Editorials
5 Reasons You Should Be Watching “Ash vs Evil Dead”
When Army of Darkness released theatrically in theaters in 1993, it was technically a bomb, earning only $4.4 million opening weekend on an $11 million budget. The relentless fan following would amass in the decades that followed, but the reality is that Ash vs Evil Dead is a rare gift. The trio behind the original Evil Dead trilogy, Bruce Campbell, Sam Raimi, and Rob Tapert, reunited to unleash the biggest love letter possible to fans; a brilliantly paced series that not only keeps continuity of previous films in high regard, but folds in new mythology and expands the universe in mind-blowing ways.
In breaking with the previous seasons’ premiere dates coinciding with the Halloween period, season 3 is scheduled to commence on Starz on February 25. It’s a move that’s stirred up series-ending rumors, but I tend to think of it as kismet, since it falls very close to Army of Darkness’ 30th anniversary. So you now have fair warning to catch up ahead of the premiere (season 1 and 2 are now available on Netflix, you primitive screwheads). Ash vs Evil Dead is an absolute must watch, and here’s five reasons why:
Ash is foretold in an ancient book
Ashley J. Williams fate was forever intertwined with the Necronomicon and Kandarian Demons when he and his friends played the tape recorder at that cabin in the woods decades ago. Yet, at the end of Evil Dead II, the reveal that Ash was the chosen one to defeat the deadites, as foretold in an ancient book, raised questions that still haven’t quite been answered. Why Ash? What exactly is the prophecy in full? Season 3 promises to provide answers, finally.
We love seeing Ash in compromising positions
Ash fighting deadites is a cornerstone of the entire franchise; Ash has dismembered, sliced, and bludgeoned his way through piles of the evil dead over the years. Yet the cast and crew still manage to find the most creative ways for Ash to go head to head with Kandarian evil. Sometimes even head to rectum. How do you top that? Perhaps by turning Ash into an evil puppet? Never doubt that Raimi and the writers will always find a way to top even the most outlandish of demonic battles.
The Ghostbeaters
Admittedly, prior to the inaugural season premiere, I was skeptical to learn that Ash would have partners in crime. Ashley J. Williams was always a bit of a lone wolf, whether through his selfishness or through his inability to keep loved ones safe, he just worked better alone. Until we got to know Pablo (Ray Santiago) and Kelly (Dana DeLorenzo), and then I learned just how wrong my skepticism was. Not only has it been fun to see how their relationship with Ash has changed him, but now it’s hard to picture this world without them in it. Pablo as the heart, and Kelly as the fiery brains, the trio balance each other out in ways that lends depth to a series and emotional investment.
The nods and throwbacks to the original trilogy
For a series that spans nearly four decades and now exists in a fast-paced series, the Evil Dead universe has grown exponentially vast. There are new levels of demons to contend with beyond the deadites. Yet, the cast and crew behind the series never ever forget its roots, paying homage in both small and epic-scaled ways often. To do that while keeping it fresh is an impressive feat. From the return of Ellen Sandweiss as Cheryl in season 2, the return of Henrietta, to keeping the minute details of the original cabin in place during the season 1 climax, Ash vs Evil Dead knows how to fan service better than any other.
It’s the only way to get more seasons
Duh. It took a long time to get a follow up to Army of Darkness, and that’s because the theatrical release didn’t perform well. So I look at this as the last chance to find out what happens in Ash’s long winding story. Whether that means this is the final season or there’s a still a couple more left to tell ultimately depends on whether we support the show. It’s a small, obvious thing, but it’s worth it.
Editorials
Not Another ‘Scary Movie’: Revisiting Forgotten Parody ‘Shriek If You Know What I Did Last Friday the 13th’
After Scream (1996) made a killing at the box office, as well as won over critics and audiences, a lot of folks in the movie biz thought they could do the same thing (and yield similar results). That thing, of course, being a slasher. Most of these opportunists wound up being pretty straightforward; they were low on humor or commentary. Yet others, like Scary Movie (2000), saw the potential for spoofing Scream, and acted on that impulse with both haste and excitement.
A few months after the Wayans’ comedy first hit theaters, Shriek If You Know What I Did Last Friday the 13th landed on the USA Network, as part of the channel’s “Shriek Week” programming. That straight-to-cable (then home video) destination is possibly why many people still don’t know about this one. Or they simply chose to forget. Whatever the reason, only one of these two horror parodies came out on top—and it’s certainly not the movie where Coolio channeled Prince, and Tom Arnold saved the day.
Shriek If You Know What I Did Last Friday the 13th previously went by the name of I Know What You Screamed Last Semester. That Trimark acquisition then settled on a wordier title, just so it could avoid the litigious wrath of Miramax Films. Folks may or may not remember that Columbia Pictures was sued over the “implied connection” between I Know What You Did Last Summer (1997) and Scream. So, yeah, there was no way that this competing Scream parody wasn’t going to be kept on a tight rein.
A Heavy Reliance on Late ’90s TV References
Simon Rex, Julie Benz, Majandra Delfino, Harley Cross, Danny Strong, Tom Arnold and Tiffani-Amber Thiesen in Shriek If You Know What I Did Last Friday the 13th.
Naturally, there would be similarities between Shriek If You Know What I Did Last Friday the 13th and Scary Movie—their scripts are built on the backs of the same two movies. It goes without saying that the other big slasher of the 1990s, I Know What You Did Last Summer, was as much of a target as Scream. However,the film pads itself with more TV references than Scary Movie did.
Half the cast coming off of (and in some cases, returning to) a WB show could be a reason why. Dawson’s Creek is particularly zeroed in on, based on how there’s a central character named “Dawson Deery“, and how the teen drama’s teacher-student affair plotline is satirized to the nth degree. As if there weren’t enough nods to television, Baywatch, VH1’s Pop Up Video, and even those cheesy Mentos commercials all serve as joke prompts.
Shriek director John Blanchard and writers Sue Bailey and Joe Nelms all hailed from television, so it’s understandable that they would stick close to home. The movie’s humor in general makes more sense, in light of learning that Blanchard worked on SCTV, Kids in the Hall, and MADtv. The writers, on the other hand, were each fairly green, with Bailey being the most experienced of the two; she wrote and produced the game show BattleBots. Nevertheless, they, plus Blanchard, churned out a passable, joke-a-minute movie. The whole thing is staggeringly of its time, but no one here was aiming for longevity.
Having seen enough of these kinds of movies, we know to expect jokes of the low-hanging fruit variety. That’s the parody’s whole prime directive. From the characters having names like “Screw Frombehind” and “Doughy Primesuspect”, to stereotyping that feels taboo nowadays, this is a movie from a different era of comedy. Its coarse, corny, and unapologetic sense of humor won’t sit well with everyone in these more enlightened times. In which case, Shriek If You Know What I Did Last Friday the 13th can be treated as a time capsule.
Does Shriek If You Know What I Did Last Friday the 13th Humor Still Hold Up Today?
“You may already be a victim”—Someone receives a most peculiar threatening piece of mail in Shriek If You Know What I Did Last Friday the 13th.
Although Shriek doesn’t live up to its own claims of being so funny that you’ll die of laughter, its bawdier parts could still lead to some nervous laughter. For instance, after this movie’s parallel to Drew Barrymore’s Scream character is done in—not by the killer but by a bug zapper—the movie throws a newspaper next to the victim’s fresh corpse. The headline? “Popular slut killed! Football team mourns”.
We then move on to the wacky and inappropriate goings-on at Bulimia Falls High School, home of the Hurlers. At this nexus of constant absurdity, indecency, and surrealism, students are seen fornicating on the lawn, cheerleading squad applicants are advised to be comfortable with partial nudity, and terrorists openly prepare for an anthrax attack. It can be a tad jarring to watch, especially if you didn’t grow up witnessing this style of comedy firsthand. Hell, even if you did, you may still have a “what the hell were they thinking?” reaction.
It’s not just the aggressively edgy humor here that can make you chuckle—the slapstick, the sight gags, and the ribaldry all have a decent chance of landing. The movie’s own villain, whose hockey mask was instantly transformed into a crudely Ghostface-esque one after coming in contact with an open flame, commits more cheap laughs than kills. His and his victims’ chase sequences, most of which are cartoonish in nature, left this writer grinning. The Scooby-Doo fan in me also totally ate up that clever unmasking joke.
Final Thoughts on This Forgotten Horror Parody
Shriek If You Know What Did Last Friday the 13th
Now, the jury is still out on whether these comedies are to blame for the death of the first slasher revival. There is more to consider than some parodies. At the very least, the likes of Scary Movie didn’t exactly encourage big studios to put their money on a trend that was being derided to death (and not as profitable as the spoofs). These sorts of movies also felt unnecessary at the time, given how their principal inspiration is already a deconstruction of the genre. But like anything else that quickly becomes popular, mockery is unavoidable.
Shriek If You Know What I Did Last Friday the 13th is indeed a movie nobody asked for, much less needed. As a sample of pre-millennium humor and cultural attitudes, it’s not always precise. But as I’ve laid out, your mileage may vary. Horror parodies typically don’t have the best track record, so managing one’s own expectations here is recommended.
Upon rewatching, I for one laughed a bit more than I did back then. Only this time, I responded to the jokes that my younger self didn’t notice or find all that amusing. So it just goes to show that the movies don’t change—we do.
Harley Cross and Majandra Delfino must unmask the killer a number of times in Shriek If You Know What I Did Last Friday the 13th before learning their true identity.
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