Horror Stack - Army of Darkness: Theatrical Cut (1992)

Director: Sam Raimi

Cast: Bruce Campbell, Embeth Davidtz, Marcus Gilbert, Ian Abercrombie

Country: United States

Rating: R

Run Time: 80 min

Horror Stack is a series dedicated to reviewing films within the horror genre specifically during October in order to get myself into the mood of the Halloween season. Whether I've seen them before or not at all, those stacks of horror film DVDs and Blu-Rays are never better than during October.

The Evil Dead trilogy is one for the books. The first film, The Evil Dead, is a low budget scare fest filled with special effects, gore, and creative camera techniques. It's one of the most terrifying and critically acclaimed horror films of all time, as well as the film that introduced audiences to star Bruce Campbell (Bubba Ho Tep, Maniac Cop) and director Sam Raimi (Darkman, Spider-Man). The second film, Evil Dead 2, is a more comedic but equally grotesque sequel that amps up the violence and monster effects from the previous film. When Evil Dead 2 reached its conclusion, Campbell's character was flung into a portal and into the past to medieval times. It's one of the best cliffhangers of all time, and a huge rug puller if there ever was one. 

The third film, Army of Darkness, picks up exactly where the previous film left off. However, its tone is particularly different from the previous entries. The Evil Dead and Evil Dead 2 are tightly connected films that both take place within the same cabin and wooded setting and lean towards horror with their gore filled gags and scenes of bodily dismemberment. However, Army of Darkness leans more towards action with its copious amount of one liners, monsters galore, and medieval battles a plenty. Raimi took his comedic splat-stick franchise in a fantastical direction with a helping of Looney Tunes-esque comedy and lighthearted camp that separates the film from its predecessors.

Army of Darkness is easily one of my favorite films of all time. It's one of those definitive films that laid the groundwork for my love for cinema. Raimi's energetic style, paired with Bruce Campbell's fearless acting, made Army of Darkness an easy film to digest for a hungry cinema-goer as myself in high school. It's one of those rare films that actually lives up to its poster, delivering everything promised upon it and more. Therefore, please excuse any biased love I have for this film as we dive into Raimi's camp filled monster mash of gore, laughs, and romance. In the words of the chin himself, "Hail to the king, baby."

Ash engages with a deadite in the pit of death.

The third Evil Dead adventure opens up with another recap of the previous films. Ashley J. Williams (Bruce Campbell), or Ash for short, was a clerk at S-Mart, a discount store. When he and his girlfriend went out to a cabin in the woods one night, they stumbled upon a book of the dead that awakened demonic spirits. After losing his girlfriend to the demons, Ash used the book to hurl the remaining demons into the past. Unfortunately, he did not have the ability to close said portal, and ended up going through it himself. The portal sent Ash to 1300 A.D., which is exactly where Army of Darkness sets its action. When Ash awakes, he finds himself thrust into a dispute between Lord Arthur and Duke Henry, two feuding factions in medieval times. The hilarious and selfish Ash is suspected to be the Chosen One in a prophecy that foretells of a man who will fall from the sky only to rid the land of the evil Deadites. What follows is a hilarious and action packed adventure filled with romance and a classic hero's journey.

Army of Darkness heavily differs from its horrific predecessors as it aims for high adventure instead of bone chilling terror. The film is an entertaining combination of medieval fantasy, horror, and even Three Stooges comedy. If there was ever a film that wholly embodies Raimi's strengths and abilities as a filmmaker, Army of Darkness is the one. The film also shows Raimi's ability to work with a larger budget, especially during the finale of the film in which Raimi lets loose with a massive battle filled with special effects and stuntwork. It's no surprise that Raimi would go on to craft crowd pleasing blockbusters such as Sony's hugely successful Spider-Man trilogy and to a lesser extent Disney's Oz The Great and Powerful.

Raimi's third Evil Dead film is one of those immensely entertaining cult films that some how over comes even its own errors. Even though Army of Darkness is more entertaining and enjoyable than 95% of the movies that come out today, the film is still subject to several noticeable plot and editing inconsistencies. For example, Ash is thrown into the Deadite pit without his shotgun. When he climbs out though, he pulls the gun out of nowhere and fires it into Lord Arthur's sword. As to where Ash's shotgun came from, I will never know. Ash also loses his chainsaw less than halfway through the film and never addresses it ever again. Once Raimi gives Ash a new robotic hand, it's as if the chainsaw never existed. Call me crazy, but the hero shots of Ash towards the beginning of the film with a shotgun in one hand and a chainsaw as his other hand make for the film's greatest moments.

"This...is my boomstick!"

The mythology established around the Deadites is also particularly loose and frustrating at times. If Deadites have the ability to possess anyone whenever they please, than what stakes are there? Also, how does Evil Ash turn love interest Sheila evil, if only for her to turn good again after being stabbed and thrown off the castle? Army of Darkness is one of those rare cult films that overcomes its evident story and technical flaws purely through its execution and energy.

The film takes Campbell's unforgettable character of Ash Williams and blows him up to full blown action hero status for his third adventure. Ash is truly one of the all time great movie characters due to his design and conception. Bruce Campbell gives an incredible comedic and heroic performance as the man out of time and with little patience. Campbell is a great comedian because he constantly physically embarrasses himself for the sake of our comedy throughout the film. Campbell endures hair pulling, rock throwing, blood splattering, sword clanking, horse neighing, and skeleton fighting all for our amusement and still finds himself labeled as a B-movie actor. I can honestly say that Campbell's charisma and charm earns him the status as A-movie star in my opinion. He truly is a star, right down to his good looks and heroic stature. In the words of Evil Ash, "I'll spoil those good looks!"

When one takes a step back and looks at the timeline of the trilogy, it's quite hilarious how much Ash changes and ages over the course of the three days that the series takes place over. He starts off as a fearful college student in search of love during the events of The Evil Dead. When he reaches Evil Dead 2, Ash becomes more of a self aware smart alec who starts spouting one liners and wielding a chainsaw for a hand as if it were nothing. When he reaches Army of Darkness, a mere two days after the events of The Evil Dead, Ash is experienced in weapons training, chemistry, and filled with more one liners and jokes than a stand up comedian. Ash is a rare character who actually represents his creator's evolution as a filmmaker more than himself.

Campbell pulls double duty as Evil Ash as well.

However, Ash does experience a classic hero's journey over the course of the film. He starts off as a selfish and arrogant bastard who wishes nothing more than to return to his own time. In order to return to his time, Ash simply has to obtain the Necronomicon and return it to the Wise Man who can send him back in time using its spells. However, all Ash has to do is recite a set of words correctly in order to pick the book up. When it comes time to pick up the book, Ash's arrogance gets the better of him, as he completely fumbles the words and accidentally awakens an army of the dead. All he had to do was properly memorize one sentence and he couldn't even do that! It's flat out hilarious how simple Ash's mistake is, but all of the more rewarding how redeeming his transformation is as well. Therefore, Ash must become a hero and a leader to the people of the land in order to combat his mistake.

Army of Darkness is a blast of an action film because of Raimi's "in your face" camera techniques and careful control of all things unrestrained and comical. Raimi lets loose with a number of fun action sequences that range from small to large in scale. The opening pit fight that places Ash against a Deadite is both thrilling and hilarious, especially when Ash leaps into the air and connects his chainsaw to his nub of an arm. In fact, a lot of the film's action is highly comical. Ash's battle against an army of tiny Ashes is filled with enough silly gags that one might forget that they are watching a sequel that takes place within the same franchise as The Evil Dead's controversial tree rape scene.

Raimi eventually lays off the comedy for a spectacular finale in which Ash leads a castle defense against an army of skeletons, zombies, and undead creatures. The entire finale is filled with every kind of special effect imaginable for the time. Special effects master Greg Nicotero lays out all the stops with a variety of effects ranging from stop motion, to rear screen projection, to even puppetry and animatronics. It's clear that Raimi and Nicotero wanted to pay tribute to special effects guru Ray Harryhausen with their stop motion skeletons and fantastical monsters. Army of Darkness was truly the last hurrah for all things practical and old fashioned as far as special effects come. You won't find a lick of computer generated imagery within Raimi's film. It is worth noting that Army of Darkness was released in between Terminator 2: Judgment Day and Jurassic Park, two of the films that revolutionized computer graphics in live action cinema. While modern day audiences may decry the film as dated and laughable, film buffs will probably appreciate the charm and ingenuity behind it all.

"Hail to the king, baby."

Army of Darkness exists amongst several different cuts that can be obtained across several different bootlegs and DVD's. I personally prefer the theatrical cut for both its short run time of 80 minutes and for its hilarious "Hail to the King" ending. While the infamous post-apocalyptic alternate ending from the director's cut is more in line with the ending of Evil Dead 2, I personally feel that the positive and triumphant finale within the theatrical cut is more in tone with the rest of the film. I also feel that Ash deserves some happiness after all of the torment that he suffered through across all three films.*

Raimi's Evil Dead franchise is one of those defining cult phenomenons that inspired numerous filmmakers to pick up a camera and make a movie and established many film buffs' adoration for cinema in general. Its third entry, Army of Darkness, is the most mainstream and accessible of its series. The film is exceptionally lighthearted and romantic in comparison to its gore filled predecessors (besides one extremely bloody moment featuring an impossibly high geiser of blood). The sequel also foretells Raimi's abilities as a blockbuster filmmaker with its crowd pleasing moments and tale of adventure. It may be dated, but Army of Darkness is an immortal piece of action entertainment that will last until the end of time.

Rating: 8/10 - A hilarious, exciting, and romantic cult classic for the books.

*All of this will change once Starz releases their new Ash vs. The Evil Dead series, thereby reintroducing the Deadites into Ash's life. The separate cuts and bootlegs issue will also be resolved when Scream Factory puts out their ultimate edition of the film that collects all various endings and cuts into one release. Therefore, the Evil Dead franchise will endure a significant revival by the end of this October, thereby making this film, along with the rest of the series, more relevant than ever before.