By: Heather Seebach
The Evil Dead franchise has only a few consistent staples that appear in every incarnation. Among them are Bruce Campbell, the Necronomicon, and Sam Raimi's 1973 Oldsmobile Delta 88, better known as The Classic. This episode of Ash vs. Evil Dead pays special attention to the yellow machine after it was stolen by some hoodlum teenagers in the last episode. As a fan of all things Raimi, I was particularly tickled watching The Classic have its day, including a loving montage that recalls all the good times it and Ash have shared over the years. The montage is especially amusing if you know that Campbell, in fact, once vowed in his book to "have an army of mechanics dispatched to destroy [the car]." Their relationship is a complicated one, needless to say.
In "Last Call", however, Bruce has nothing but love for the old Delta 88 which, along with the Necronomicon, is now in the hands of some thieving kids. In order to get his baby back, Ash has a plan: throw a party and lure the thieves with the promise of drugs and fun! With the help of his old pal Chet (played by another Evil Dead staple, Ted Raimi), he mixes up his famous drink "Pink Fuck" - a Ketamine-laced liqueur concoction - to lure every drunk, horny teenager in Elk Grove. The plan goes awry, however, when Ash's dad Brock crashes the party.
Meanwhile, said teenagers learn they shouldn't smoke weed and drive the hard way when The Classic meets "the Force" for the first time in Evil Dead history - think Christine with shades of Death Proof. The episode is full of over-the-top gore scenes but three in particular drive it home (pun intended):
1) One of the teenagers is dispatched in a delightfully nasty way.
2) We see what a swirly looks like in the Evil Dead universe.
3) A shocking moment that just might make you exclaim "Jesus!" (as I did)
Viewers who dislike the "sex and drugs" element of the show may be turned off by this episode but hopefully the combination of The Classic and Ted Raimi will sate those old-school fans. I am particularly hoping for more of Bruce and Ted hamming it up together, as we only get a brief glimpse in this episode. On the plus side, we get more of Bruce and Lee Majors together, including a mechanical bull challenge and other forms of father-son bonding. There is even some surprisingly heartfelt conversation between the two.
"Last Call" is a bit of a come-down after the insanity of last week's
episode (that morgue scene!) but it's a fun, interesting time all the same. I look forward to this season finding its villain but it seems Ash has a lot of internal demons to defeat first.
Ash vs. Evil Dead airs Sunday nights at 8pm ET/PT on STARZ
