‘Evil Dead’s Most Underrated Chapter Is This 99% Rotten Tomatoes Horror Masterpiece

Published Oct 13, 2026, 2:39 PM EDT

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Carolyn Jenkins is a voracious consumer of film and television. She graduated from Long Island University with an MFA in Screenwriting and Producing where she learned the art of character, plot, and structure. The best teacher is absorbing media and she spends her time reading about different worlds from teen angst to the universe of Stephen King.

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The “cabin in the woods” trope is time-honored in horror, most notably cropping up in Sam Raimi’s Evil Dead franchise. He and his lifelong friend, Bruce Campbell, created a franchise that would span decades, long after the iconic Ash Williams would hang up his chainsaw. Evil Dead started as a humble independent venture that very few believed in and has gone on to develop into a big-budget Hollywood blockbuster event.

The recent run of films, including Evil Dead Rise and Evil Dead Burn, is closer to classic gore fests than the outrageous origins of the series. The comedy roots of the IP have been lost in the current narratives as new characters foolhardily read from the Necronomicon Ex-Mortis. The Book of the Dead continues to summon Deadites by unsuspecting victims, but there has been something missing from this new rash of movies. Tragically, one of the best additions to the franchise is one that flew under the radar for the most part. Starz’s Ash vs. the Evil Dead was a return to form for fans of the franchise and harnessed what has been missing from the movie series for the past few decades.

‘Ash vs. the Evil Dead’ Returns to the Comedy Roots of the Franchise

After the horrifyingly mediocre Evil Dead reboot in 2013, Starz answered the call to bring the series back to its roots. In 2015, the streaming service unleashed Ash vs. the Evil Dead, which reunited the title character with his Oldsmobile. 30 years after his last encounter with the Deadites, Bruce Campbell reprises his role in a way only he could. Instead of the self-serious later films rising in popularity, Ash accidentally resurrects his old Deadite friends.

In a haze of drugs, he reads from the Necronomicon in an effort to impress a girl in his trailer, which starts the cycle all over again. Ash vs. the Evil Dead is the perfect sequel to the original trilogy, earning a 99% on Rotten Tomatoes. The return to the slapstick laughs that made the first films a cult sensation was the only way to continue the franchise. Modern interpretations of Evil Dead have lost this life as Sam Raimi continues his legacy in movies like Drag Me to Hell and Send Help.

While viewers yell at the screen, questioning why current characters keep reading from a book that explicitly warns them not to, Ash vs. the Evil Dead offers an elegant solution. Ash reading from a book he knows is evil is not only hilarious, but typical of the character. He is in a literal hell of his own making, and once that is established, the series can get to work showing the campiness that matches the tone of the Deadites' introduction.

Ash defies maturity and growing up, which is part of the charm of the series. He is stuck in the place he was when he first encountered the Deadites, symbolising his trauma in a new way. The series lasted for three seasons and acts as a sequel to Evil Dead: Army of Darkness that fans always wanted. The horror-comedy marked the end of Campbell’s portrayal of Ash, but it was the send-off he deserved. Fans demanded a return to the campiness, and they received it in droves. For those fatigued with the current run of bleak horror stories, Ash vs. the Evil Dead is worth revisiting.