Tuesday, December 27, 2016

Pilot Wings: Stan Against Evil

Getting out of the Holiday rut and the bad news that continues to plague 2016, I might as well do another one of those.

This time, it is a Horror-Comedy Show from IFC with a somewhat-familiar-sounding name...
In a Cold Open, a freaky Witch Lady attacks our Hero in a Cemetery before it tries to burn the Sheriff at the stake.
Flash back to roughly a week earlier and we meet Stan in mourning for his Wife.  He's not taking the whole thing too well, compounded by the fact that he lost his job too.
He finds out that his Wife was keeping a big secret from him: she was keeping evil Spirits and powers at bay for him, which is why he's the only Sheriff not to die quickly after entering the Office.
With her out of the picture, the new Sheriff- who is, of course, from out of Town and different- is targeted.
She goes to Stan for help, but he's a total dick.  You see, he's not like Ash, because he's sarcastic and pro-active...just only when he wants to.
Will the pair defeat the Witch?  Will they survive the other 171 that will soon follow?  Will the Show get to cover that many?

To find out, watch the Show.
An interesting concept, but not fully-formed.  To be fair, most Shows aren't 100% set in the Pilot/first Episode.  Remember Fiona's Irish Accent in the Burn Notice Pilot?  That said, this definitely needs some work.  I love me some John C. McGinley, but his Character is hard to relate to right now.  There are brief moments of humanity, but he is otherwise just kind of a petty asshole.  To compare this to the obvious source (Ash vs Evil Dead), we know Ash from the Films and can accept how he acts.  This is a fresh Character, so he needs a better transition.  Other Characters- like his Daughter and the Deputy- are barely featured as well, leaving plenty of room for improvement with them.  Beyond that, the concept sounds like it could be quite fun and I want semi-original stuff like this to succeed.  As a Pilot, it sort of works, but doesn't fully sell you (or, more accurately, me).  It still feels a bit too much like Ash vs. Evil Dead (which did come out first!), although they did flip *who* got a face full of bloody goop in this one...
Considering the people involved, I'll probably give this one at least another Episode or two.  I like the people...but the product is still a bit murky for me.

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