Top 10 Ash Williams Evil Dead Moments

When you’ve got a deadite problem, there’s nobody better-suited to handle it than Ashley J. Williams. Welcome to WatchMojo.com, and today we’ll be counting down the Top 10 Best Ash Williams moments from the Evil Dead Franchise.



For this list, we’ll be looking at some of the characters coolest, funniest and most delightfully insane moments throughout the films and TV series, taking into consideration how great Bruce Campbell’s performance was and how important the moment was to the franchise. So load your boom-sticks, rev up your chainsaws and prepare to hail to the king, here’s our picks for the top 10 grooviest Ash Williams moments.

“Army of Darkness” (1992)

For quality Deadite-killing products, there's no better place to shop than S-Mart, a fact that Ash very aggressively shared with a crowed of medieval screwheads in “Army of Darkness”. This scene is one of Ash’s best moments because of how unnecessarily intense his speech and its delivery is. Additionally, the famous “This is my boomstick!” line, as well as the short duel leading up it really helped to cement Ash’s transition from Horror-movie survivor to smarmy action hero, setting up the tone of “Army of Darkness” and adding a whole new level to the franchise.

“Army of Darkness” (1992)

This scene is easily one of the most bonkers moments in the entire “Evil Dead” franchise, but that’s what makes it so great. After devouring several tiny versions of himself, Ash splits in two, a good version and a bad version, leading to one of the funniest parts of “Army of Darkness” as well as one of Ash’s greatest moments, since it showcases both the cool and humorous sides of his character. This moment works so well thanks to Bruce Campbell’s superb physicality and slapstick acting, which are at their peak throughout the scene.

“Ash vs Evil Dead” (2015-18)

After “Army of Darkness”, the “Evil Dead” franchise seemed to fade away, and though there were a few video games and comics, Ash Williams didn’t make his true return until “Ash Vs. Evil Dead”, and what a return it was! After retiring from Deadite fighting for nearly thirty years, Ash gets his groove back during an awesome fight against a possessed old woman in his trailer, breaking out his boom stick and chainsaw in an epic return to form that served as the perfect opening to the Starz! series.

“Evil Dead II” (1987)

The second “Evil Dead” film brought a lot of humor, taking the horror elements to ridiculous levels for insane comedic effect. Linda’s head, for example. After being severed from her body, it continues to move, taunting and biting Ash until he is forced to give her the chainsaw – a steep upgrade from the shovel – which he procured from her headless body. The moment is insanely messed up, especially when Linda tries to trick Ash at the last moment, but thanks to Bruce Campbell’s expressions, it comes off as one of the wackiest parts of the film, and one of the character’s greatest moments.

“Army of Darkness” (1992)

After its introduction, Ash’s chainsaw-hand became a signature part of the franchise, and while every scene involving it is fantastic, this one is particularly awesome. After being thrown in a pit to face a witch Deadite, Ash struggles to hold off the monster, only to be saved at the last minute when he is reunited with his chainsaw, which lands oh-so-perfectly on his handless wrist. With chainsaw in hand, or rather, on hand, Ash strikes a pose and cuts the witch’s head off with all the skill and confidence of a smooth action hero.

“Evil Dead II” (1987)

Though he had a much more prominent role in “Army of Darkness”, Evil Ash technically made his first appearance in the second “Evil Dead” film. After cutting up Linda with the chainsaw, Ash attempts to calm down by talking to himself in the mirror, only to be strangled by an evil version of himself that may or may not have been an illusion. Either way, this was one of the characters most interesting moments, as it planted the seed of the darkness within him, something that would become a major part of the franchise going forward.

“Evil Dead II” (1987)

The perfect blend of horror, comedy and action, this scene is one of Ash’s craziest moments. After equipping himself to face the Evil within the cabin, Ash sets out to get the final pages of the Necronomicon from the cellar, only to be blindsided by a possessed, monstrous Henrietta Knowby. Through a horrifying and very dismemberment-heavy fight, Ash gets the upper hand and kills the deadite, putting an end to her incessant evil chanting with a shotgun blast to the face and cool, crisp comeback.

“Army of Darkness” (1992)

Ash is kind of a doofus, and no scene illustrates this better than his foray into the graveyard to retrieve the book of the dead. Not only does Ash choose the wrong book twice — the first time resulting in some fantastic slapstick special effects — he also forgets the very important magic words needed to safely retrieve the book. Instead of saying the final part of the spell, Ash simply wings it, coughing and clearing his throat to fill in the blank, which doesn’t work out quite as well as he thought it would.

“Evil Dead II” (1987)

This scene is, without a doubt, Bruce Campbell’s greatest feat of physical acting in the entire “Evil Dead” franchise. After being bitten by Linda, Ash’s hand becomes infected with Evil, leading to Ash voluntarily dismembering himself with a chainsaw. But the fun doesn’t end there; Ash chases his disembodied hand around the cabin, which soaks him with a ridiculous amount of blood and taunts him via laughing furniture, laughing that he joins in on as he is driven mad by the Evil. Everything about this sequence is delightfully insane, and none of it would have worked without Bruce Campbell’s amazing expressions and physical acting ability.




Before we get to our number one, here are a few honorable mentions:

Hooking Up with a Deadite

“Ash vs Evil Dead” (2015-18)




The Morgue

“Ash vs Evil Dead” (2015-18)




Ash vs. the Oldsmobile

“Ash vs Evil Dead” (2015-18)

“Evil Dead II” (1987)

It's the most iconic line in the entire franchise. To face the Deadite in the cellar, Ash and Annie modify the chainsaw to replace his missing hand, equipping him with a strap to rev it up. Ash demonstrates this when he uses it to saw off his shotgun, holstering the boomstick before uttering a very pleased, very gruff “Groovy.” It's our top pick not just because of Bruce Campbell’s perfect, straight-faced delivery but also because the line went on to become a staple of the franchise, appearing in the third film and serving as the final line of the now-canceled TV series.