It has been nearly 30 years since Ash Williams first faced the Evil Dead.  Thanks to Starz, Ash is back and considerably better than ever.

It is hard to imagine that a television reboot of the 1981 cult classic movie could possibly be enjoyable.  The original film was a low-budget slasher with attempts at dark comedy and horrendous special effects that netted it an NC-17 rating. Surprisingly, the Starz series manages to take the spirit of the original franchise and refine it to entertaining effect. Ridiculously gory and incredibly funny, it feels as if this is how the original movie was intended.

The show picks up in the present with Ash living in a trailer and barely holding down a job at a home improvement store.  While he is 30 years older and much heavier, little else has changed for the sarcastic hero.  When the Book of the Dead is used to once again reawaken the Evil Dead, Ash joins forces with two work colleagues to put Evil back in the grave.

The main reason for the success of this reboot is Bruce Campbell.  Campbell played Ash in the original films and reprises the role for the show.  While Campbell is by all accounts a terrible actor, he embodies Ash like no one else.  Fans of “Burn Notice” will quickly see that the Campbell character of Sam Axe is just a renamed Ash.  In addition, the show is created by Sam and Ivan Raimi, who made the original films.

While the show is in no way award-worthy, it is an exceptionally funny and exceedingly violent good time.  The show can be enjoyed without any previous exposure to the movie franchise, but watching at least the original film will add to the experience.  “Ash vs. Evil Dead” is unapologetically campy, and this embrace of its tongue-in-cheek humor makes the show relaxed and fun to watch.  Indeed, it appears that even the actors are amused with their undertaking.  When the cast has this much fun making the show, it is bound to be enjoyable for the audience.