Army of Darkness – Review

Well, we all know that Ashley Joanna Williams, aka Ash, (Campbell) was sucked into some kind of wormhole with his trusty sawed-off shotgun, his car, and his chainsaw arm at the end of Evil Dead II. Clearly that was not the expected ending for our hero, who now finds himself in what he guesses is the 1300s and surrounded by knights in shining armor.

Unfortunately for him, these knights led by Arthur (Gilbert) are ready to execute some of their enemy Duke Henry’s (Grove) men. They are going to be tossed into the “pit” for execution. What lies in that pit? Ash does not know, or want to find out. As Ash tries to talk some sense into these archaic men of the past, he winds up watching the first prisoner get flung into the dark hole.

First, nothing but splashes. Then… screams of terror and a skyrocketing bright red blood geyser! Uh oh. Ash is up next. What will he find in the pit or horrors?!

So, Army of Darkness is absolutely a sequel to the first Evil Dead movies, and while it maintains part II’s goofy sense of logic, it pushes the needle even further into comedy territory, going with everything from slapstick to clever humor. The results for me are a charming and silly adventure in the middle-ages, with a crude and edge “prophetic” adventurer Ash thrust into the mix, ready to engineer himself some bad ass weaponry and hit up the local hotties like Sheila (Davidtz) up for some sugar.

The story is actually pretty cool, and the jokes stay pressing from beginning to end, so those expecting a pure horror experience may not quite be down for the silly charm of Army of Darkness. Yes, there is blood and guts, but in reality, there is nothing to fear from this comedy first horror movie. It is a lot of fun, and features silly special effects and great character models for the evil beings.

I have always really liked Army of Darkness and its ridiculous nature. Come with Ash on his journey to the past, it’s not like you have a choice after all, we all got sucked into the time portal at the end of Evil Dead II and simply must continue our journey.

Army of Darkness does have a few other “cuts” of the movie beyond the Theatrical. Most of them are pretty similar, but a few do feature a few shifts in scenes, lines or endings. There is a “Director’s Cut,” an “International Cut” and a “Television Cut” which all feature some differences. For a first-time viewer, it’s probably best to go with the Theatrical Cut.

While Army of Darkness does have an ending, this is not the end of Ash’s journey! Join Bruce Campbell, reprising his role, in Ash vs. Evil Dead, a three-season horror comedy adventure series. Be warned however, the ending of the TV series (thus far) is not as “wrapped up” as the end of Army of Darkness. It is potentially unlikely we will ever get more in the Bruce Campbell series, so that may wind up being the “end.” That being said I would still recommend the series as it’s a lot of bloody fun also. I may get these seasons individually reviewed on here, as technically they do continue the movie series' story.

There is also Evil Dead: The Game however I have not played it. I believe it is online-only multiplayer and is supposed to be pretty fun.