole series came to life with interviews from Sam Raimi and Bruce and the gang. After all it had to take a monumental effort to finally get this project off the ground and more information on how all that came together, would be an absolute treat since the end result of all this hard work is downright amazing. 

However, I consider that complaint to be a minor one, because the episodes themselves are already filled to the brim with the magic of Ashley J. Williams doing what he does best, kicking ass and taking names, so one can certainly overlook the lack of special features. Either way, this is a must own for Evil Dead fans since in reality, this is it, the fourth film we've been waiting for...just broken up into a ton of little vignettes and those who are unfamiliar with the franchise can use this disc set as a gateway into this incredible little world since the story does stand out on its own from the films for the most part and to flat out discover the wonder of Bruce Campbell at his finest. Hail to the king, baby.

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