Burn Notice: The Fall of Sam Axe

 What's going on kiddies? We're back with the day of June 22^nd is the birthday of actor/writer/producer Bruce Campbell (The Evil Dead, Moontrap, Evil Dead 2: Dead by Dawn, Lois & Clark: The New Adventures of Superman, Tornado!, Escape from L.A., Ellen, Hercules: The Legendary Journeys, Xena: Warrior Princess, Bubba Ho-Tep and Burn Notice). From the humble Super 8 beginnings to three novels, this actor boy has been a Three Stooges fan as a lad and got the acting bug roughly about the same time. Today's movie gives us a glimpse into Burn Notice character, Sam Axe and what brought about his mustering out of rank and military clearance. This is Burn Notice: The Fall of Sam Axe.

 

Ash and the Mandalorian side-by-side

 

 

 

 

 

 As our film opens, Sam (Bruce Campbell, in case you missed that.) is in his dress uniform and being brought before a military hearing for his conduct of his last "fact finding" mission in Columbia 3 years prior to the series. The fact this hearing is even happening means everything went pear shaped or SNAFU. Admiral Lawrence (John Diehl of Stripes, Miami Vice, Fail Safe, Lost Souls, The Zeros, Pearl Harbor, Jurassic Park III, The Shield, Land of Plenty, Point Pleasant, Gary's Walk and Gabe the Cupid Dog) wants Sam to walk him through all these events that lead up to the flaming dumpster fire of a mission.

 

What do you mean "sidekicks"?

 

 

 

 

 

As Sam re-accounts his actions bringing him to his mission, he was doing a bit of reconnaissance... or spot the submarine with a rather dishy blonde, Donna (Chandra West of Universal Soldier II: Brother in Arms, Universal Soldier III: Unfinished Business, NYPD Blue, I Now Pronounce You Chuck & Larry, The Gates, Z and Spiral). The downside to this lover connection? She happens to be the wife of his superior officer, Admiral Maitland (Alex Fernandez of F.E.A.R. 3, Driver: San Francisco, NCIS, Dallas, Killer Women, Devious Maids, True Detective, Stevie D, Lucifer and Christmas Crime Story). Talk about not taking in your surroundings.

 

Can't help you, Sam. I'm just a cameo.

 

 

 

 

 

A near miss with Maitland, Sam leans on his buddy, Michael Westen (Jeffery Donovan of Bait, The Blair Witch Project 2: Book of Shadows, Touching Evil, Hitch, Crossing Jordan, Burn Notice, Burn Notice: The Fall of Sam Axe, Sicario, Shut Eye and Wonder Woman: Bloodlines) back between missions in Afghanistan, takes in Axe's blunder and gives him the advice to lay low and avoid the whole mess.

  No sooner does Sam leave the bar hopping, he is picked up by the SP (Shore Patrol) and delivered to Maitland. Rather than hanging Sam from a yard arm, Axe is given a mission to Columbia to observe the accounts of a rebel movement, Espada Adriente (Flaming Sword, gringos) and work with army liaison Comandante Veracruz (Pedro Pascal of The Good Wife, Lights Out, The Adjustment Bureau, Sweet Little Lies, Red Widow, Game of Thrones, Graceland, The Mentalist and The Mandalorian) then report back their findings. As time passes, Sam feels this is no milk run and uncovers the Colombian army under Veracruz seems to be heavily involved in cocaine trafficking. Ho boy. 

 

Okay, kid. Look. I just like Boba Fett more.

 

 

 

 

 

 

Meeting with a relief aid worker, Amanda Maples(Kiele Sanchez of Married to the Kellys, Related, Lost, Football Wives, Samantha Who?, Insanitarium, A Perfect Getaway, 30 Days of Night: Dark Days, The Glades, The Purge: Anarchy and Kingdom) and only doctor in the region, Ben Delaney (RonReaco Lee of Man of Your Dreams, Madea Goes to Jail, Worst Week, In the Motherhood, The Good Guys, Let's Stay Together, Complications, We Are Family, The Quad and Running Out of Time), along with seemingly lost orphan Beatriz (Ilza Ponko of La Teacher de Ingles, Burn Notice: The Fall of Sam Axe, Burn Notice, Lynch, The Darkness, Hands of Stone, La Piloto, Ruta Madre and La Reina Soy Yo). The Colombian army is coming down on Sam's head and all the people he may have interacted with. Armed with peasants, farmers and locals, Axe is feeling the hurt and running out of ideas and gas. All must be made silent.  Kinda getting the vibe they have mass burial sites at the ready for such an occasion.

Beatriz wants to fight along side Sam but he wants her to do something to give them an edge instead. Sam has to get the good guys on his side against Veracruz, who is claiming anything he chooses to discredit Sam and then go mop them up. 

 

With directorial by Jeffery Donovan, he and Matt Nix (writer and creator of Burn Notice) got Bruce's speech patterns and dropped a bit of dialogue that worked well with him. A few spoilers is Bruce getting the use of a chainsaw and yes Deadites, we do get a groovy in there. A few goofs I noticed and only because I am a military brat, I give you the following: Naval officers wear white shoes not black ones with dress uniform and he wasn't wearing his SEAL trident.

As far as film goofs of continuity, I couldn't help but notice Sam had his sidearm the whole time, including being kidnapped prior. Overall, the Campbell fans and Burn Notice fans will appreciate this TV movie. I think Matt Nix might have been a Get Smart fan as the opening sequence was similar to the hallway walk through.

Happy 63^rd birthday, El Jefe!

 

Soooo...no beer then?

 

Maniac Cop 2

How do, everyone. I really hoped you enjoyed the write up for Tales of Frankenstein. Today I am back in the B movie territory, of which is just fine for me. I mean when you have Bruce Campbell, Laurene Landon, Robert Davi and Claudia Christian all in a Horror sequel that many critics were confused with.  This is Maniac Cop 2.

Forget vengeance, howzabout a makeover?

Recapping right back from its predecessor, Officer Cordell (Robert Z'Dar of Cherry 2000, Maniac Cop, Tango & Cash, Soultaker, Beastmaster 2: Through the Portal of Time, Frogtown II, Future War, Hollywood Cops and Samurai Cop) plunged into the icy March waters while being chased by his fellow boys in blue to a watery grave. Now while this was all happening during St. Patty's Day, the next festivities is Christmas??  Hmm, methinks a continuity error.

Director William Lustig (Hot Honey, Maniac, Vigilante, Hit List, Relentless, Maniac Cop 2 and The Expert) is back holding the reins, so character, tone and eerie vibe is all available. Now many deem this a cult classic, so let's see if it cuts the mustard. Remember, Cordell was set up by his superiors because they were corrupt and he was getting too close to revealing that very fact. Left for dead as a bad cop in prison, he was coma ridden and died in prison...or did he? What did he find out? 

When the news just grips you.

Meanwhile officers Jack Forrest (Bruce Campbell of The Evil Dead, Crimewave, Moontrap, Escape from L.A., Ellen, Bubba Ho-Tep and Burn Notice) and Teresa Mallory (Laurene Landon of Roller Boogie, Full Moon High, Hundra, It's Alive III: Island of the Alive, Samurai Cop 2: Deadly Vengeance and Death Game) still shaken from this first encounter, what with lopping his hand off with a chainsaw and...dammit. I confused my horror sequels. Ahem, with Jack andTeresa cleared of all outstanding charges, their knob of a Commissioner (Michael Lerner of Strange Invaders, Vibes, Harlem Nights, Barton Fink, No Escape, Godzilla and When Do We Eat?) is sticking with the BS story that Cordell died in Sing Sing (Sing Sing Correctional Facility) and hopes to put the whole killer cop shenanigans to rest.

He demands they see the shrink Susan Riley(Claudia Christian of The Hidden, Clean and Sober, The Dark Backward, Babylon 5, The Chase, The Haunting of Hell House, Atlantis: The Lost Empire, Half Past Dead and Fallout 4) to get their heads straightened out. Yeesh.

Oh thank God, she doesn't have a broadsword.

Entering our film is clearly the themed bad ass cop that follows the Dirty Harry code of shoot, shoot some more and then go fill out paperwork. Detective Sean Mckinney (Robert Davi of Die Hard, Licence to Kill, Profiler, Stargate Atlantis, Black Rose and The Expendables 3) definitely gonna get the 80s tropes of the captain chewing his ass out for bodies in the streets, cars smashed into buildings and so on. With his partner gone, McKinney works alone. You know the drill. He'll avenge him yadda yadda

Pulling himself out of the river, Cordell embarks on his killing spree of society that done him wrong. Honestly can you blame him? Reporters made him out to be a monster, the citizens of New York turned their backs on the this highly decorated street cop and the justice system sent him up the river with thugs and skells he put away. Starting up his bloody crusade, he encounters scruffy, religiously driven serial killer Turkell (Leo Rossi of Halloween II, Relentless, Fast Getaway, Where the Day Takes You, Raw Justice, Raw Justice, Analyze This, Crackerjack 3 and Back by Midnight) forming an alliance.

One of my favorite character actors second only to Tom Atkins, the late Charles Napier (The Blues Brothers, Rambo: First Blood Part 2, Silence of the Lambs, Return to Castle Wolfenstein, Dinocroc, Lords of Dogtown, Quake 4 and Shadowheart) is grumbly, sour and gives a good performance.

With similar killings like before, city officials are nervous as Hell, the citizens of New York are gonna go to work, pick up the kids and get groceries strapped like it's the Road Warrior. Riley and McKinney each have theories but can scarcely believe them that possibly Cordell is back and the higher ups are trying to corner Teresa, making it seem it's her killing around town. Well I have seen the lady with a broadsword, bow and arrows but she's just not quite the same height and build as Cordell.  That is, until Cordell channels his inner T-800 and goes completely sick house on the station. Whacking cops like he's an overenthusiastic hunter.

Like many Horror sequels, the body count gets higher, the effects gorier and gives a fast pace of an unstoppable killing machine. Feels like the methodical attacks of the Terminator with the zombified staple of Jason Vorhees. The dark humor is still present but not as pronounced as it is for more terror. The original feels closer to a psychological thriller moving into Horror but this sequel is straight up slasher but with more back story and several layers. I can see the appeal and I get why folks are interested in the nearby remake and will it hold up. As for this sequel, not too shabby.

Well, he's no Bogey but not bad.

Burn Notice Season 6

Howdy readers. Cox is still not on yet so finding alternative means to blog has been a challenge. But enough of that, howzabout the further adventures of everyone's disavowed spy? No? Too bad, we are going over that anyway. This is Burn Notice Season 6.

The Sun!!  It burns us!!!

We we last left Weston and gang, Michael was framed for a murder he did not commit, The CIA wanted answers and his balls were on the chopping block. Michael has been re-instated with the CIA and is trusted to handle missions again all the while still helping the little peoples. That is until Dead Larry (Tim Matheson) makes another appearance after escaping and faking his death in an Albanian prison that Michael set him up for his misdeeds. As Larry has always viewed Michael as a son, you can imagine Poppa's plenty pissed. With a break-in to the British Consulate, Larry is shuffled off to his well-earned demise with a focused detonation courtesy of Fi but additional explosions take the lives of guards working there and Fi blames herself. Enter head shrink/supreme jackass Anson (Jere Burns of Dear John, Good Morning, Miami, Las Vegas, Kim Possible,All of Us, Burn Notice and Love Begins) who blackmails Michael to getting the ceased funds, his personal records expunged and recruiting new agents i.e. Burn them for a new and exciting endeavor or Fi goes to Federal prison.

Split screen brings the TV show closer to you...I guess.

Watching Michael work with Anson, Fi surrenders to the proper authorities in order to get him out from under Anson's thumb.

The CIA finally on Michael's side believes him about Anson and prepares a manhunt only to watch him die from a sucking chest wound. The questions Michael had just got amplified. If Anson was in charge of this off the books black ops team then who killed him? What will be come of this concept? How many more innocents have to die to keep their secrets safe?

Naturally Michael is not alone in the search for the truth as he is backed up by Sam and Jessie, even his little brother Nate and mom Maddie. Will that be enough to keep his nearest and dearest safe while unraveling the mysteries laying ahead?

For fans of the show and the TV movie: Burn Notice: The Fall of Sam Axe they will be happy to see what happened to the two CIA twits stationed in Columbia both Bailey and Manaro reprise after 5 years from the incident that got Sam an "honorable" discharge. Hey go watch the film if you want to know more or stick around. Maybe I will review it. That's all for now, folks and seriously give these seasons a view. Did I mention stand-up comedian/character actor and now newly added alumni to the rebirth of MST3K Patton Oswalt is in as well? 

Ta dah!  Villain.

 

Erratic Viewings: Ash vs Evil Dead Season 2

Hey gang. I could bore you with details on why we had such a short week. Let's just say a few things cropped up and I would rather not go in to extravagant detail. Instead how about we see some aimless direction. An irregular course if you will. Planning the week out gets to be a huge pain in the tuckus and frankly other than the makers of Preparation H, who needs it?

Today we catch up with as Bruce Campbell described him as 40 percent action hero and 60 percent bone head, Ashley J Williams as he battles the forces of darkness, downs a few brews and maybe even get a little sugar along the way. This is Ash vs Evil Dead Season 2.

Man this girdle really keeps the gut in.

A pact is made in order to save his friends Kelly (Dan DeLorenzo of The Late Late Show with Craig Ferguson, Californication, Impress Me, The Mad Ones and Ash vs Evil Dead) and Pablo (Ray Santiago of Girlfight, Meet the Fockers, Dirty Deeds, My Name Is Earl, Raising Hope and Ash vs Evil Dead) and to fulfill his life long dream of being in Jacksonville Florida??? Seriously? Nothing against the town but surely there could have been more out there. Ruby Knowby (Lucy Lawless of Hercules and the Amazon Women, High Tide, Xena: Warrior Princess, Tarzan, Eurotrip, Vampire Bats, Justice League: The New Frontier, Battlestar Galactica, Bitch Slap and Spartacus: War of the Damned), daughter of the late Professor Raymond Knowby and Henrietta, sister to Annie has found herself in quite the pickle. As her spawn of Baal decided they don't need momma anymore, she drops the truce, says the magic words and Ash is back knee deep in the cow crap. Deadites attack Ash and gang in Jacksonville but they are quickly dispatched as one of them hints to Ash's hometown in Elk Grove Michigan.

Still gotta work with that Campbell clod.

Armed with boomstick, chainsaw and even the Kandarian dagger, Ash is ready to lay waste to more demons and deadites but not all set from the less than warm welcome as he is referred as Ashy Slashy, an acquitted but still highly suspected serial killer and the town never lets him forget it. He still has friends and family in town like his drunken bar-tending pervy pal Chet (Ted Raimi of The Evil Dead, Evil Dead II: Dead by Dawn, Darkman, SeaQuest 2032, Wishmaster, Xena: Warrior Princess, Spider-Man, Evil Dead: Regeneration and Drag Me to Hell) his bitter skirt chasing pop Brock (Lee Majors of The Big Valley, Owen Marshal, Counselor at Law, The Six Million Dollar Man, The Fall Guy, Raven, Raising Hope, Wild Bill Hickok: Swift Justice and Dead Rising) and the girl that got away, Linda (Michelle Hurd of ER, Gossip Girl, Girl Most Likely, 90210, The Glades, Jessica Jones, Daredevil, Blindspot and Ash vs Evil Dead).

Honey, you got real ugly.

Local law enforcement used to be a kid Ash tormented in high school thinks all the sudden craziness is directly linked to our favorite knucklehead and well, he isn't all that off but dammit let the hero have a brew, a girl and the odd doobie. Ruby reluctantly teams up with the deadite slayers in the hopes that they can prevent to return of Baal (Joel Tobeck of Hercules: The Legendary Journeys, Young Hercules, Xena: Warrior Princess, Cleopatra 2525, Power Rangers DinoThunder, Little Fish, Ghost Rider, 30 Days of Night and Accidents Happen), say the right words and keep him back in the Underworld where the little Marlyn Manson coiffed prick needs to be.

Can Ash stop this impeding pile of preternatural poltergeists!?! Will Kelly and Pablo get a real life again??? Can Ruby ever not be foxy???

Fun facts now. Auckland, New Zealand is the place of the Ash vs Evil Dead stomping grounds. This filming area may sound familiar as it has been used for: Hercules: The Legendary Journeys, Xena: Warrior Princess, Spartacus: Gods of the Arena, the 2013 Evil Dead, King Kong, The Chronicles of Narnia: The Lion, the Witch and the Wardrobe and 30 Days of Night.

That damn Oldsmobile Delta 88 is the exact same make, model and even color from the original Evil Dead trilogy. The original car of course belongs to writer,director and creator of The Evil Dead Sam Raimi who always tries to sneak that clunkasaurus into almost every film he directs. The original composer for Evil Dead Joe LoDuca (The Evil Dead, Evil Dead II: Dead by Dawn, Moontrap, Army of Darkness, Hercules: The Legendary Journeys, Xena: Warrior Princess, Young Hercules, Jack of All Trades, Cleopatra 2525, The Librarian: Quest for the Spear, Alien Apocalypse, My Name is Bruce and Ash vs Evil Dead) returns to compose for the madness that is still Raimi's creation. With writer/producer Tom Spezialy (Weird Science, Desperate Housewives, Chaos, Zero Hour, Manhattan and The Leftovers) working hand in hand with Sam and Ivan Raimi, you know you are in for one-liners, gross outs, gore and general grooviness. If you loved the flicks, you'll enjoy the show. Hey if you only know Bruce from Brisco County or Burn Notice, you'll enjoy it but... better have a strong stomach. Still blood, guts and the naughty words.

Ash, Deadite slayer and chainsaw bear sculpter.

TV series: Ash vs Evil Dead

Well here we are. Moving back into TV I came to the conclusion that a lot of what I view is very dramatic and less and less funny. How about a series involving deadites, possession, a book that resurrects the dead? Sound too bizarre or does it sound like a few movies prior? Well folks, this show involves the Chin himself. The master of B Movies and patented splatterstick (comedy horror violence with humorous content) as Sam Raimi and Rob Tapert.

This is Ash Vs Evil Dead.

Well, that was mind blowing.

30 years prior, stock boy of Value Mart, Ash Williams (Bruce Campbell of The Evil Dead, Evil Dead 2: Dead by Dawn, Army of Darkness, The Adventures of Brisco County Jr., Jack of All Trades, Spider-Man, Burn Notice and Burn Notice: The Fall of Sam Axe) went to a cabin in the woods with his friends when they discovered renowned Professor Knowby's reel to reel recorder of notes, an ancient dagger carved of bone and steel and the book, Necronomicon ex Mortis. Bound in human flesh and inked in human blood, the book contained ancient burial rites, incantations and demon summoning. It was never meant the land of the living. The book awoke primeval forces in the woods, demons taking over human beings and the only way to stop them is through the act of body dismemberment.

The Classic!!!

Burying the remains of his friends, girlfriend and sister, Ash put this insanity all behind him but he kept the book. Life is rough for Ash living in a crappy trailer and chasing after various women and hitting bars left and right he takes a girl (Marissa Stott of Blood Crime, Orphans and Angels, Shortland Street and Power Rangers Megaforce) back his place, they blaze up some wacky tabaccy and proceed to read passages from the book releasing the evil again. With the evil back, Ash decides to get the hell out of dodge when his work partner Pablo (Ray Santiago of Girlfight, Raising Hope, Touch, Sex Ed and Trash Fire) tells him that whenever evil comes there is always a chosen one to battle it. Ash reluctant to his calling decides to hit on the new girl at work, Kelly (Dana DeLorenzo of Peep Show, A Very Harold & Kumar 3D Christmas, Eagleheart, Californication, Impress Me and Driving Arizona) when a storm of darkness start swirling around, taking over susceptible souls making them meat puppets of evil to lash out at Ash. Pablo and Kelly get caught up in the middle of this mess as Ash breaks out the boomstick and chainsaw.

Two other souls grabbed up in the lunacy, Special Agent Amanda Fisher (Jill Marie Jones of Girlfriends, The Perfect Holiday, The Longshots and Drool) loses her partner in a deadite shooting and Professor Ruby Knowby (Lucy Lawless of Xena: Warrior Princess, Bedtime Stories, Spider-Man, EuroTrip, Battlestar Galactica, Spartacus: Gods of the Arena, Spartacus: War of the Damned and Parks and Recreation) looking for the man she believes slaughtered her mother, father and sister.

Can Ash send back the evil? Should the book be destroyed? How many crackers will be possessed??

My only issue is a production argument over the Army of Darkness production issues. Renaissance Pictures may have created Medieval Dead or Army of Darkness' rights are owned by Universal Studios and rather than accommodate an understanding they decided to be total wankers. Barring Starz from making any references of Army of Darkness, Ash does get a robotic hand rather than a medieval gauntlet with gears, alloys and molecular stuff. They also establish their big stink on if the show did any Evil Ash but (LOOPHOLE!!) that reference falls back to Evil Dead 2 so tough noogies, Universal.

So if you loved the originals for its goofing and gore gags, then you will love Ash vs Evil Dead as they stick to the same medium of his cheeseball lines, hitting on young women and violence against the deadites. Groovy.

We'll swallow your soul... as get through your screen.

Seasons Continue: Burn Notice Season 5

Hello all and welcome to Day 1 of Seasons Continue. Now before I get chastised about letting Supernatural fall behind, I would point out... I forget crap. It happens. That being said we now look at the further adventures of our favorite burnt spy. HAHA!!! Yeah you can wait for Supernatural, punkers. As we move on, taking down a major Black Ops crew operating off the books is deemed bad by the intelligence communities. As a driving force to stop this unofficial creation, Weston is brought to Washington to have some face time with one of his former mentors.

This is Burn Notice Season 5.

Hold me closer, tiny photo.

The CIA using Michael's solid intel allowed them to follow the trail of bread crumbs leading to the heads of the company and bringing them in or six feet under. With that being said, Michael is also on a short leash as he has his own CIA liason Max (Grant Show of Melrose Place, The Girl Next Door, Swingtown, Accidentally on Purpose, Private Practice and Big Love) making sure that Weston sticks to the prodical and not making it up as he goes along.

Months of investigation and team missions have put this into play but something crucial seems to be missing... Oh yeah, how about Sam, Fi and newcomer Jesse?? As luck would have it, Sam has slimmed down and wowing the ladies and I can imagine Bruce Campbell not having to flip flop between weight is much better for it. Fi is trying her level best to not rub the CIA the wrong way but she is not a team player when there is that much red tape in the way. Counter-Intelligence Agent Jesse decides against going back to the biz when he felt helping the little guys and gals hands on was something he was proud of doing. That being said and all he is working for a major security firm that are more than generous in their stipend and love of his skills.

Sam, stop staring at Fi's legs.

Michael's mom is making changes in her life and we also see little brother Nate make some appearances so all seems to be going well until... Max has been shot and killed, and the killer managed to put the murder weapon in Michael's hands. Covering his tracks, he also covered Max's killer's tracks. The CIA pissed in losing a good man, has their watch dog to solve this mystery requiring Michael to be at least 4 steps ahead of Agent Pearce (Lauren Stamile of Grey's Anatomy, Alligator Point, Community, The Event, Complications and CSI: Cyber) who wants the man that murdered her friend and colleague. With the clock ticking, the lies that will only cover Michael so far and trust that can be easily believed as a front, the gang need to get Weston cleared of these charges.

Weston is also dealing with the nagging sensation is the company that burned him actually dead and buried? Could this just be his paranoia kicking in or are the ashes of the old rising anew?

Season 5 brings in some solid writing and griping suspension. You have a spy drama showing its "A" game and presenting so many unknown elements along with still being able to assist people with their problems. Clients are being helped and the crew really are meshing together as a dynamic. Admittedly I wasn't really sure about Coby Bell's character Jesse Porter, who felt like a watered down version of Michael but he has come to the edge of the abyss without blinking last season and it was great seeing him back. Familiar faces make their way in and provide good performances. Is Dead Larry gone for good or will he hurt Michael to the bone? Tune in and find out!

 

So Heather Locklear... you get to make out with her, Grant?

Evil Dead Games: Army of Darkness: Defense

Alright you primitive screwheads, listen up! This is Day 5 of Evil Dead Games. We are moving app games this time around. Yeah it looks like Evil Dead: Regeneration is our last console/PC game thus far. Given the impending Ash Vs Evil Dead series premiere in October 31^st it is feasible that another game is in the works. Until that glorious concept, we have the app game available for Windows, Apple and Android by Backflip Studios (Paper Toss, Paper Toss: World Tour, Harbor Havoc 3D, Strike Knight and Tunnel Shoot) This Army of Darkness: Defense.

Boomstick action!!

Army of Darkness: Defense is a tower defense game involving improved weapons and leveling up both "The Chosen One" and his knights on a 2-D side scrolling bout of battles with humans vs deadites. Trying to incorporate elements of not only the universe of the Army of Darkness but aspects of the story as well. You will need to upgrade the boomstick which cheap to upgrade as you earn coins for shotgun damage, melee attacks via chainsaw and health. You create units made up of Peasant, Swordsman, Spearman, Sword-Boy, Armored Guard, Horseman and Torch-Boy. You can add the characters Wiseman, Henry and Arthur but only one of those three.

Castles are defended by Archers up on the wall and catapults. 

Peasants make great deadite shields.

 Early Waves of the deadites can be thwarted with swordsmen but you don't need to upgrade them right away until you get the Sword-Boy. Even the peasants with swords are pretty effective.

Middle Waves need you to bring out the heroes whenever possible. Horsemen gets into the battle right into the crap ASAP but your peasants are too weak for that kind of action.

The Latter Waves get rough so you need to prep the following: Arthur because his health range is so huge and he has an company of archers which are cheap and easily upgraded.

You lead your knights into a series of fights against the deadites from buying up attacks like Arrow Volley damaging and cooking enemies in an area of effect and the Deathcoaster (the 88 Delta Oldsmobile modified to cut down deadites).

The fans of the film will love the game and it didn't disappoint me at all. I am not really a huge tower defense fan but this little side scroller was entertaining. The leveling has price indexes or you take your time at it but nothing against leveling slowly.

Even the King gets damaged, baby.

Evil Dead Games: Evil Dead Regeneration

What's goin' on kiddies? Welcome back for Day 4 of Evil Dead Games. Well shockingly enough we will heading back to THQ to bring us another heaping of blood, gore, one-liners and decent creature creation and once again published some more chainsaw and boomstick. Produced by (get this) Cranky Pants Games (Red Faction II, Evil Dead: Regeneration and Destroy All Humans! Path of the Furon) . This is Evil Dead: Regeneration.

They think I am crazy.  Just because I hacked up my friends and girlfriend.

Feeling again the vibe of an action hack and slash game again this almost feels like an alternative reality or Earth where Ash did not end up going through the temporal portal that sent him to 1200 AD at the end of Evil Dead 2: Dead by Dawn. Instead he is captured by the state troopers and dropped by at the Sunny Meadows Asylum.

Locked away in the wacko basket for the criminally insane, the truth as always far more worse than anyone suspected. Ash (voiced again by Bruce Campbell) is visited by his lawyer Sally (Nika Futterman of Star Wars: The Clone Wars, Starcraft II: Heart of the Swarm, The Last of Us, Tenkai Knights, Sofia the First and Dead Rising 3) and is convinced he is stuck here and no one will believe when Sally slaps Professor Knowby's diary down on the table. Sally points out that Ash's shrink, Doctor Reinhard (Jim Ward of Spirited Away, Spider-Man, WALL-E, Despicable Me 2 and Batman: Arkham Knight) seems to want to keep Ash who survived two encounters with the Evil Dead that he may lead to some of the incantations that he may be useful.

Okay bub, yer goin' down.

Reinhard releases the evils with the book but needs the necessary passages from Knowby's diary and the asylum is flooded with the Kandarian demons taking over inmates and guards alike. Ash jumps to attention and steadies himself for the craziness to ensue. After fending off the deadites and the level boss he is visited by the ghost of Professor Knowby ( Jim Ward of Spirited Away, Spider-Man, WALL-E, Despicable Me 2 and Batman: Arkham Knight ) who tells Ash he must close the existing portals that Reinhard has opened in order to stop it from taking over the world but he will need help. Yeah, finally after 3 movies and 3 games prior Ash gets a sidekick in the form of a midget that was made partially deadite by the name of Sam (Ted Raimi of The Evil Dead, Evil Dead II, Intruder, Army of Darkness, SeaQuest 2032, Wishmaster, Hercules: The Legendary Journeys, Xena: Warrior Princess and Spider-Man). So grabbing his clothes, boomstick and chainsaw Ash is ready to give the deadites the business end of each and save the world.

The overall gameplay is similar to Fistful of Boomstick for the hack and slash options. There plenty of little puzzles to solve and fighting off the hordes of deadites is not unusual but different levels offer up different weapons including a harpoon gun and a flamethrower. While killing a friend, colleague or fellow survivor in game is considered a huge taboo, Sam can die over and over again in some of the most goofy and comical means like chucking him at deadites or kicking Sam in through doors to unlock them.

Unlike the previous games Ash seems to have unlimited ammo and gas for the boomstick, harpoon gun, flamethrower and chainsaw which really takes away any feeling of desperation and doesn't make you have to be as observant as you did in Hail to the King. He has a rage meter that fills up after x amount of enemies are slain allowing him to invoke Bad Ash and just slaughter anything in his way and also means his life meter won't ebb down as quickly.

The graphics are fair, the soundtrack is great and the gameplay is decent but it really is more silly than scary this time around. The story wasn't bad and I did like the absence of the Army of Darkness story arc making him a little less confident. All in all not a bad game but not a whole lot of re-playability.

You're toast. No bones about it.

Evil Dead Games: Evil Dead: Fistful of Boomstick

Hey babies welcome back for Day 3 of Evil Dead Games. Yeah even if you drink the juice, say the magic words and get cast through the vortex you never know what's going to happen. 3 years after Hail to the King, Ash is in his cups having whatever Midnight Hobo or Maker's Mark he can get his hands on when apparently on the local news in Dearborn that a colleague of the late Professor Knowby has translated the Necronomicon. Dare we say, problems a plenty? This is Evil Dead: Fistful of Boomstick.

Hey Slappy, go take a shower and get a meal. Gamers.

From the makers of Tom and Jerry in Fists of Fury and The Powerpuff Girls: Chemical X-traction via N64, VIS Entertainment teams up with THQ to bring Bruce Campbell back into the horrors of a deadite world in Dearborn Michigan. Local TV station KLA2 (or Klaatu for you folks that loved The Day the Earth Stood Still and Army of Darkness) Professor Eldridge converses and explains to news anchor Trisha Pettywood the "real truth" behind the Necronomicon as he is a parapsychologist and now best-selling author describing the Necronomicon has a large amount of history but to say it brings forth demons and opens portals is sensational hooey mocking Ash's claims. Ash continues to drown his sorrows in a watering hole and the bartender (voiced by Steve Blum) points out the loss of Ash's girlfriend Jenny who died in a bus accident. Yup, this guy never seems to get to keep the girl period. Somehow Trisha got hold of Knowby's tape recorder and plays the incantation summoning the evil back into the world through multiple portals.

A little boomstick action later, Ash realizes he has to strap on his big boy boots, grab some weapons and stop the evil YET AGAIN and save the world...all for his minimum pay at S-Mart. 

Bleh, ass ahoy.

This game while gory, is more of an action theme hack and slash rather than the typical horror survival of the previous game and is still single-player. The controls are easier on the to roll with and was released for the Xbox and PlayStation 2.

With a three swipe chainsaw manuever you can spray the streets with the blood of the deadites and boomstick action is pretty feasible and yes I do like the over the shoulder blasting but overall the mechanics of the combats are too simplistic, the boss fights require a bit of strategy but not that challenging. Unlike Hail to the King, ammo is plentiful as is gas for the saw but that does make a bit of sense given you are in town rather than a remote location like the cabin and the surrounding areas.  

The respawn of the deadites is not as often as it was with Hail to the King but even that game didn't feel like they were as constant as many reviews would like you to believe. You find a spellbook that gives you are a fair degree of variety. Apparently you absorb the power, chi or energy of fallen baddies to power each spell with ranges from lightning, stunning large groups of enemies, increasing your strength to that of ten men and temporary possession of a deadite to use against their fellow rotting comrades. The spells do work better for solving puzzles rather than open combat.

The musical score by Stewart Clark is impressive, Bruce chucks out a few one-liners but the waiting or prodding one-liners were the better of the lot. The voice talents of names that I immediately recognized were Phil LaMarr, Rob Paulsen, Tom Kenny, Billy West, William Hootkins as the Professor and Debi Mae West as Trisha.

Overall, gameplay is fair but the levels seem way too easy and the story a bit short but if you are looking to lop arms, legs and heads off or just want a prime example of an action game than you are in luck.

Ew, squirted like a ketchup packet!

Evil Dead Games: Evil Dead: Hail to the King

Welcome back for Day 2 of Evil Dead Games and I am not gonna lie to you but that previous Commodore 64 game was frightfully dull after about 10 minutes. This next chapter in the video game foray however is complex, easily hung up on corners, boxes and even chairs. The pixelation is a bit rough on the eyes and the levels are difficult but I think we have a more entertaining round of boomstick and chainsaw fun. This is Evil Dead: Hail to the King

Ax MURDDEEEEEERRRRRRRR!!!!!!!

Developed by Heavy Iron Studios (Evil Dead: Hail to the King, Scooby-Doo! Night of 100 Frights, The Incredibles, WALL-E, Up and UFC Personal Trainer) and produced by THQ (Peter Pan and the Pirates, Red Faction, Red Faction: Armageddon, Company of Heroes 2 and Metro: Last Light) recounts 3 years after Army of Darkness' theatrical ending in that Ash swallowed the juice, said the magic words and ended up back in his own time to Dearborn Michigan. He is back to working retail at S-Mart and even lucks out meeting a girl from Housewares, Jenny. Racked with guilt and nightmares the two of them come to the conclusion that Ash simply needs to face his fears and go back to the cabin where it all started...cause that sounds sane. No sooner they are there that Ash's former hand plays Professor Knowby's recorder unleashing the evil back into the world, an unseen entity scoops up Jenny and Bad Ash from the mirror is off to do horrible things.

It's a fixer upper kinda house.

Ash of course is apprised in voice by Bruce Campbell. With pre-rendered backgrounds and those damn semi-fixed camera angles you feel a certain Resident Evil vibe, along with limited ammo for the boomstick as well as limited gas for your chainsaw. Standard d-pad or analog stick left and right to rotate the character then move the character back and forward for the d-pad up and down.

There are puzzles to be solved, deadites to slay and Hellbillies to contend with. Along with the usual bag of nasty to deal with, you also need healing packs from attacks, watch your ammo, health and gas reserves. With the typical tank motion movement, you have a few special attacks with the chainsaw and boomstick, there are other weapons to be found and improved on. A double-headed ax, Knowby's .45, rock salt for the boomstick, steel spikes for the .45 and a Winchester .30-30 modified with spikes as well do to more damaged to these dead punks and like Resident Evil a converter to make more healing and useful items.

The enemies are a bit out there. We have an assortment of what the hell with standard deadites, raised skeleton warriors, the undead hillbillies are called Hellbillies and a troop of boy scouts known as the Wolverine Scouts. So yes lots of Michigan references as well as Tennesee references. As time travel via portal in Evil Dead 2 and Army of Darkness, there are a few gags there as well. This is not insanely hard if you are a Resident Evil fan and understand how much time you have between respawns. Yeah it is a bit rough and the save features are identical but Ash gets 8 item slots so suck it Chris Redfield, with your crappy six.

Made for Dreamcast, Playstation and PC this is a dark horror survival first player game that has limited saves, fast paced in some areas while it lulls you into a false security and them boom...possessed boars coming at ya! Yup, bad piggies! Will Ash save the girl and the world?? Is he doomed to be the "Chosen One"? Will he speak the exact words??

HE WHO FALLS FROM THE SKY!!!