So the end of the world really is upon us, yes again, and it’s up to Ashy Slashy to save the day! And night, and the nowheresville town of Elk Grove, and what’s left of the people in it. Because really, between the 60-some-foot-high Kandarian demon, the Dark Ones, the rift and the Deadlands, Ruby and her machinations, and the damned Necronomicon and all the deadites that came from it, there aren’t a ton of people left in Elk Grove.
Brandy has more or less embraced the fact that she’s a Williams, and, in that fine tradition, goes about slaughtering deadites and demons left and right, getting covered in blood and gore as is family tradition, too. It’s so cute to see Brandy strike a Ghostbeater pose and drop a one-liner, with her dad looking on with such pride, that the daughter he never knew he had could and would carry on the fight regardless of what happens to him. And when Ash falters and doubts himself, it’s Brandy’s turn to tell him to suck it the fark up, and go kick some ass! Though poor Brandy is still denied the pre-Deadite-fight toke on the traditional blunt, hah.
This is somewhere many TV shows and even movies have faltered in recent years, trying to take something nostalgic we all loved from our younger lives and revamp it here in the modern-day. Keeping the same tone and ridiculous slapstick-y blood-splatter practical effects that made the original Evil Dead films is an absolute passion of the makers of Ash vs. Evil Dead, including Bruce Campbell himself, is hard to do, but these guys pulled it off.
Far too often the remade show or film suffers the Jurassic World syndrome, where the young and cocky new guy trying to stop the world from ending all but turns to the camera and says, “See what I’ve accomplished in your name, Grandpa, aren’t you proud of me? I made your original vision so much better!” That is almost inevitably hardly the case, but the upstarts with way too much money and time on their hands think remaking something they loved from when they were little is the most sincere form of flattery. In Ash’s case, instead, we see him pass the baton to Brandy gradually, by tossing her into the deep end of his world, where she swims like a damn champ.
That’s not to say that others in Ash’s world weren’t given the same loving treatment, in this final season of Ash vs. Evil Dead. Poor Pablo, that hapless lover, and eventual fighter, who embraced his own heroic heritage as a Brujo Especiale, in his own family tradition, has come a long way from when he first knelt and swore to join the Jefe’s fight. And when Pablo heroically runs down the behaunted main avenue of Elk Grove and is included in a very fine tribute to the original ‘Evil Dead’ and ‘Army of Darkness’ films, it is an excellent reminder of other characters who had grand storylines of their own, whom we came to love just as much as we love Ash.
Speaking of tributes, it has to be talked about, the necklace Ash gave Brandy, awww. He said he had it when he first encountered the Necronomicon in that cabin so damn long ago, and for all of us ‘Evil Dead’ fans, even if it’s not the real thing, that necklace sure feels like it anyways. Rather like the magnifying glass that was used to read that damn book that began all this nonsense, I thought; how appropriate.
A whole bunch of father and daughter deadite-slaying later, Pablo’s gone into the rift like that Brujo badass he is and come out with Kelly’s spirit, which he tosses into her body post-haste. She still won’t rise, why?! Because that sort of gag is yet another ‘Evil Dead’ tradition, that’s why. So Kelly’s finally back up kick some deadite demonic ass, finally, onward we go!
Boy, I bet the military are going ‘WTF y’all?!’ as they try to bombard the Kandarian demon with everything they’ve got. Ground forces are having no luck either, and though all our Ghostbeaters are finally together again, only Ash, our reluctantly aging hero, is the chosen one, the one to finally face that freaking gigantic Kandarian demon, alone. Ash bids a loving farewell to his original team, the Ghostbeaters, telling Kelly she will make a strong leader and that Pablo himself is the Jefe now, and to his heretofore-unknown daughter, the unexpected windfall of a child that straightens his spine and makes him face the deadites head-on once more, Brandy, wears the necklace as she bids him a loving goodbye. Nothing to do now but steal a tank, create a makeshift spear with the Kandarian dagger, oh yeah, and face down a humungous demon!
We all enjoyed the giant demon fight scene and can pretty much guess who won, but the whole scene after that was an interesting way to end the series. The film Army of Darkness actually has an alternate ending scene, wherein Ash once again screws up proper wording and finds himself way far off in a destroyed future rather than the present and S-Mart. This ending of another potential far-off future, somehow original Mad Max meets I Am Legend with deadites instead of vampires, where Ash once again has to gear up and go out to fight demons, seems ridiculously far-fetched.
Which, somehow, makes it work mostly for Ash’s whole Evil Dead world. All three seasons of Ash vs. Evil Dead, and hell, the movies that preceded them too, were over the top, goofy and funny and completely not plausible ever, but more than anything, fun. We’re all aging and resenting it too, just like Ash, and just like our beloved boom-stick wielding Jefe, we want to roar off into the sunset to kick ass, just one more time!
As most of us already know, the third season of Ash vs. Evil Dead was the final season, as Starz cancelled the show. Tons of fans turned hopeful petitions to places like Netflix, only to be further saddened when the man himself, Bruce Campbell, took to social media and stated he was finally done playing Ash Williams, but what an amazing ride it has been. We fans, myself included, loved all the hard work and energy and passion that was poured into every single episode of the show, and the show can be likened to ‘Stranger Things’ for nostalgia tribute value entertainment. Hail to the King, and his beloved Ghostbeaters, forever baby!
Nandamuri Taraka Rama Rao Jr., affectionately known as Jr NTR, has consistently enthralled audiences with his dynamic performances and versatile acting prowess. Following the successful release of “Devara: Part 1” on September 27, 2024, fans are eagerly anticipating his forthcoming projects. Here’s an overview of what’s next for this action superstar.
1. Devara: Part 2
After the resounding success of “Devara: Part 1,” which grossed over ₹466 crore globally, the sequel is highly anticipated. Director Koratala Siva has hinted that “Devara: Part 2” will be even more intense, stating that if Part 1 showcased 10% of Jr NTR’s capabilities, Part 2 will unveil the remaining 90%. Filming is slated to commence in the first half of 2026, with a targeted release by the end of that year.
2. War 2
Expanding his horizons, Jr NTR is set to make his Hindi film debut with “War 2,” directed by Ayan Mukerji. This sequel to the 2019 blockbuster “War” will see him sharing screen space with Hrithik Roshan and Kiara Advani. The film is part of the YRF Spy Universe and is scheduled for release on August 14, 2025, coinciding with the Indian Independence Day weekend.
3. NTR 31 (Tentative Title: Dragon)
In collaboration with acclaimed director Prashanth Neel, Jr NTR will star in a period drama tentatively titled “Dragon.” The film is set to delve into themes of immigration and is expected to be one of the most expensive projects for both the actor and the director. The movie is slated for a grand release on January 9, 2026.
Why Jr NTR is the Action Hero Everyone Wants to See
Jr NTR’s appeal as an action hero stems from his ability to seamlessly blend intense physicality with deep emotional resonance. His performances are characterized by a compelling screen presence, dynamic energy, and a remarkable ability to connect with audiences across diverse roles. This unique combination of skills has solidified his status as a leading figure in Indian cinema, making him the action hero everyone wants to see.
With a lineup of diverse and high-profile projects, Jr NTR continues to push cinematic boundaries and captivate audiences worldwide. His dedication to his craft and ability to reinvent himself with each role ensure that fans have much to look forward to in the coming years.
Headed to a wilderness retreat of a wealthy pharmaceutical CEO to hopefully land a lucrative job, widower Elliot and his reluctant daughter Ridley manage to have a car accident with a heretofore-thought creature out of legend, and hijinks ensue!
Oh this is an absolute gem of a movie y’all, brought to you by the genius minds of film production company A24, a delightful blend of horror and campy, almost idiotic, comedy. Make sure your seatbelt is buckled and let’s dive into this!
So Ridley (Jenna Ortega) is you typical teenager, angsty and missing her passed-on mother, full of acne troubles and secretly vaping while her dad Elliot (Paul Rudd) ignores her for much more than appearance purposes, while he schmoozes his way into the good graces of the family they’re going to stay with. Elliot ignores everything but his continued greed, for both money and continuous stability for him and Ridley, really, he swears, so when the misty mountains cause their electronics to go haywire and Elliot’s busy with that crisis, he doesn’t notice until it’s too late and BAM. You’ve hit an actual unicorn with your car.
Like most girls, Ridley can’t help but be fascinated by the poor mythical horse-like creature, and of course she reaches out to grasp the glowing horn, filling her head full of magic and her eyes full of stars and the cosmos, while Elliot has a much more, let’s say visceral, reaction. But rather than calling, I dunno, some sort of wildlife preserve or the cops or even considering burying the unfortunate horned horse, no, the baby is loaded like a downed stag into the back of Elliott’s car and they hurry on to the CEO’s wilderness retreat.
It makes sense that the changes to Ridley’s appearance are the first thing that allows O’Dell (Richard E. Grant) and his greedy, grasping family to understand that the body of the unicorn has healing properties. Wife Belinda (Tea Leoni) is your typical utterly vapid socialite who helps the poor downtrodden of whatever’s currently popular third world country, not for the do-gooder part of it, but for the optics. And their son Shepard (Will Poulter) is a walking poster boy for the arrogant frat boy type who could never settle on just one thing to be or do, and so he tries them all – archery, photography, mixology, music and various forms of pharmaceuticals, all while sporting these terrible fashion choices in shorts and rambling proudly about his nonexistent accomplishments. Griff (Anthony Carrigan) is the family butler and general verbal punching bag, and let us not forget the unfortunate pair of doctoral research scientists who get called in to examine the unicorn, Dr. Song (Steve Park) and Dr. Bhatia (Sunita Mani).
So we have a family of covetous types who all want to divy the unicorn up and sell its various parts for as much wealth and power as they can get, plus the pair of scientists who are flabbergasted to find themselves dissecting an actual unicorn that, hey, guess what, isn’t actually dead for really-real yet. Elliott’s trying to procure his and Ridley’s slice of the action, though honestly, his lawyerly powers of persuasion seem to be rather lacking in this regard, while Ridley is off doing some actual research on medieval unicorns and what the ancient legends in tapestries had to say about them. You know how the modern genie, with his Arabian lamp and his three wishes with their horrifically ironic consequences, actually stems from the ancient legend of that old monster, the creature born from fire that wants nothing more than to destroy all human life on Earth, the Djinn? Our modern legends and beliefs about unicorns is kinda like that.
So everyone, even our scientists with their experiments and O’Dell supposedly being an experienced animal hunter, seems to have forgotten that a horse is a mammal and therefore, has parents. And while everyone is concerning themselves with what to use the babies’ various parts for, only Ridley seems to have realized, that the babies’ sire and dam are coming for it!
We all know horses are smart, and that humans and horses can form an almost mythical bond, but when a stallion or even a dam’s ire is raised, they can attack and defend just as well as any rampaging beast, and do present a very real and dire threat. And these particular horses, with their shaggy midnight-black coats and hooves the size of monster-truck hubcaps, their fangs and absolute righteous rage at their baby being stolen, not to mention both mom and dad’s inherently magical nature, and those utterly badass war-unicorn horns, are here to wreak utter destruction and death upon the humans that would dare to eat, drink and snort, their baby!
Full of utterly ridiculous fun with human greed and the scarcely-remembered wonder of those magical creatures you heard about as a child, cheer along with the Jurassic Park-like screech of our rampaging parents to save their baby, in Death of a Unicorn, in theaters now!
Upcoming NTR Junior projects
“Death of a Unicorn: A24’s Twisted Fairytale You Won’t Forget”
WonderCon 2025: A Faith Full Dickens Tale & The King of Kings Animated Movie
WonderCon 2025: Fade to Black Interviews
Top 10 Unexpected Movies Where The Bad Guy Wins
