Ash vs. Evil Dead - "The Host"

Exorcisms may be a staple within the horror genre, but they were never an integral part of the original Evil Dead mythos—once a person became a Deadite, the only way to deal with it was bodily dismemberment (preferably by chainsaw). But with the addition of a larger pantheon of capital “E” Evil in the universe of Ash vs. Evil Dead the options have grown. More demons mean more ways to send them back to hell!

Last week’s episode, “Brujo” may as well have ended with a big “TO BE CONTINUED.” With Kelly possessed by the demon from the bookstore and Ash the only one who can see it, danger feels a lot closer than it has before. While the Brujo has Ash tied up in his shaman shed, Kelly has Pablo alone in the Airstream, smoking weed out of the business end of of the Boomstick. Kelly’s cover is blown pretty quickly, however, and the exorcism can begin. Seeking to distinguish itself from the deluge of Catholic exorcism scenes that are by far the most common breed in American horror, this shamanistic ritual allows for some new and disgusting measures (like adding leeches to the oh so typical pea-green projectile vomit).

The exorcism itself appears to be inspired by the similar scene in Sam Raimi’s Drag Me to Hell in which a medium agrees to try and call Lamia off of the young Christine. From the all black eyes and sharp teeth that Kelly sports once possessed to the idea of another person taking on the demon the parallels are there. The demon climbing out of Kelly’s mouth, especially, harkens back to a similar scene with a deceased kitten that fans of Drag Me to Hell are likely to have scorched on their mind’s eye.

Though this episode centers around a battle with the same demon that we saw in “From Beyond Books”, the episode didn’t come across as stale. In fact, this week’s episode felt much stronger, perhaps because the dialogue and set pieces surrounding the big fight were much more on point with the rest of the season. The sequence with Pablo and Kelly the trailer was particularly silly – in the best way. I have always been baffled by the horror trope of female character starts acting crazy/promiscuous/unhinged and male protagonist is totally oblivious because of her hotness, but this scene steers right into the crazy skid and it works. As Kelly lounges provocatively on the couch and beckons Pablo to join her, he is immediately smitten with her and can’t believe his luck. As she continues to lay on the seduction however, he starts overthinking it and his love, not his lust for her is what saves him. It’s all too fast for him and his moment of panic saves his head from being blown in.

Lasting Thoughts: Does Ash’s new Nintendo Power Glove remind anyone else of Nightmare on Elm Street part 6??

Sophie

Contributor

Sophie's introduction into the magic that is the horror genre was watching Halloween at a party in high school, and since then she's never looked back. She may be the wimpiest horror fan you have ever met, but she won't ever let that stop her!