THE FOLLOWING REVIEW CONTAINS SPOILERS OF THE DISCUSSED FILM. READERS DISCRETION IS ADVISED.
Sam Raimi caught audiences off guard with the first two shocking yet entertaining Evil Dead films. With the second one’s cliffhanger, many wondered how could he cap off such a trilogy? The surprise answer is a comedy.
PLOT
Army of Darkness continues from the events of Evil Dead 2, showing Ashley Williams become trapped in 1300 AD after being sucked in from a vortex. He is captured by Lord Arthur (Marcus Gilbert) after being mistaken to be a spy for Duke Henry (Richard Grove). When arriving at Arthur's castle, he is enslaved and sent to a pit to die in the hands of Deadites. However, Ash defends himself with his advanced weapons, a chainsaw and a shotgun. Being seen to kill the demonic creatures publicly hails him as a hero to the people of the castle. His only demand is to return to his time period, but the kingdom's Wise Man (Ian Abercrombie) makes clear that the Necronomicon Ex Mortis is the only thing capable of doing so. When he searches for it through a haunted forest, he gets attacked by deadites that mimic his physical appearance. While many were the size of glass shards in which he kills, he dismembers a life sized copy of him and buries him. When he finds the Necronomicon, he tries to say the phrase that'll remove it safely, 'Klaatu brada nikto', only to mispronounce it when coughing. On his way back to the castle, his evil doppelganger reassembles and forms a Deadite army to get back the book. When he returns, he demands to be taken home. But this gets delayed when a Deadite captures a mistress named Sheila, sister to one of Arthur's fallen knights. The abduction results in her turning into a Deadite as well. Feeling outnumbered, Ash trains Arthur's army and enlists the help of Henry to fight the army of darkness. With the odds at their favor, they defeat the evil army and save Sheila, which sparks a treaty between Arthur and Henry. Ash is given a potion and is instructed by the old man to say the earlier phrase to return home. It is proven that he said it wrong when another Deadite finds him and tries to kill him at the department store he works at. The film ends with him defending himself by killing it with a rifle.
THOUGHTS
After watching the first two, I assumed that it would get messier and scarier for what was a grand finale, making me only more surprised to see that it was the total opposite. Raimi spices things up by holding back on the gore and doubling up on the humor, which I think was a great change of pace because it would be challenging to take the new setting serious. So you bet your ass that I was when laughing when the skeletons were using their bones as instruments. Between the creative set pieces shown, I do respect that it still maintains the memo of how it's always worth taking a stand no matter how complex things get because if you don't do it now, you'll never do it later. Bruce Campbell gives a whole other layer of Ash who has a big chip on his shoulder in his quest to survive. He does try to be charming when things can briefly be soothing, but when the terrifying Deadites are in his way, he'll be more brash than ever to overcome the odds. It is pretty obvious that he chose not to stay in the Middle Ages not out of feeling unwanted, but that he didn't need to be there. He was too comfortable where he was in Michigan and he didn't think he needed to give it up. He says 'Hail to the king' at the end because he knows he is one of his own, particularly due to having the trait of personal integrity, which kept him alive throughout. And that is the final nail in the coffin that defends why he is one of the best protagonists you could ask for. Sheila didn't really get my attention, but it's clear that she's into him because she's impressed of his bravery. I don't know if they'd be a good couple had he stayed, but some things are best left unsaid. Plus, Campbell was even funnier when playing his Deadite counterpart for being over the top vile in the most cartoonish manner possible. The funniest part overall had to be when Ash buries him and asks 'What's that you got in your face?', only to drop the dirt on him. I had to pause the movie because I was chuckling for five minutes straight. Since this was not the end of Ash yet, it's good to know that he'll mostly be on guard whenever danger comes his way. While I mostly accept the film for what it is, I still admit that there multiple issues I had with the story. First off, when did Ash get his shotgun back? It didn't look like he had it on him when he killed the Deadites in the pit. If the Wise Man gave that back as well, I don't see the point of not showing that. Also, how much ammo did he pack with him? I can't help asking this because I never see him reload and people are bound to run out of ammo no matter what era you're in. And did anyone know there three books in the forest? I ask because I would be pissed if the Wise Man did and chose not to say anything. And lastly, I was as surprised as Ash was when seeing the Deadite attack the store, but why did it take so long to find him? Based on how he tells the story, it had to have been over a week since he came home, so it's crazy to see him be at peace for a while before shit hit the fan again. Ignore this and you'll still have a good time. To wrap up, Army of Darkness, is a funny iteration of a horror series by being uniquely entertaining in the most bizarre environment/setting possible. If you barely got through the atmosphere of the first two, this will calm things down for you.
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