When did horror films truly become part of the cultural landscape? I still fondly remember my initiation into the art of fear at the tender age of seven, back in the late '80s. I was fortunate to have a grandmother who babysat me, but her idea of child-friendly entertainment was slightly askew: horror flicks. Those images of suspense and terror were akin to adult films; they lived in a realm way above what was suitable for children. My classmates and teachers reacted to my fascination like I was discussing the finer points of those films; the looks on their faces suggested they thought I was a budding psychopath.

If I had to pinpoint a moment when horror transitioned from the fringes to the forefront of American pop culture, I’d wager on 1996 with the release of Scream. Wes Craven’s clever and self-referential take on the slasher genre opened the floodgates. Suddenly, it seemed like everyone was talking about horror, and the genre found itself firmly in mainstream conversations.

My own journey through horror took a circuitous route, particularly with the Evil Dead franchise. It wasn't until I stumbled upon Army of Darkness airing on the Sci-Fi Channel (which they bizarrely rebranded as SYFY). Bruce Campbell’s cheeky charm was familiar, as I had seen him in the delightful The Adventures of Brisco County, Jr. The TV edit of Army of Darkness was a pale imitation of the rated R version, but even that watered-down experience was a hoot.

Little did I know that I was getting into the third act of a saga that had a devoted fanbase. After some sleuthing through TV Guide, I realized I needed to backtrack and find the earlier installments. My then-teen self wandered into a Best Buy. Remember when they actually sold physical media? I bought Evil Dead 2 and Army of Darkness on VHS, all while sporting a convincing older-than-seventeen facade. Somehow, the video store folks didn’t bat an eye when I rented Evil Dead, either.

Years later, Halloween rolled around, and I spotted Evil Dead on a Walmart shelf. It was also a coincidence that I ran into a couple of classmates who shot me a look that screamed, “Weirdo!” for perusing the horror section. Some things never change, I suppose.

Lionsgate; Not Rated; 14 hrs 20 mins; Amazon

Arriving on Blu-ray & DVD from Lionsgate Home Entertainment on October 16th is Ash vs Evil Dead: The Complete Collection, featuring all 30 episodes on a six-disc set.

Based on the characters created by Sam Raimi, the series is a sequel to the original Evil Dead trilogy with Bruce Campbell returning as Ash Williams, who once battled the evil forces of the Necronomicon.

For the last 30 years, Ash hasn't done too much with his life. He still works as a stock boy, smokes pot, flirts with almost any woman in his sight, and he still drives the old Delta. Late one night, he smokes Marijuana with a hooker and accidentally reads from the Necronomicon, which unleashes the evil Deadites upon Michigan.

This time Ash doesn't have to fight the Deadites alone, as he teams up with his young co-workers Pablo and Kelly (played by Ray Santiago and Dana DeLorenzo) to become an unlikely demon hunting trio. They must stop an immortal being named Ruby (played by Lucy Lawless), who happens to be the creator of the Necronomicon, from unleashing more Deadites.

Season Two brings Ash, Pablo, and Kelly out of demon hunting retirement after the Deadites attack them. This leads them to travel to Ash's hometown of Elk Grove, where they meet his grumpy father (played by Lee Majors). It seems the entire town still blames Ash for the brutal murders of his sister, girlfriend, and two friends that occurred over thirty years ago. He told everyone the Deadites had killed them, but nobody believed him. Well, they're going to have no choice but to believe him when Ruby's Deadites wreck havoc all over town, which eventually leads Ash to time travel to 1982 before he originally encountered the Necronomicon.

Ash met his teenager daughter Brandy (played by Arielle Carver-O'Neill) during the third and final season. And he also meets his identical evil spawn that was created by Ruby, who is once again trying to kill Ash and pals.

Blu-ray Special Features include:

• Season One
• Inside the World of "Ash vs Evil Dead"
• How to Kill a Deadite
• Best of Ash
• Audio Commentaries
• Season Two
• Season 2 First Look
• Inside the World of "Ash vs Evil Dead"
• Up Your Ash
• Women Who Kick Ash
• Puppets Are Cute
• Dawn Of The Spawn
• Bringing Henrietta Back
• The Delta
• How To Kill A Deadite
• Fatality Mash-up
• Audio Commentaries
• Season Three
• Season Overview
• Inside the World of "Ash vs Evil Dead"
• Audio Commentaries

Evil Dead 
Director: Fede Alvarez
Starring: Jane Levy, Shiloh Fernandez, Lou Taylor Pucci, Jessica Lucas, Elizabeth Blackmore
Studio: Sony Pictures Home Entertainment
Release Date: July 16, 2013
Retail: $30.99
ASIN: B008JFUNYG
Running Time: 91mins.
Rating: R

Review:

On a summer afternoon in the mid-90s, I found myself bored to death, so I started flipping through the channels, and I came upon a newly added channel, Sci Fi Channel (now known as SyFy), which was airing a campy movie with Bruce Campbell fighting demons with a shotgun and a chainsaw. I checked the TV Guide (yep, back then they actually had a listing for the daytime) and I learned the name of the movie - Army of Darkness. While visiting the city, I found a VHS copy of Army of Darkness at a Best Buy. I read the back of the box-cover and learned something else - the movie was the third part of a trilogy called Evil Dead. Of course this got me excited, so I hunted through the horror shelves and found Evil Dead II: Dead By Dawn. I bought both the VHSs (well my parents did since I was underage at the time). Weeks later I rented the first movie at a video store and I later bought it on VHS the following year. That being said, I watched the Evil Dead trilogy backwards!

Due to a family emergency, I missed out in seeing the remake/reboot/sequel (or whatever you want to call it) on the big screens this past spring, but I did buy it on DVD this summer and my expectations were pretty high.

In the 2013 version, Mia (played by Jane Levy) is a heroine addict trying one last time to become free of her demons with the aid of her friends, Eric (played by (Lou Taylor Pucci), Olivia (played by Jessica Lucas), her brother David (played by Shiloh Fernandez) and his girlfriend Natalie (Elizabeth Blackmore), at her family's remote cabin deep in the woods.

Soon after arriving, a foul smell leads them to the cellar, where they come across rotten animal carcasses, a shotgun and a strange book titled Naturom Demonto, AKA  the Book of the Dead. Eric makes the deadly mistake of reading a passage from it, which summons a horrifying demon.