John C. McGinley returns to television as Stanley Miller, a former small town sheriff taking on witches, demons, and monsters.
At first glance, “Stan Against Evil” seems like a total knockoff of “Ash vs. Evil Dead”. There’s no doubt that “Ash vs. Evil Dead” had something to do with the inspiration for the new IFC show, but “Stan Against Evil” definitely stands on its own. The show was created by actor/comedian/writer Dana Gould and stars John C. McGinley. It is a half hour “monster of the week” horror comedy.
Judging by the trailers, it seems like a mockbuster for “Ash vs. Evil Dead”. There’s plenty of similarities. It’s a horror comedy. It stars an iconic actor with a cult following. It’s filled with one liners. It’s about an aging wisecracking demon fighter who seems to get himself into a lot of trouble, and also leads a rag tag crew. It has a magical book, and even follows a prophecy. But there’s also a lot of things that make it original. It all takes place in a small town. The town is filled with witches and demons. There’s no way the show wasn’t written for John C. McGinley. His character is extremely similar to his claim to fame which was his portrayal of Dr. Cox in “Scrubs”. This show seems to follow more of a sitcom format. Picture Mayberry with demons.
“Stan Against Evil” is about Stanley Miller, a former sheriff who had to retire when he went a little crazy after his wife died. He lives with his daughter, Denise, who is basically an overgrown child. A new sheriff takes his place, played by Janet Varney. Once the new sheriff comes to town, she finds out about an ancient curse. After almost 200 witches were burned at the stake in the town a very long time ago, every single sheriff has died a premature death at the hands of evil. Curious to see how Stan lasted 28 years as sheriff and was able to retire, the new sheriff confronts him to find out how he survived. It turns out that Stan’s wife was secretly a monster hunter and was keeping him alive this entire time. Now that Stan’s wife is dead, he’s up for grabs. Now Stan and the new sheriff must team up to fight all the witches and demons who cursed all of the sheriffs of the town. Until they kill them all, neither one is safe.
The opening credits to the show is very reminiscent of old B-list horror movies. This show is very self-aware, constantly poking fun at itself. It seems to fall more under the comedy category than horror. It’s filled with quirky characters, and never gets too serious. It also seems to contain monsters of common folklore. It uses that folklore in very creative ways. It’s fresh and classic at the same time.
If this show seems like it’s for you, it airs on IFC Wednesday nights. It was ordered for an 8 episode season, but it seems like they air two at a time. So right now, four episodes have already aired. Catch new episodes at 10 p.m.
