Book and lyrics by George Reinblatt. Music by Frank Cipolla, Christopher Bond, Melissa Morris, and George Reinblatt. Additional lyrics by Christopher Bond. Additional music by Rob Daleman. Presented by Down Stage Right Productions. Directed by Mark Carter. At the Norman Rothstein Theatre on Thursday, October 29. Continues until November 7

Two versions of Evil Dead: The Musical are going head-to-head in Vancouver right now. A troupe from Calgary, which has the professional rights,is playing the Vogue.And Down Stage Right Productions, the Vancouver company that holds the amateur rights, just opened at the Norman Rothstein. Artistically, the amateur folks win hands down.

In the musical, which is based on Sam Raimi’s trio of Evil Dead movies, five college kids head off to a cabin in the woods, where they inadvertently summon Candarian demons that kill the students and possess their bodies one at a time. When one of his hands becomes possessed, Ash, the hero, cuts it off with a chain saw. There is gore in the DSR production—the front rows get sprayed with stage blood—but its real success lies elsewhere.

The production at the Vogue is broadly comic but not terribly funny. When Ash’s friend Scott calls Ash’s sister Cheryl a stupid bitch—which he does a lot—the interpretation provides no commentary on his behaviour, so it feels dangerously like misogyny is being endorsed. And Scott’s girlfriend, Shelly, is presented as a stupid ’ho. The jokes at her expense are demeaning.

Because it’s vastly more playful, the DSR production puts a whole other spin on this material. Under Mark Carter’s direction, Ian Rozylo plays “Scotty”, as he’s known here, as if he were a desperately self-inflated early adolescent. Framed as idiotic, his misogyny becomes considerably less sinister. And it’s a nice touch that, in this production, when Scotty is pulled toward hell, it’s his cock that’s yanking him there.

Shelly is still an idiot in the DSR version, but at least she’s fully clothed and less relentlessly sexualized, so you can enjoy her as one clown among many.

That’s the key to DSR’s success: all of the characters, including Ash, are played as crazily camp. Scott Walters is stellar in the lead role, working the absurdity for all it’s worth. In the scene in which Ash’s hand attacks its owner, Walters makes thumb wrestling part of the life-and-death struggle. And he’s a knockout singer who adds stylin’ ornamentations to the already gymnastic score.

There’s strong work from the rest of the cast as well, and Ken Overbey’s witty choreography is a huge contributor to the evening’s success.

Misogyny still lurks beneath the surface but, in this mounting at least, Evil Dead: The Musical is solid entertainment.