Ash vs Evil Dead (TV Series) Books from Beyond (2015) User Reviews

Xena vs Ash vs The Evil Dead.

[BA_Harrison · 7/10 · 26 January 2019]

Ruby Knowby (lovely Lucy Lawless) follows Ash's path of destruction, keen to lay her hands on his Necronomicon. Ash and his pals have taken the ancient tome (bound in human flesh and written in blood) to a book specialist who summons a demon (a wimpy one, teeny tiny like a mouse) to help them reverse the spell that has released an ancient evil into the world. Their plan doesn't go smoothly and they end up battling the demon.

This episode seems to be a little less gory than the previous two blood-soaked efforts, but makes up for the toned down gore with some cracking lines of dialogue ("I'm an alone wolf"), a really creepy demon, and the aforementioned warrior princess, Ms. Lawless, making it lots of fun for fans of both fantasy and horror. I'm still hooked.

Not all books should be read out loud

[FfreshTV · 9/10 · 20 November 2015]

Curiosity killed the cat, remember?

Mysterious warrior lady just checked out Kelly's parents graves to carry on her search. Looks like she's on the hunt for the book. Remember Xena? She looks just like her. More mature though.

Meanwhile, Ash and the team are trying to sort out the situation with demons. They go to the book shop. Which is really good thing to do in our modern age of technology. I mean, many teenagers already don't know what it is. And what book shops are ... a really cool places with jars of weird dead creatures and artifacts for occult ceremonies. Ash and book-worm-guy decide to ask for advice from a very twisted demon. Silly. And of course nothing goes according to plan.

The visual effects of "Ash vs. Evil Dead" are made to movie scale. It's a new age of TV. Absolutely. New demon is incredibly creative and spooky. I haven't seen anything like this before and it will sure bring some scary shivers down your spine for a little dance of terror.

I am excited to see what's coming as there is no easy way out of this mess. Looks like a "Walking Dead" type of apocalypse is coming. Time to find a new hope.

"Nice shooting, Tex-Mex!"

[Mr-Fusion · 7/10 · 10 October 2016]

'Books from Beyond' opens on just the right note: Lucy Lawless, in hot pursuit as well as a bad mood; who she is isn't clear yet, and she's obviously after the Necronomicon - either way, a good-looking woman tearing asphalt in a Challenger, that's a personal button.

This episode doesn't have the electricity of its precursors, and most of it is spent in a dusty bookstore dealing with an awakened demon (who oddly sounds like Dr. Claw); I got a real '90s vibe from the occult goings-on and it almost felt like "Buffy the Vampire Slayer". That said, the wicked banter is still alive and well and this is far from a boring 30 minutes.

7/10

The best episode yet - excellent crafting from start to finish!

[brandonchristie82 · 10/10 · 15 November 2015]

Possible MINOR spoilers ahead! Episode 3 of 'Ash VS Evil Dead' sees Ash and his gang inside a bookstore trying to unsummon the Evil Dead through passages inside the Book of the Dead by the store owner. While trying to undo what was done by Ash, the store owner reads a passage in an attempt to do so. That is the plot of this episode, but do not be fooled for there is plenty to love. We get a, albeit short, look into a mysterious new character. The script is good, as expected, as the banter continues and funny lines are said throughout. As well as this, we see a new form of enemy that is insanely well done - whether it was make up or CGI it looked excellent, very scary indeed! The action in this episode is flawlessly done, very impressive for a TV show budget and on a whole, this is the best episode yet that Ash VS Evil Dead has to offer. I can't wait for the next!

Ash vs Eligos

[The-Social-Introvert · 30 November 2015]

I like the way this show starts – you get a quick recap of what's what, before the series thrusts you into the action – much like the beginning of Evil Dead II.

In this episode Ash, Kelly and Pablo (who keenly names the group "The Ghost Beaters") head to the store where Ash originally brought the book from. We are treated to some interesting mythology here, as the creation of the Necronomicon is explained to us.

Ash has the clever idea of releasing a demon from the book to ask him to explain how to get rid of all the chaos and destruction that is going on. Needless to say it doesn't turn out as he hoped, and the team is left to fend off Eligos, one of the creepiest looking creatures I've seen on TV is some years. The effect on the creature are superb - really movie level stuff. And if you look carefully after Kelly bashes him on the head with the Necronomicon, he'll probably be back soon.

A mysterious new character, Ruby Knowby, is introduced. She's clearly up to something (though I hope the actress playing her improves in the coming episodes).

The Ghost Beaters

[amongpixels · 8/10 · 24 May 2022]

Another fun episode, growing the group's bond and intersecting Amanda's storyline in an enjoyable manner. Eligos is easily one of, if not the best demon in the franchise. His design, visual glitchiness and ability to teleport in and out of spaces is just plain cool. He's dealt with in a rather easy manner (Kelly smacking him with the Necronomicon) and Jill Marie Jones' is frequently subpar in her line delivery, but overall it's an entertaining continuation of the season.

Great demon

[Leofwine_draca · 9/10 · 23 April 2021]

The third episode is something different again and quite possibly the best one yet. It's based around a furious summoning set-piece that reminded me of THE DEVIL RIDES OUT. The demon is an expert bit of CGI animation, one of the coolest creature creations I've seen in a very long time, and the action really hots up as a result.

Lionel, find me the weakest demon in that book!

[Hey_Sweden · 7/10 · 7 February 2018]

'Books from Beyond' is a slight comedown from the first two episodes of 'Ash vs. Evil Dead', if only in the sense that it's not as lively and outrageous. It mostly serves as exposition and set-up, with Ash and company going to the title weirdo bookstore to see about translating the language in the Necronomicon Ex Mortis. Unfortunately, Ash gets the "bright" idea to have the proprietor, Lionel Hawkins (Kelson Henderson), summon Eligos (Ben Fransham), a minor demon, so that he can pose the question of how to stop the madness. The demon, of course, has other ideas.

There are some good lines, and the easygoing chemistry between Bruce Campbell, Ray Santiago, and Dana DeLorenzo is maintained. Ruby Knowby (Lucy Lawless) is given more to do here, as *she* begins picking up Ash's trail, arriving at Kelly's homestead and conducting her own interrogation (of Kelly's still quite lively dad). Trooper Amanda Fisher meets up with Ash and gang, or the "Ghost Beaters", as Pablo likes to think of them, and almost ruins everything by persisting in her efforts to arrest Ash.

Perhaps most intriguing is Ruby. At this point we don't know what her deal is, or what side she's on. All we know is that she's after the book.

All in all, this series is proving to be a highly agreeable continuation of the themes from the feature films.

Seven out of 10.

OK, look, if we get this done quick enough, we might have time to stop for churros. That's not a racist thing, Pablo. That's just a great dessert.

[tenshi_ippikiookami · 7/10 · 16 November 2015]

We left the band with an objective in mind: go to the bookstore and talk to the guy there, who could read the book and help them in sending the deadites back to where they came from. The police detective was also going there, so a meeting there was expected. The third, but more mysterious of the threads so far, was about Xena... I mean, Lucy Lawless's character. Who is she and what is her purpose?

This episode doesn't advance the story much, but we get a couple of funny quotes and some cool action, even though I felt that the levels of blood and splatter had cooled down a little bit. Must be a one episode thing, as I am pretty sure it will be back next episode with a vengeance. Cambpell owns the character, so I have the feeling he could do Ash in his sleep and we wouldn't notice and still enjoy it. His "team" does a good job too, as they are not annoying and couple well with Ash.

The most important point of this third episode, for me, was that we get to see a little bit more of Lucy Lawless character, and we get some nice information that I'm pretty sure will be important in latter episodes.

Fun but the weakest so far.

Reading is FUNdamental

[Fluke_Skywalker · 7/10 · 24 November 2016]

Plot; Ash takes the Necronomicon to an occult bookstore in hopes that the owner can help him reverse the spell that has unleashed evil upon Michigan (soon to be the world).

Once again finds a good balance between horror and humor, with the heroes continuing to bond and forming a likable evil busting trio. Two aspects here that really work in the show's favor are that it's serialized and has a brief 27 minute runtime. The former allows the story to build slowly, which helps to keep pulling you along on this wacky journey and the latter ensures that each episode never overstays its welcome.